Sweet Potato Chili Mac

I think that it's safe to say that  so far, me, sweet potatoes and Mark Bittman have gotten along fabulously.  It was a crazy turn of events, but now it seems like we were meant to be.  Me, sweet potatoes and Mark Bittman, happily ever after. 

When I first flipped through the March Issue of CL and saw that once more Mark was shouting the joys of sweet potatoes to the masses, this time under the guise of macaroni and cheese, I was pretty sure I was moments away from once again falling  under the spell that is me, sweet potatoes and Mark Bittman.  I wasted no time and when I returned to Rockford Sunday evening.  I worked out, went to the grocery store and then made Sweet Potato Chili Mac.

Sunday night, I liked it.  There was chorizo and delicious roasted sweet potatoes, some cheese, lovely noddles.  Monday at work, leftovers were leftovers and I munched through without too much of a problem.  But by noon on Tuesday, I was struggling to lift each bite to my mouth.  The magic, the me, sweet potatoes and Mark Bittman magic, was gone.  It had become blah.

 

I think this one is solely on me.  This recipe is good.  The sweet potatoes get roasted whole; as I was peeling them piece after brown roasted delicious piece continued to end up in my mouth.  They were caramelized and fantastic.  There are bits of browned, crunchy chorizo speckled on top.  There are smoky chipotle peppers, distinct and spicy.  And cheese!  There is yummy, melty, Monterrey Jack cheese.  These are all wonderful things that end up making a skillet full of good orange and noodle mush.  However, I’m a little afraid that, horror of horrors, I maybe just might have OD’d on the sweet potatoes.  It’s happened before about a year ago, with me, sweet potatoes and a Mark Bittman roasted sweet potato salad recipe.  I’ve hit my sweet potato quota for the season and it’s time to tuck them away till I start craving for some crispy sweet potato fries in a few months.  Which inevitably I will, and when I do, I already have a recipe lined up, locked, loaded and ready to go!

Sweet Potato Chili Mac

From Mark Bittman and those guys at CL March 2012

2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 3 medium)

1 c. 1% milk

2 Tbsp. chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

3 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese

8 oz. whole wheat penne pasta

1 Tbsp. olive oil

6 oz. Mexican chorizo (one large link)

Toppings:

chopped green onion

fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°.  Line rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Prick sweet potatoes in several places and place on prepared sheet.  Roast in oven for 50-60 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork tender.  Let cool until cool enough to handle with hands.  Peel potatoes and mash in large bowl.  Stir in milk, chipotle peppers, salt, pepper and shredded cheese.  Mix well as the cheese melts.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions on package.  Once cooked, add pasta to sweet potato mix.

Preheat broiler.  Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.  Add oil to pan and heat.  Add chorizo and brown, masking to crumble, about 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and wipe pan lightly with a paper towel.  Pour in sweet potato and noodle mixture, spreading evenly.  Sprinkle top with chorizo.  Broil 2-4 minutes or until top is crisp and browned.  Serve with chopped green onions and cilantro.    

Southwestern Pulled Beef Brisket

There is a 5 cup Tupperware in my freezer right now full of this shredded beef brisket in it's pretty mahogany sauce.  I'm pretty excited about that.  One day in the future, dinner is going to be so freaking easy.  So quick.  So humdrum?  I really am in love with the fact that I have a full on dinner locked and loaded, ready to go.  It's just not a very exciting dinner.  It doesn't have me mumbling with every full-mouthed bite "this is good, this is like really good".  Which is especially disappointing when I really thought it was going to be.

It had all the makings to be a fantastically dinner: One, it came from the cooking blog demigod known as the smitten kitchen, about whom I have not been bashful professing my love for (like here, or here, or here!).  Two, it was going to be my first meal cooked in my first Crock Pot ever and so was destined for greatness from the beginning.  And finally 3, it was meant to make tacos.  Tacos make everything taste even more amazing than they would taste alone.  Tacos have a magical power, it's hard to do wrong to the taco.

Yet, even with all of those fantastically factually points, dinner was not fantastic.  It did not provoke any unconscious, food-induced chanting.  It was just good.   No fireworks, all socks stayed on, good.  The pros?  Besides 20 or so minutes of prep before it get's thrown into the slow cooker, that's all your doing and dinner is cooking for you, waiting to welcome you home and fill your tummy with warm nutrition.  And, as stated above, it can be made into tacos, and tacos, 99.98% of the time, are fun, messy and delicious.  The only real con may be apathy, but really, dinner can't knock your socks off every time.

