The Charmed Kitchen

Orange and Honey Glazed Sweet Potatoes

I will admit it – I am not a fan of really “sweet”, sweet potato dishes. Not unless it is a dessert. I grew up in a “no marshmallows on sweet potatoes”  household, but they were still served “candied”. Sweet potatoes, sometimes canned, cooked in a glaze of brown sugar and butter. It was just what we did.

Then, one year,  I grew my own sweet potatoes. Everything changed after that. I can still remember the joy of digging that first plant up.  There they were, a cluster of beautiful sweet potatoes. I grew a lot of them that first year. I steamed them, baked them, made soup with them. Had them for breakfast more than once.

My Mom was so pleased when I told her I was supplying them for her Thanksgiving dinner that year. I suggested we just cook them with a little butter, salt and pepper. They were so naturally sweet, that they surely, did not need to be candied. Not everyone was so pleased with that choice. Clearly, how to prepare sweet potatoes evokes some of the same passion as how to cook the turkey. So for awhile, there were two competing dishes of sweet potatoes on the Thanksgiving table. As if there weren’t enough dishes to worry about- we now had to have 2 types of sweet potatoes.

I hope this dish might just bridge the gap between the two camps. A little sweet, but not really candied. The orange juice and honey enhance the sweet potatoes nicely. The sugared nuts are a fun addition, too.

Orange and Honey Glazed Sweet Potatoes

4 T. butter
4-5 c. peeled and sliced sweet potatoes
1 c. fresh orange juice
Zest of 2 oranges
¼ c. honey
2 t. hot sauce, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated nutmeg
Sugared nuts- optional* recipe follows

Melt butter in large skillet. Add sweet potatoes and cook over medium heat, for 5- 8 minutes. Potatoes should start to turn a little golden. Add orange juice, honey and seasonings and turn heat down to low. Cook, uncovered,  until potatoes are tender and liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes. If you want more color on the sweet potatoes, turn the heat up a little once they are tender, and liquid is mostly gone. Serve with sugared nuts sprinkled on top, if you like. These can be made a day ahead and reheated.

*http://thecharmedkitchen.com/2015/11/07/sugared-nuts/

Mushroom Dressing and Gravy

Not everyone at the Thanksgiving table will be eating turkey. If you are like me, you have friends and family who are vegetarian. That was the inspiration for this dish. Just because a person doesn’t eat meat does not mean they can’t enjoy the other traditional foods of the holiday. I’m not a fan of “fake meats”, so a simulation of turkey was not what I was going for.  I wanted to make a dish that was normally part of the regular menu, but minus the meat. This is a dish everyone can enjoy together. Thanksgiving is about bringing us together, after all. I used mushrooms as the base for both the dressing and the gravy. The end result is rich and very tasty.

Mushroom Dressing and Gravy – Vegetarian

The Gravy:
3 T. oil
2 onions, diced
1 lb. mushrooms, cleaned and chopped- try to use a couple of different types
¾ c. diced celery
¼ c. chopped parsley
1 t. oregano
½ t. thyme
4 T. flour
2 c. vegetable broth
2 T. balsamic vinegar
Hot sauce to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

In skillet, heat oil and cook onions until golden. Add mushrooms and celery and continue cooking until mushrooms also start to turn golden. Toss in the parsley and herbs. Remove about ¾ of the onion mixture and set aside- it will go in the dressing. In skillet, with the remaining onion mixture, add the flour and stir in. Cook over medium heat for a minute or two. Add the broth and bring to a low boil, stirring often, until thickened and bubbly. Add vinegar and hot sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. You can let it simmer a few minutes longer, if you like it thicker. It cooks down quickly. Makes 2 cups.

The Dressing:

6 c. bread cubes, toasted
Reserved veggies from the gravy
½- 1 cup vegetable broth
2 T. oil
Extra parsley, if desired
Salt and pepper to taste
½ t. crumbled sage, optional

In medium bowl, combine the bread cubes with the veggies and stir to mix well. Pour the broth over the bread cubes, tossing to coat. Use more or less broth, depending on how moist you like the dressing. Drizzle in the oil and season to taste. Place in a casserole dish, cover and bake until heated through- about 30 minutes. Remove cover after 20 minutes if you like a crisper dressing.

Pumpkin Ravioli Soup

After cooking up one of my pumpkins, I was looking for a way to use some of it in a soup. I wasn’t in the mood for a pureed soup, so I decided to use the pumpkin as a filling for ravioli, then just put the ravioli in the soup. I played with the spices and added some butter to the filling, too. It needed that extra bit of fat for flavor. It worked well. I just cooked the ravioli right in the soup, but you could also enjoy them without soup at all. You could just cook them in water. Once they are tender, drain and top with the sauce of your choice. I like brown butter with a little sage, but even a red sauce would be nice with the ravioli. Here is the recipe- for both the ravioli and the soup.

