Baton Rouge Sweet Potato Casserole

I'm sure everyone west of the Mississippi has a sweet potato casserole recipe, but this one is my favorite.  It comes from my mother's family in Baton Rouge. This is the original recipe below, with my comments added in blue.  

8 med. sweet potatoes

1 stick butter (I use the Earth Balance buttery sticks)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I use evaporated cane juice)

2 eggs (E-n-rge egg replacer works well too)

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 to 1 cup pecans ( 1 cup is too much for me), pre-roasted for 3-5 min.

Peel and boil sweet potatoes until soft. Use a mixer to blend cooked sweet potatoes, butter and sugars. Add 2 eggs and mix well. Add Vanilla and mix. Add pecans.

Spoon into buttered casserole dish. (It can be frozen at this point). (This is classic my mom and aunt--giving directions for freezing.  I guess this is why they never seemed stressed at the holidays!)

The day of the event, bake thawed casserole for 30 min on 350 degrees. Prior to serving put large marshmallows on top and bake until soft and browned on 400 degrees.

Infused tequila and vodka (yeep!)

Back in March I spent a few days in the wonderful city of San Antonio.  I love that city, and man do they love their food.  While there, I learned how to make infused spirits from the good folks at The Fruteria.  Although I am still working out the spirits-to-mixers ratio, I thought I would share what I've learned so far, so that you can get a jump on your summer cocktail planning.

Alcohol: Vodka or tequila, a full bottle.  Now, I was afraid to use the super cheap stuff, so I went mid-range and chose Sky Vodka and Sauza Silver Tequila.  Sky has a simple clean flavor, and I've always trusted Sauza.

Fruit: You can use any fruit combination you want, or single fruits.  Following the recommendations from The Fruteria and my own concoctions so far, here's a few to start you off with:

• 1 pint strawberries/ 2 bananas/ 2 cinnamon sticks (tequila)
• 1/2 pint strawberries/4 plums (vodka or tequila)
• 1 english cucumber (vodka)
• 1/2 cantaloupe/ 1/2 honeydew melon (tequila)

(I've got a lemon infused vodka infusing away in my kitchen right now.  I'll let you know how it turns out)
Make sure your fruit is washed, scrubbed, chopped, and peeled/pitted/stems removed.  Also, you will need a large jar (I use a 1/2 gallon mason jar) that has either been run through the dishwasher or sanitized with boiling water.  Put your fruit in the jar, then fill it up with the alcohol--making sure you add enough alcohol to completely cover the fruit so it's swimming around a bit.  Some will float to the top, but that's ok.  Put a tight fitting lid on the jar, and put it in a corner in the kitchen--away from heat or kids.

After 4-5 days, strain the liquid into another jar and discard the fruit.  Well, you could eat the fruit, but just be sure you are staying in for the night and don't have to drive or do anything responsible.
At this point, you can repeat the whole process and let steep for another 4-5 days if you want the alcohol to have a nice strong flavor.  I usually am too lazy to do that, so my alcohol has a light flavor.  It will keep beautifully in the fridge for a long time.

You really need to put some thought into the drink you are going to mix with this stuff.  The Fruteria told me they only use fresh squeezed fruit juices, tons of ice, and NO syrups, added sugars, or anything artificial.  I think they are right, it would ruin the flavor.  Usually, you can just fill a margarita glass with a lot of ice, squeeze a few oranges and a lime or 2 in, and then add your shot.  If you have a juicer, fresh pineapple juice adds a nice balance to the orange and lime.

For the cucumber vodka--mix it with seltzer water, fresh mint leaves, and a small squeeze of lime.
I think when my lemon vodka is done, I am either going to mix it with pineapple juice, or break some rules: seltzer and (gasp!) raw agave nectar.

Uncle Jim's Olive Tapenade

For my daughter's 4th birthday this year, I kept the menu simple by just putting out tons of amazing breads and spreads.  One of the biggest hits was Uncle Jim's olive tapenade.  He made it when we were in NYC a few weeks ago, and I was so excited to learn that this was a homemade item (as they are expensive to buy already prepared).

Here is the super simple recipe:
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I just used one clove)
1 Tablespoon drained capers

Zip them up in the food processor.  While it's going, drizzle in about 2 TB olive oil (the original recipe called for 1/4 cup!  but Jim says he never uses that much) and 1 TB fresh parsley.
That's it!!
This needs to be served at room temp. 
I made a double batch, and it kept nicely in the fridge for a few days.

Easy and Yummy Chocolate Cake

It's too expensive to buy a cake for the kids' birthday parties! After several cake-recipe disasters over the past year, I have finally found a great recipe that is delicious. I got this easy cake recipe off of cocoaweb.net

Ingredients:
1 + 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup soy milk + more for thinning batter
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs (or Ener-G egg replacer)

Mix the 1st 5 ingredients in a bowl. Slowly add the rest as you are mixing. If batter is too thick, keep adding more milk (while you are mixing) till the batter is thinner, but not runny.

Bake at 350* for 35-45 minutes

This recipe makes 1, 8-9" layer. Double as needed.

I do NOT like the frosting recipe on the cocoaweb.net website, so I asked a woman I work with if she had a good vegan recipe. Turns out she did, and here it is:

Debbie's Chocolate Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup soy/almond/etc milk (+ more to thin out)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup earth balance or the equivalent softened
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (adjust for lighter/darker frosting and flavor)

Mix everthing together with a mixer. Loosen up by adding more milk till you get a spreadable consistancy.

Stacey's Famous Brined Turkey

My sister Stacey makes the best turkey for Thanksgiving. She has brined her turkeys for years, and has changed the original recipe she followed over the years to make it her own.
If you can get your hands on a local free-range turkey it will be even better. Remember that good all natural turkeys do not have over-inflated balloon breasts, they way commercial turkeys do. If you've never had a free-range turkey, you may be a bit shocked at how different he looks, but remember--this is the way he was meant to be. A well cared-for animal produces a higher quality of meat.