So, if you have a Saturday that is chock full of errands (like hanging your TV on a wall mount that is (WOOHOO!!) still hanging up!) and you want a warm dinner at the end of it, this is the way to go.  Well, at least until I find a crock pot meal worthy of whispering sweet nothings to as it gets shoveled into my mouth...

Southwestern Pulled Beef Brisket
From The Smitten Kitchen, circa 2010

3 lbs. beef brisket
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 c. water
1/4 c. molasses
1 14.5-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
2 chipotle peppers from a can with a little adobo sauce
2 bay leaves

Season both sides of brisket well with salt and pepper.  In large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until it just begins to smoke.  Add brisket and sear on both sides, about 5 minutes on each side.  Transfer to crock pot.

In same skillet, add onion and spices, and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute.  With head FAR away from skillet, pour in vinegar.  With wooden spoon, mix onions and vinegar, scraping bottom of skillet to pick up all browned bits of goodness from the meat.  Add water.  Pour mixture over brisket in crock pot.  Add molasses, tomatoes (crushed by hand), tomato juices from can, chipotle peppers and bay leaves.  Place lid on cooker.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours (longer is probably better) until brisket is easily shredded by hand. Once done, remove brisket from crock pot and shred.  Remove bay leaves from crock pot and discard.  Return shredded beef to crock pot, stir thoroughly with remaining juices and serve with warmed tortillas and pickled jalapenos, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, pickled red onions, etc. as taco toppings!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry Chipotle Dressing

I have always loved sweet potatoes.  The affair began when I was young, during every Thanksgiving when mom would make her candied yams.  While I'm sure six-year-old Liz only really loved the gooey marshmallow and toasted coconut topping, I now do love the mushy, bright orange underneath too.  I love them mushed, roasted, baked and made into fries.  And I do remember one pop-up video (remember pop up video?) that boasted that eating sweet potatoes increased your chance of having twins.  I've always wanted twins...

Anyways, when I lived in McAllen, I made another sweet potato salad about once a week for over a month.  That recipe, roasted sweet potatoes with black beans and chili dressing, came from a NYT article and has been safely pasted in my big green cookbook for awhile.  And now it is not as lonely on the page, as I wasted no time snipping this recipe out of my October issue of Cooking Light and into my cookbook.

And you know what is truly awesome?  And I really just realized it as I was looking up a link for the sweet potato and black bean salad.  They're both came from the same person.  No shit.  I wouldn't make something like that up.  Both recipes accompanied articles aimed at easing the transistion from lovely and bright summer salads to meaty, yet equally bright, fall salads.  Both written by Mark Bittman, the New York Times famed Minimalist columnist, and a man who obviously likes his sweet potato salads roasted and delicious.  And some how, even though they were published 2 years apart in 2 very different places, these recipes have ended up co-inhabiting the same page of my big green cookbook.  It's a little crazy, and a whole lot of awesome.  

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry Chipotle Dressing
Adapted from October 2011 Cooking Light

2.5 lbs sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
3/4 c. fresh cranberries
1/4 c. water
2 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce
1/4 c. cashews, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 2-inch pieces.

On jelly roll plan, spread out sweet potatoes.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for 30 minutes, turning potatoes every 10 minutes.

While sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare dressing.  In small sauce pan over medium low heat, combine remaining tablespoon of olive oil, cranberries, water, honey and chipotle chilies.  Mix together and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries pop. Remove from heat and stir until all cranberries have popped and sauce is right consistency.

In large bowl, combine roasted potatoes, chopped cashews, onions and cilantro.  Pour dressing over top and toss gently to coat.  Serve warm.

Note:  Mr. Bittman suggested toasted and chopped pumpkin seeds instead of cashews.  Since I was fresh out of those buggers, I decided to go with cashews over pecans or almonds.  I thought the saltiness would substitute well for pumpkin seeds.  I was a fan!

Garlicky, Smoky London Broil with Chipotle Chiles

Last weekend was one of those that makes me happy to count myself among the hallowed ranks of food bloggers.  Starting Friday afternoon and finishing with Saturday's lunch, not only had I tried out three brand new recipes, I really liked all three of them too.  There was the delicious, buttery shortbread cookies, the easy and soon to be even further adapted homemade granola, and finally there was what I consider the best meal I have had all month (and that includes a dinner at me and Ben's favorite Chi-town suburb restaurant): This spiced London broil recipe that we sliced and served up taco style for Saturday afternoon late lunch.  This was the perfect lazy Saturday late afternoon lunch, it wasn't too much stress to put together and it was soul satisfying.  This beef, served on a tortilla-vehicle or not, is delicious. 