Pumpkin Ravioli Soup

Ravioli:
24 round won ton/dumpling wrappers
Filling:
1 cup cooked pumpkin or winter squash
2 T. softened butter
1 T. chopped parsley
1 t. paprika
1 t. nutmeg
½ t. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of cayenne

Soup:
2 T. oil or butter
2 onions, peeled and sliced
6 c. stock- chicken or veggie
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2-3 c. thinly sliced collard greens
Salt and pepper
Dash of hot sauce
Fresh chopped parsley

Combine ravioli filling. Adjust seasonings. Place a rounded tablespoonful of filling on one of the wrappers. Dampen edges with water and place another wrapper on top. Seal, pressing out as much air as possible. Continue with remaining filling and wrappers- you should have 12 raviolis in all. Set aside while making the soup.
Heat oil or butter in a pot and add the onions. Cook until onions are tender. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add carrots and collards and cook until veggies are tender. Add seasonings and bring soup to a boil. Add the raviolis and let the soup simmer gently until they are cooked- about 4 minutes. Stir a little to keep them from sticking, but gently. They get a lot bigger and are sort of delicate. Transfer gently with a large spoon to soup bowls and ladle over the soup. Serves 4- 6.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

A lot of us want to eat more whole grains, but are unhappy when we try to make 100% whole wheat bread at home. There is a secret to baking whole wheat bread that is both tender and slices easily. Whole wheat flour, high in gluten, also is high in fibers which make it harder to get the gluten to that stretchy state. If you knead whole wheat bread dough for 5- 10 minutes, like white bread dough, you’ll have a dough that is far from elastic. The secret? Knead it longer. I knead my whole wheat bread dough about 20 minutes. That is easy if you have it in a stand mixer. Just set it on low and let the dough hook do the work. Not so easy if you are kneading by hand. When kneading for 20 minutes by hand, more and more flour gets added to the dough, to keep it from sticking. The extra flour results in a heavy dough, and a loaf of  bread that is best used as a door stop.  If you have to knead by hand- knead on a wet surface. The dough won’t stick to your hands or the board and you can knead it long enough to get a properly worked dough. How do you know your dough has been worked long enough? Hold the dough up to light and pull it. It should stretch thin enough so that you can see the light through it, without tearing. Here is one of several recipes I have for 100% whole wheat bread. I love it and I think you will, too.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

2 packets active dry yeast
2 2/3 c. warm water
½ c. oil
½ c. honey, molasses or maple syrup
6 ½ -7 c. whole wheat flour
½ c. non fat dry milk
2½ t. salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir in 3 cups of the flour the dry milk and the salt. Beat with electric mixer for 3 minutes. Stir in enough flour for mixture to form a thick batter and continue mixing on low in mixer for 15-20 minutes. Dough takes time to become elastic. Add extra flour slowly until dough comes away from the sides of the work bowl, but not too soon. Note: if you must do this by hand add flour until dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl and knead with wet hands on wet work surface for 15-20 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly greased bowl and cover, allowing to rise until puffy, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Divide in half and shape each half into a loaf. Place in a lightly greased 9×5 – inch pan. Brush top with oil and place a piece of plastic wrap over the top. Allow to rise until doubled. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Tent with foil after 20 minutes to prevent over browning of the top. Test for doneness by removing bread from pan and thumping on the bottom. Bread should sound hollow. Makes 2.

Chicken in Sherry Cream Sauce

Sometimes my favorite dinners are the ones that happen by accident. I had chicken that I was going to cook for dinner one night last week. I had something in mind, but when I went to get the chicken out of the fridge, it was still a little frozen. I wanted something fast, so I sliced the meat off the bone. I grabbed a skillet and just started cooking. Onions, first, then the chicken. I wanted a sauce…. I had an open bottle of sherry and some half and half that needed to be used. It all came together so well. I love when that happens. Sometimes, the things we don’t plan out too much, work out the best. True in cooking- and in life.

Chicken in Sherry Creamy Sauce

1 T. oil

1 T. butter

1 large onion, sliced

1- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken, sliced about 1/2 -inch thick

salt and pepper

dash of nutmeg

2 T. flour

1/2 c. sherry*- or more- I didn’t measure too carefully

1-2 c. half and half or milk – I know I should be more exact, but it depends on how thick you like your sauce. Start with 1 cup and add more until sauce is thickness you like.

fresh chopped parsley

In large skillet, heat oil and butter and cook onions until golden. Add the chicken to the pan- push onion off a little to the side. Cook until chicken in browned on both sides. This happens fast. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Add flour and stir it into chicken and onions. Add the sherry and simmer a couple of minutes. This will burn off the alcohol and cook the flour. Add one cup of the half and half and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and cook a few more minutes, until sauce is thickened. Add more half and half, if needed. Adjust seasonings and add a little parsley. Serve with some fresh parsley on top, too.  Serve with rice, pasta or potatoes, if you like.

