James' Root Cellar Smash

My dear friend James is a fantastic cook. The kind who doesn't even really have to work at it, you know? Who just like throws stuff together and it looks and tastes divine. Someday I'll get there. Til then, I keep working at it.

So of course I had to ask him for a recipe to share during this crazy month of NaBloPoMo. And he responded with a great little recipe that will likely come in handy next week as our nation prepares to eat as a way of giving thanks.

Reading it through, YUM is all I can say. I might need these to show up on our Thanksgiving table!

James' Root Cellar Smash

• Three white sweet potatoes (sometimes called Japanese sweet potatoes at the grocery store)
• One large, orange sweet potato (any more and it would be too sweet)
• A couple of your favorite potatoes (Dena's note: russets always work great in mashed potatoes)
• A large turnip would be exciting as well, but I haven't tried that variation yet

This recipe is very forgiving -- you can make changes to the ingredients as you see fit and based on what you might have in your root cellar.

Peel and cut up into similar-sized chunks all of the above. Boil them until they are fork-tender.

When done, smash it all up -- I like things lumpy.

Pour in that stick of butter and cup of half & half you've been heating up in a small pan on the back of the stove. Season liberally with salt and pepper (taters need gobs). Here's the totally inspired part -- add a goodly dash or two of cinnamon.

My Favorite Thanksgiving Food Network Special

Hands-down, it is Paula Deen's Southern Thanksgiving episode from 2005.

And apparently the people over at the Food Network know how special this Special is, because they re-play it every year.

I've already set our DVR to record it -- run out and set yours now, too! (Only two more showings left, my friends! Nov 20, 2008 @ 3:00 AM ET and Nov 23, 2008 @ 4:00 PM ET!)

You do NOT want to miss Paula and the boys cooking up the most insanely un-healthy-looking meal of all time. How does this family not have diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart attacks every day?!?

And you really, really do not want to miss hearing Paula say "sweet potato balls!" over and over. That line is a classic in our house, no matter the season.

Plus you get to see her make a turducken, which...holy moly has there ever been a weirder and yet awesomer idea for a dish? I thought it was an urban myth until not too long ago. And then I saw Paula make hers and WOW. Just wow. It is real. Very real. If any of you out there have ever made one, I want to know: does it really turn out like hers does? Can you really just carve into it and get a helping of tur, duc, and ken all in one?

My brother has been obsessed with turducken for quite some time. Maybe this is your year to GO FOR IT, bro. Seriously. If you make one, I want pictures!

I also love how she sneaks bites from all her dishes, including her pies, and covers it up with icing or a strategically placed garnish. That is so me.

Monday Night's Steak Dinner

As planned, Monday night the hubby and I had a delicious steak dinner. I used our dear friend Shawn's recipe, and added sides of garlic sauteed spinach and roasted sweet potatoes.

It was freaking delicious. And so easy! This one's going on the repeat playlist for sure.

When I went to the butcher for steak, I wanted a very tender, flavorful cut but didn't want to spend a fortune. While the cuts of filet mignon were calling to me from the display case, their $26.99 per pound price tag kept me away. I love a good filet, and I cook them up for birthday and holiday meals, but for a regular ol' Monday night...not so much. So I was looking for the next best thing. My eyes landed on something called baseball steak, which looked gorgeous and had a price tag of $12.99 per pound. Definitely do-able, but what the heck is baseball steak?

So I asked and my butcher told me that it's part of the whole sirloin cut. The top 4 cuts of beef are, in descending order: filet mignon (often known as tenderloin), rib eye, new york, and sirloin. And that once the sirloin is deconstructed (his word, not mine! made me laugh), it ends up in 3 pieces -- the baseball steak, sirloin, and sirloin tip, with the baseball steak as the choicest of those 3. So...in other words, the baseball steak is the choicest of the worst of the best. Very clear, no?

Anyway, I went for it and both my husband and I (and the dog, who got a few scraps) were extremely pleased with this new little discovery. Baseball steak is a new favorite. (If you google it, you'll find varying accounts of how it got its name -- some say it puffs up when it's cooked, making it round like a baseball, others say it's a cheap cut that you eat after playing baseball.... I don't care. I just call it delicious.)

To prepare the steak, I salted 60 minutes ahead of time and followed the Steak a la Shawn recipe to the letter, and let the steaks rest for 10 minutes after cooking. The pre-salting really helped it develop a nice crust and stay tender, I think.

For the spinach, so easy: chop 4-5 cloves of garlic, add them to a couple tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, let it get fragrant, and then add washed spinach. Toss and keep an eye on it and when it's cooked but still green, serve.

Roasted sweet potatoes, also very easy: Slice 2 sweet potatoes (I used the Japanese variety because I love their unique flavor) into thin-ish rounds. Toss with extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper and spread in one layer on baking sheet. (I always line with aluminum foil for easy clean up.) Pop into pre-heated 425 degree oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on how well done you like them. Hubby likes them very well done.

Moroccan Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew with Quinoa

As predicted in my menu plan for the week, last night I made a new recipe for the first time: taking a cue from my Everyday Food magazine, I made Moroccan Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew. They suggested putting it over cous cous, but I opted for quinoa instead.

It was delicious. I'll definitely be making this one again, with some tweaks for the future. Hubby doesn't love sweet food, so I'll be lowering the amount of cinnamon, and we both think garlic makes everything better, so I'll be adding that in next time.

This is a perfect hearty autumn meal. It seemed very Halloween-appropriate, too, given its stunning orange colors.

Dena's Twist on Moroccan Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew with Quinoa

Serves 4

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches long), peeled
1 cinnamon stick
1 32 oz. carton reduced-sodium, low fat chicken broth
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), cut into 1-inch chunks
2 pinches ground coriander
2 pinches ground cumin
Pinch of curry powder
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups quinoa
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional - hubby doesn't like cilantro so we skipped this, but I can see how it'd be yummy)

Place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, and cook in batches until browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

Add onion, ginger, and cinnamon to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and pinches of seasonings, and as much broth as needed to cover sweet potatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Return chicken to pot when a few minutes are left so as to cook it all the way through and let it absorb flavors. Discard ginger and cinnamon. Stir in lemon juice, and season stew with salt and pepper.

While stew is simmering, prepare quinoa: rinse quinoa under running water. Combine 3 cups water (I use chicken stock to give it that nice rich flavor – low sodium and low fat, of course) and 2 cups rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Serve chicken stew over quinoa, garnished with cilantro, if desired.