When I was back on campus last week for the career fair, I snuck into one of the dining halls and grabbed a copy of that Wednesday's New York Times.  Notre Dame was great about always having, not only our school newspaper, the Observer, readily available, but also current New York Times, USA Todays and Chicago Tribunes.  It was an easy way to make sure we weren't completely enveloped in the ND bubble, and for me it meant two things:  NYT Crossword puzzles daily and the Wednesday dining section.  Wednesday's was my favorite newspaper all week, not only was there a whole section devoted to food, complete with recipes and everything, Wednesday meant the crossword puzzle wouldn't be too easy that it wasn't challenging, or too hard that I only got a few boxes filled in.  Yes, it was just right.

I remember once sitting on the bed in Ben's tiny dorm room looking at the dining section while he was busy on his computer.  Lacking scissors and seeing a recipe that I just had to add to my ever growing pile, I started to rip it out by hand, apparently with enough fervor that Ben told me he was concerned I was going all "Beautiful Mind" on him.  That might have been the first time I've admitted to my recipe hoarding problem...

Anyways, back in the present, this recipe came from the New York Times I swiped two weeks ago.  And, as I preached above, it is damn tasty.  The recipe is to simply grill the thing and serve, a method I would not for a second scoff at.  But if you have the time and desire to take it on step further, I'm telling you, think tacos.  I wouldn't have thought about had someone not randomly told me he was craving tacos and I had already decided that I was making this.  I simply whipped up a quick salsa (if you can call it that) with cilantro, onion (red and white, cause that's what I had) and a small jalapeno, thinly sliced the pan-seared beef, and piled it all onto warm corn tortillas.  Tada, tacos.  Add a lime wedge on the side and you are good to go.  And please don't think I am bluffing here, but they were, without a doubt, easily the most tantalizing tacos I have had in a very long time. 

Can anyone say 3 for 3?  Booyah. 

Garlicky, Smoky London Broil with Chipotle Chiles
from NYT 9/2/11 Dining Section

For Steak:
4 Tbsp. pureed chipotle chiles in adobo
2 Tbsp. honey
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2-2.5 lbs. London broil
2 tsp. kosher salt

For Salsa:

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno, diced
Juice of half a lime

In large bowl, whisk together chipotle chiles, honey and garlic.  Stream in olive oil, whisking to combine.

Season steak liberally on both sides with salt.  Place in bowl with marinade and rub both sides with marinade.  Cover and let marinade for 30 minutes to 24 hours.  If leaving to marinade longer than 30 minutes, refrigerate.

Let meat come to room temperature (if refrigerated).  Heat large skillet on medium high heat.  Add small swirl of canola oil and let warm.  Add steak to pan and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, for medium rare.  Remove steak from heat and let rest 10 minutes.

For Tacos:
While meat is marinading, cooking or resting, make salsa.  Combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix well with lime juice.  Warm tortillas in skillet over medium heat.  Once meat is rested, cut in thin slices.  Pile high on corn tortilla meat and salsa and top with a squirt of lime.  Enjoy!

Note:  The original recipe called for the steak to be grilled.  The next go around for me, I will more than likely broil it.  Either way, I'm sure it'll be just as freaking delicious! 

Hoisin Honey Marinade

A marinade isn't very exciting, I know.  And it's not even like this is one of those knock your socks off, get your hinny into the kitchen kind of marinade.  Even more sad, I'm losing a pretty cinnamon twist picture at the top of my blog to one full of bottles and a honey bear.  But, it is a new recipe and it is something I cooked, and ate and it was good.  And, well, hey look, I warned you, it's going to be a rough few weeks here. 

Due to the low excitement level, I'll keep this short and sweet.  The inspiration for this came from Cooking Light's March issue, with a segment devoted to the art of broiling.  I had even bought the hoisin sauce originally to make the broiled tenderloin recipe.  And like a dope, I opened the sauce immediately to taste just a bit of it, being a hoisin sauce newby, and then didn't touch the bottle till about a month ago.  There it was sitting in my fridge, unused but still opened and therefore not movable across state lines.  I really hate wasting food, so I wanted to try and use it.  Seeing as I had chicken in the freezer, I slightly modified the recipe so no new purchases would be needed to round out the ingredient list.  My marinade was born.