This recipe is great because it is very simple (although it does require some pre-planning). It is easy to make while you are running around (like a chicken with it's head cut off, har-har) doing all the other 5 million things you need to do when preparing a holiday meal. We buy our turkeys the day after Thanksgiving when they go on sale and throw them in the deep freezer. You may be sick of turkey right now, but come Feb. or March, that turkey in the freezer is going to look pretty darn good.
I'll shut up already and just give you the recipe.

4 cups (just under 1 box of Morton's) Kosher salt
2-4 gallons cold water
A big tub, plastic pail, or cooler that will hold your turkey
Ice (if you live somewhere that is not cold)
Carrots, celery, and onion
1 bunch fresh thyme (or 1 T. dried)
Butter
salt & pepper.

You've got to brine your bird the day before you cook it, so plan ahead. Take your 4 cups kosher salt and pour it into your bucket/pail/cooler. Add 2-4 gallons water, and stir till salt is dissolved. Now, before you add your turkey, make sure you've removed the neck and giblets, and all the other stuff that might be stuffed into him. Throw him in the brine, making sure the cavity fills up with water. He will float, so you might want to throw a plate on top of him to keep him submerged a bit.
Now, I just cover it and throw the bucket-o-turkey outside on my porch and let him brine for 6-8 hours. Where I live it is about 33 degress, so it's no problem. If you are somewhere that is above 41 degrees, you are going to want to throw a bag of ice on top of your bird. Keep the ice in the bag, just throw it on the bird to keep him and the brine cold. After he's had a good 6-8 hour soak, take him out and pat him dry. Put him in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. (I just cut open a paper grocery bag, line it w/ paper towels, and put him on that)
Cooking Day:
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Throw a bunch of carrots, celery, and onion all around the bottom of a roasting pan, covering the bottom of the pan entirely so that your bird will sit on top of the veggies. Add the thyme. Melt about 3-5 Tablespoons butter, and brush it all over your turkey, top and bottom. Then go back and sprinkle him with salt and pepper. You can tie up his legs or whatever here. Add 2 cups of water to the veggies in the pan. Put your bird on the veggies BREAST SIDE DOWN. That's right, BREAST SIDE DOWN. Fear not.
You're going to cook him at 425 degrees for one hour. Take him out, flip him right side up, and reduce the heat to 325. Put him back in and cook till a meat thermometer reads 175 degrees in the thickest part of the bird. This can take anywhere from 1 hour (a 10 lb bird) to 3-4 more hours (giant bird). It is very hard to overcook this bird because the brining process locks in the moisture.
Use the pan juices and fat to make your gravy after removing the veggies.
YUM!!!!

Mom's Pumpkin Bread

Sure, there are a million recipes out there for pumpkin bread, but none of them are as good as my mom's. I like to make this to give to my neighbors for X-mas. It's fun to put the loaves in the wagon and walk around the neighborhood with Noah passing them out. They freeze beautifully! You can get nice holiday-themed disposable loaf pans at most grocery stores (or Target) this time of year. Make all your loaves in one day, then freeze till you plan on delivering to save time. It's not a bad idea to bake a few extra, just in case you get invited to a last minute party or something (you social butterfly, you...)

Making this (and any baked good) with local pastured eggs makes the flavor even better. :)

Pumpkin Bread (a la Betty)
4 c. sugar (1/2 brown, 1/2 white)
1 c. vegetable or canola oil
1 can (1 lb. 13oz) pumpkin
1 egg
5 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. allspice
2 tsp. salt
1 c. raisins
2 c. nuts (optional) [walnuts are best!]

In a large mixing bowl, mix ingredients in order as given. Stir in raisins and nuts by hand last.
Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center is clean. Makes 3 loaves. (cut in 1/2 for one generous loaf or 2 small)

pumpkin loaf + eggnog + rum = yum!

Howard Family Holiday Candy

Every year my mother-in-law makes something she calls "Christmas Candy." When she says these words, my husband and his sister start bouncing around like kids on Xmas morning. Christmas candy is simple to make, and it's great to take with you to holiday parties or dinners.

And don't forget that homemade gifts cost you less and can be made in big batches.

You probably have all the ingredients already in your pantry, which makes it even easier. If you can get yourself some local pastured butter it will add a rich flavor to this already yummy treat.

So, here we go:

Grease a baking sheet and stick it in the freezer.

1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)

1 cup sugar or evaporated cane juice

1/4 cup water

Cook together in a pot over medium heat until temp reaches 285 on a candy thermometer. I recommend stirring pretty constantly with a silicon spatula while it cooks.

Ok, when it reaches 285, you've got to be ready to work fast!

Stir in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans or almonds), and pour out on the center of the baking sheet. The candy will be a thick liquid, and will have changed to a light caramel color. Don't worry about pouring it evenly or in a perfect square or anything--just don't let it drip over the edges of the baking sheet!

Throw the baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours, or overnight if you can.

When the candy is set, you move on to the last step:

Take a 1 lb bag of chocolate chips (I like 365 brand, of course, and only $1.99) and melt 1/2 of them over low heat. You don't want to turn your heat on too high, because they will burn the bottom of the pan. When they are melted, you pour it over the top of the set candy. Spread around evenly, and throw back into the freezer till set. Take it out, turn it over, melt the remaining chips and repeat.

Break up the candy in rustic, uneven pieces, throw it in a holiday tin and give it away as a hostess gift...or just eat it all while you watched TiVo'd General Hospital after the kids have gone to bed.

Simple. Yummy. Finished!