Homemade Sweet Potato Chips

I've never been a huge potato chip fan, but I do love sweet potato chips. This simple, healthy, three-ingredient recipe calls for baking, not frying. The trick here is low and slow.

Using a knife or mandolin, slice a sweet potato as thinly as possible. Toss the sliced sweet potatoes with a scant tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle them with coarse salt and arrange them on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast at 250°for 2 hours. Flip the chips halfway through. I served mine with garlic aioli.

I'm looking forward to making more homemade chips...beets, parsnips, carrots...

Homemade English Muffins

Weekend mornings are meant for extra-special breakfasts. In our house, we love English muffins topped with eggs — my preference is poached.

I recently came across a recipe for homemade English muffins and could not wait to try it.

The recipe requires the dough to rest for 8 to 16 hours, so finding the time was a little challenging. I'm glad I found the time.

The recipe calls for just a few ingredients: milk, whole wheat and white bread flour, instant yeast, butter, honey and salt.

After the dough sits overnight, simply roll it out and stamp it into biscuit-sized circles. I used an egg ring so our muffins would be the exactly egg sandwich-sized.

 

The English muffins are griddle cooked then finished in the oven. Once they cool for a few minutes they are ready to be fork split.

 

 

We enjoyed our English muffins with perfectly poached eggs, a side of bacon and a soy latte, of course.

 

 

Mangia! Italian-Theme Dinner Party

Sharing good food with good friends is one of the greatest pleasures in life. At least that’s how my husband and I have always felt. I get giddy just planning a dinner party—from choosing a theme to shopping for food.

We’ve hosted some complex dinner parties over the years:

• Indian—lamb vindaloo, dal and homemade naan
• Jewish—brisket, latkes and matzoh ball soup
• German—schnitzel, spätzle and red cabbage
• Japanese—assorted maki rolls

This time we wanted to keep the entire meal simple and flavourful. On this chilly February night, dear friends are joining us for an Italian-theme dinner.

We’re starting with antipasto: salumi, Piave and Taleggio cheeses, homemade white bean dip, bruschetta and olives.

I’ve received many requests for my white bean dip, and I’ve made it countless ways. At its simplest form, the ingredients include canned, rinsed Great Northern beans (or cannellini), good-quality extra virgin olive oil, garlic (I often cheat and use roasted garlic from the olive bar at the market), salt and pepper, all of which are tossed into the food processor and whirled into a smooth consistency. I’ve added Greek yogurt for protein and heft I’ve also thinned the dip with water or pesto. I’ve also made variations by adding different herbs—basil, thyme, rosemary, sage. Experiment and you will find the right consistency and flavour.

I’ve already written about my pizza obsession. Tonight we’re serving two: Red pie with mixed mushroom and thyme and pesto pie with sweet Italian sausage, sunndried tomatoes and homemade ricotta.

With a food processor or blender, homemade pesto can be prepared in minutes. Simply whirl together fresh basil, garlic, Pecorino and/or Romano cheese, good-quality extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

We’ll accompany dinner with a simple salad and round it out with plenty of red wine and beers. At the end? Chocolate truffles, fresh raspberries, full bellies, laugher…and plans for the next dinner party.

Asparagus Soup with Lemon & Romano Cheese

Last week we finally made our Hanukkah dinner: homemade latkes, baked salmon and roasted asparagus. I always feel so wasteful scraping the woody ends of the asparagus spears into the compost bin. This time—as our dinner guest was witness—I scraped them all into a bag, tossed them into the fridge and vowed I would make soup within a week.

I kept my promise and made an incredibly simple, incredibly delicious asparagus soup in less than 30 minutes. You can too. Here’s how:

Sauté a large shallot in a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a half tablespoon of butter until soft. Add asparagus stems (cut or peel the toughest woody end) and a handful of fresh herbs (I used rosemary and thyme) and sauté a few more minutes until the asparagus softens. (Note: I ended up buying a few extra spears of asparagus. I added some tips and pieces to the soup and saved just a few tips for garnish.) Add 3 cups of broth (I used chicken), bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Carefully ladle the soup into a blender and puree to desired thickness. Return soup to pot, add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice and season to taste.

Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and float a few blanched asparagus tips on top. I think crispy homemade bacon bits would also be a delightful garnish. Thankfully, I have plenty of leftovers.

I love that this soup is low in fat and doesn’t call for heavy cream or any dairy, other than the optional grated cheese and a little butter, both of which could be easily omitted. With those adjustments, a vegan or vegetarian version would be a simple modification—just use veggie broth.

In the Kitchen with Naan

The smell of Indian food is intoxicating. It’s one of my favorite things my husband prepares. Last night he made dahl and chicken kebabs. I made cucumber raita and—inspired by our new countertop pizza oven—I also made naan from scratch.

I made the naan dough with a mixture of bread flour (to which I added some whole wheat pastry flour), milk, yogurt, egg, salt and yeast. I used our standing mixer with the dough hook attachment to knead the dough and then let the dough rise in front of the fireplace for an hour or so.

Once the dough had doubled in size I cut portions and rolled them out on a floured surface. I brushed the naan with a little butter and then into the pizza oven they went. I turned the naan every few minutes until both sides were crispy. Simple, fast and delicious. I won’t purchase store-bought naan again.

Revision note: I plan to make my next batch of naan with more whole wheat flour and roll the dough much thinner.

Corn Chowder – By Request

 

I have a confession: Chowders kind of overwhelm me. Sure, they can be delicious, comforting and hearty. But that’s just it. They’re usually too filling, heavy and high in fat.

Not this chowder. Two servings included only 1 cup of low-fat milk and just enough oil to sauté some vegetables. We never missed the taste of heavy cream or butter. Here's how I did it.*

Warm about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot then sauté a chopped onion until translucent, stirring frequently. Add one stalk of diced celery and about a cup of diced potatoes (I used a combination of yellow and red fingerlings, which is what I had on hand). Season with thyme, salt and pepper and sauté until potatoes and celery are slightly softened, stirring frequently.

Add 2 cups of corn (I used frozen, fire-roasted) a bay leaf and 1.5 cups of stock (I used chicken, but you could use vegetable stock). Cover the soup pot and simmer gently until potatoes and celery are soft (15 to 20 minutes).

Remove the bay leaf and carefully ladle about 1 cup of the soup into a blender. Add 1 cup of low-fat milk and puree until smooth. Add the pureed mixture back into the soup pot and heat through, stirring to combine. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

I served the chowder topped with chopped dill, chives and crumbled bacon.

*Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.

 

 

 

Origami Dinner

October kicks off soup season in our house. Last night we made a simple  dinner with store-bought wonton wrappers and a quick homemade soup stock.

Wontons can be filled with anything from shrimp to tofu to a variety of vegetables. We used a mixture of porcini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms. We also added ground pork, carrots and shallots. All ingredients should be finely minced and well combined.

We did not add much seasoning to the wonton mixture since we planned to use them in a well-seasoned broth (and my husband would be adding plenty of sriracha sauce).

The instructions on the wonton package were easy to follow. Lay out your wontons and add about 1 teaspoon of filling to each:

 Use egg white or water to brush the edges of each wonton...

...then fold diagonally. (Be careful the filling remains sealed in the wonton. If the wonton tears or the filling is bursting through the seam, the wonton will not stay intact when it is boiling.)

Once the wontons are folded, bring the corners together then overlap one corner and brush with egg wash or water to seal.

Meanwhile, simmer soup stock of your choice (homemade, veggie, chicken, etc.). We used chicken stock and added some thinly sliced carrots, celery, and shallots. Season the broth with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, ginger and a good grinding of Szechuan peppercorns.

For extra protein and texture we added an egg to the broth. Beat the egg lightly then add to the broth in a thin stream—the result will be more of an egg-drop soup.

While the soup is simmering, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the wontons and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the wontons. Place them in a bowl and cover with broth. We served ours scattered with sliced scallions—delicious!