It's good.  The chicken sat in the marinade in the fridge for a full day and ended up very flavorful.  I cut up the breasts into strips, eating one breast right away and saving the others for cutting up on salads.  The chipotle peppers add some heat, not to mention pretty red flakes on the chicken.  It's a good, easy recipe.  Safe to say, at least the majority of my hoisin sauce will go this way, and that's not a bad way to go. 

Hoisin Honey Marinade

Inspired by Cooking Light's Broiled Tenderloin Steak

This was the perfect amount for two chicken breasts.  I mixed everything in my OXO measuring cup and poured into a plastic baggy.  Worked out fantastically.

2 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2-1 tsp. chopped chipotle peppers in adobo

Chipotle Scallion Butter

 

For any one who was observant enough yesterday to notice the pretty corn flecked with red along side the fish, and not just the horrible photography, thank you.  Now if only I didn't have to disappoint you...

I did try a new recipe yesterday, but decided to save writing about it till today.  One day of cooking, two whole posts!  That, and for as excited as I was for this butter, it kinda feel flat for me.  But I had a very fun time taking pictures of my pretty scallions!  And hey, I'm doing the best I can with my 5 year old Sony Cyber-Shot.

Scallions are one of my favorite ingredients.  They are so crisp and light and give such a crunch.  They are great raw and great cooked and great grilled.  They go from white to green and they don't make you cry when you chop them up.  Seriously, what's not to love?  

Oh yeah, the butter.  It wasn't particularly bad.  It just wasn't particularly great.  It wasn't even that particularly hard to make, I just still don't know if it's worth the extra effort for boiled corn.  

It could have used more chipotle, of course.  And although I minced and minced, the scallions could have used a little bit more.  It was hard to keep the yummy bits on the corn itself.   

I haven't given up on it quite yet.  Mostly because there's still a little glass jar full of whipped up butter in my fridge.  But also because I am holding out hope that this will taste DELICIOUS on a baked potato.  

Chipotle Scallion Butter  

adapted from epicurious.com

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened         

1/4 cup minced scallions (2 to 3) 

1 tablespoon minced seeded canned chipotle chiles in adobo

1/4 teaspoon grated lime zest

Whip together butter, scallions, chipotles, zest, and two large pinches of salt in a small bowl.  Top on corn, potato, whatever and enjoy!

Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia

 I was so excited to cook dinner when I got home today, I didn't even open the package I finally got from Amazon today containing a brand new cookbook.  This coming from the girl who will sit and read cookbooks for hours.  Do you see the love and commitment here?

Or maybe I was just hungry.  Once again, I stuck with the familiar and something that has been in my big green cookbook for awhile.  I made this dish several times over when I lived in McAllen, where cilantro was plentiful and cheap, but have touched it only once since moving to South Carolina.  I've made it so many times that I have the recipe memorized.  Which also explains why when I was wandering the grocery last Saturday, I picked up a bunch of cilantro.

Yum, cilantro.  Have you ever noticed that there are two camps when it comes to cilantro?  You either love it or hate it, there are very few, if any people straddling the fence on this one.  Julia Child, for all of her amazingness, thought it tasted like feet.  Like feet!  Julia Child!  Even more surprising, she's wrong.  Cilantro is good.  Cilantro is fantastic.  Know what makes cilantro even more fantastic?  Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce.

I could write a whole other paragraph about the wonderfulness of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  Alas, another time, another post.  But get yourself a can soon, ok?  Can you tell how much I love this recipe yet?

I won't lie to you, it doesn't come out of the oven the prettiest thing in the world.  I'm not even sure how to go about making it come out pretty.  When you pull it out from other the broiler, it'll likely be black, look burnt.  It's not!  Just wait until you break into it, the tilapia is going to be white, flaky and moist underneath.  The coating delicious, slightly cilantro-y and perfectly smokey and hot from the chipotle and cumin.  Forewarning for the faint of tongue though, the chipotles are going to pack some heat, the kind of heat that stays a bit to hang out.  You've been warned!!

Cilantro-Chipotle Tilapia

1 1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. chopped canned chipotles in adobo
1 Tbsp. Water
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Salt and Pepper
4 tilapia filets

Preheat broiler and line rack of broiler pan with foil.

Puree cilantro, oil, chipotles, water, cumin, salt and pepper until smooth.  Coat tilapia filets completely with sauce.

Broil fish 3 to 4 inches from element until just cooked through, about 6 to 9 minutes.