Flowers in the Attic Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is from my friend Sue who claims she was inspired by reading Flowers in the Attic. I suppose if you’re going to be inspired by anything in that book, the sweet potatoes are pretty safe. Though not all the food is.

These recipe’s pretty sweet. Definitely something to make as a treat or part of a larger dinner.

Flowers in the Attic Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large, fresh sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbps orange juice
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter

Steamed Beet Greens

Beet greens have become a favorite side dish of mine. I’d never had them until this year. Every week, I call my maternal grandparents, and my grandma told me about some beet greens she was cooking for dinner. I didn’t even know you could eat them!

The best greens are early-to-midpoint in the beet season. You want them to have been picked just as they sprout up and when they’re small/medium sized. Unfortunately, later in the season, they get too big and began to lose flavor.

Steamed Beet Greens

Ingredients:

Beet greens
Salt, to taste

Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls

Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls

Original recipe from the Pickycook.com

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp honey or sugar
2/3 cup warm milk (105–115°F), divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbsp for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 1/3 oz)
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tbsp pieces and softened
1 tbsp water

Stir together yeast, honey, and 1/3 cup warm milk in mixer bowl and let stand until foamy for about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.) Whisk together flour (2 1/2 cups), cheese, and salt, then mix into yeast mixture along with remaining 1/3 cup warm milk at low speed.

Increase speed to medium and beat in 2 eggs until a very soft dough forms at about 3 minutes. Beat in butter, 1 tbsp at a time, until dough is elastic for about 2 minutes. (Dough will be very sticky.)

Scrape dough into center of bowl and sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp flour. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down dough (do not knead) and turn out onto a floured surface. Cut dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a ball by cupping your hand and pushing dough against work surface as you roll in a circular motion. Arrange rolls 1 inch apart in a buttered 9- by 2-inch round cake pan and cover with a tea towel. Let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Whisk together remaining egg with water and brush on tops of rolls. (Not all of the egg wash will be used.)

Bake until golden brown for 20 to 25 minutes. Loosen edges of rolls from pan with a sharp knife and invert rolls onto a rack, then reinvert and cool at least 20 minutes. Then serve.

Parmesan Pull-Apart Rolls

Rolls are best the day they’re made, but can be frozen for one month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed for 5 to 10 minutes.

Golden Basmati Rice.

Golden Basmati Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 cups white basmati rice
3 cups water
1 cup diced onion
2 tsp canola or other vegetable oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrots
1 tsp grated orange peel
3/4 tsp salt

Saute the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamom. Cook, stirring constantly for another minute and set aside.

Add the turmeric, cinnamon, and cardamom to the onions

Add onion mixture, carrots, orange peel, and salt to your rice cooker.

Add onion mixture, carrots, orange peel, and salt to your rice cooker.

Jason captures me adding the onions.

Then add your rice and water. And cook as normal.

Then add your rice and water.

Serve with other delicious Indian food.

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary and Thyme

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds small new red potatoes (about 15), scrubbed and dried and quartered
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Wash and then cut each potato into quarters. In a large bowl mix the oil, rosemary, and thyme. Add the potatoes and toss well. Transfer the potatoes to a shallow baking pan and roast until potatoes are tender when tested with the tip of a knife. Takes about 40 minutes. Serve hot.

The original recipe is from the Food Network.

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Serves: 4 to 6 (10 cups)

Ingredients

2/3 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, or cashews)
1 bunch watercress
1 bunch arugula
2 cups spinach
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Belgian endive
2 ripe pears, such as Anjou, Bartlett, or Comice
2 ounces mild blue cheese (about 1/2 cup loosely packed crumbles)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the nuts on a sheet pan in a single layer. Bake, shaking the pan occasionally, until the nuts are toasted and fragrant, about 7 to 10 minutes. Let the nuts cool and then coarsely chop.

Trim the stems of the watercress and arugula. Add spinach to mix. Wash and dry the leaves.

Meanwhile, whisk the vinegar and mustard together in a large salad bowl. Season with salt and some pepper. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth, slightly thick dressing.

Halve the endive lengthwise, cut out core, then thinly slice crosswise and add all the lettuces to the bowl. Quarter and core the unpeeled pears and thinly slice; add to the salad. Scatter the cheese and nuts over the salad, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve immediately with dressing.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Orange-Ginger Dressing

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 medium acorn squash, cut in half and seeded
3 sprays cooking spray
3/4 cup orange juice
2 tbsp ginger root, fresh, minced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 tbsp orange zest

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a roasting pan or baking dish with cooking spray. Place acorn squash, cut side down, on pan and spray outside of squash with cooking spray. Roast until done, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

In a medium sauce pan, combine orange juice, ginger, butter, sugar, and zest. Heat just until butter and sugar melt. Remove from stovetop and stir.

Serve each squash with dressing poured inside. Yields 1 squash half and about 3 tablespoons of dressing per serving.

Baked Sweet Potato and Chile Wedges

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lb. sweet potatoes (5 to 6 large sweet potatoes)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut each unpeeled potato into 1-inch-thick wedges. Place in a large self-sealing plastic bag and toss with oil, sea salt, and pepper. Arrange in two 13″x9″ pans. You can cover them with foil if you want an easier clean up.

In small bowl, combine orange juice, chili powder, and honey. Brush sweet potatoes with some of the mixture, but not all of it. Set mixture aside.

Bake potatoes 25 to 30 minutes or until tender, brushing every 10 minutes with orange juice mixture and shaking pan occasionally.

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 bunch (trimmed) asparagus
Salt and pepper to season
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
4 tsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Arrange the asparagus on a baking sheet. Coat with cooking spray, and season with salt and pepper.

Bake asparagus 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Pour over the baked asparagus and serve immediately.

Honey BBQ Sauce

Note: I didn’t measure anything. Bad me. So please adjust to your taste. Also I only made a tiny bit, which wasn’t really enough for my recipe.

1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp molasses
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder (add more to taste)

Mix all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring it to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.

I then kept it warm for my recipe.

Fried Tofu with Honey BBQ Sauce

1 block tofu cubed
1 cup flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup of the honey bbq sauce from recipe above
Enough oil to fry tofu

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a bowl, mix flour and a pinch of salt. Toss tofu with flour mixture being careful not to break up tofu. Let sit for 5 minutes and give it another toss.

Heat oil in frying pan and carefully add tofu. Cook until golden brown.

Place tofu on oven sheet. Bake tofu for 20 minutes or until crispy.

Toss tofu with bbq sauce and eat.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings, and if I make it again, I’ll cut back on the size since it’s just me and Jason at my house.

The original recipe is from the Foodnetwork’s Giada De Laurentiis

Spicy Parmesan Green Beans, Mushrooms, and Kale

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1/4 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered (about 14 mushrooms)
1 1/2 lbs green beans, trimmed and slice into 1-inch pieces
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup white wine (cooking wine)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bunch kale (1/2 lb) rinsed, stemmed, and roughly chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp finely grated Parmesan

Prepare all the vegetables.

Warm the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent or about 4 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, green beans, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine and continue cooking until the green beans are almost tender or about 5 minutes.

Add the red pepper flakes and the kale and continue cooking until the kale has wilted, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and the Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat and serve immediately.