*When cooking with sherry don’t use cooking sherry. Cooking sherry is loading with salt and really awful. In savory dishes, don’t use cream sherry, either. Just pick up a bottle of sherry where they sell wine. Once opened, the bottle can be stored in a cupboard. It keeps for ages.

Turkey Noodle Soup

Certain foods just bring back memories. For me turkey (or chicken) noodle soup will always remind me of my childhood and my Mother. She would have the soup simmering when I got home from school and the whole house smelled so good. She always cooked the noodles separately, so we would spoon some noodles into our bowls and then ladle the hot soup over them.

A big pot of soup almost demands that we share it. I invited a friend and a couple of neighbors to enjoy this soup with me. I think it tasted even better that way.

I made turkey soup this time because I found turkey drumsticks when I cleaned out my freezer. It turned into a 2 day project. I wanted to make stock out of the drumsticks and use the meat in the soup. I started late in the day, so I only got the stock done on day one. I just browned some onions and carrots in a large stock pot then added the turkey to brown a little, too.  I poured water over the meat and veggies and added celery, a parsnip, a few outer cabbage leaves and let the stock simmer away for several hours.  I had half a cup of tomato sauce left over from something else and added that, too. Also tossed in a bay leaf, some parsley and basil. I added salt and pepper later on. Once it had cooked for a number of hours I let it cool a little and strained it out. I let the stock cool down a little more and then stuck it in the fridge. I put the turkey drums in the fridge and discarded the veggies- OK I ate the carrots!

On day two, I made the soup. I skimmed the fat off the stock and cut the turkey meat off the bones. I also cooked up the noodles. Here is the way I did it.

 Turkey Noodle Soup

Oil*
2 onions, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 ribs celery, sliced
4 qts. Turkey stock
4-5 c. turkey meat, cubed
1 c. chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Hot pepper sauce to taste
1 lb. wide egg noodles, cooked

Heat oil in soup pot and cook onions until starting to brown. Add carrots and celery and cook a few minutes more. Add stock and meat and simmer, covered, until veggies are tender. Add parsley and simmer 15 minutes longer. Adjust seasonings. Warm noodles and serve on the side so everyone can add as many noodles to their soup as they like. Serves 8.
* Since I had freshly made stock I used a little fat from the stock to cook the onions.

Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes

Parsnips- not just for soup anymore. If you only use parsnips in savory dishes, you might be surprised to see them used in a dessert. Truth is, parsnips are similar in flavor to carrots. Since carrots are used in cake quite successfully, why not parsnips?  While not exactly the same in flavor, think of parsnips as white carrots. Combined in a spiced batter they make wonderful cupcakes. Good any time of the year, they seem especially nice for a fall dessert.

  Spiced Parsnip Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 T. ground ginger

1 T. cinnamon

2 t. baking powder

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. allspice

1 t. salt

1/2 t. cloves

3 eggs

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. milk or half and half

2 t. vanilla

2 c. packed peeled and shredded fresh parsnips, 2-3 large

1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional plus extra for topping, optional

1 recipe cream cheese frosting- see below

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake pans with paper liners- or grease lightly. Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. In smaller bowl combine eggs, oil, milk and vanilla and mix well. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Stir in parsnips and nuts, if adding. Spoon batter into the prepared pans, filling half-full. Bake for 15 minutes – or until toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Cool and frost. Sprinkle with fine chopped nuts, if you like. Makes 24.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 0z. (1 stick) butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Beat all ingredients together until fluffy. Frost cupcakes and chill until ready to eat.

Cinnamon Sticky Buns

What could be better than a warm sticky bun?  These are even better with the addition of plenty of nuts and cinnamon. I like this recipe because they are rich, soft and not too sweet. The rolls are full of brown sugar, butter and cinnamon and topped with a lovely later of soft caramel. They aren’t hard to make, although they look tricky. While the recipe makes 12 rolls you can cut them bigger, or smaller, to suit your needs.

 Cinnamon Sticky Buns

Dough:
1/3 c. milk
¼ c. sugar
½ t. salt
¼ c. butter
¼ c. warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 egg
2 ½ c. flour
Topping:
¼ c. butter, softened
¼ c. brown sugar
½ c. pecan or walnut halves – I use a little more, maybe 2/3 cup
Filling:
¼ c. soft butter
½ c. brown sugar
½ c. raisins, optional
1 t. cinnamon

In small pan heat milk until bubbles just form around edges. Remove from heat; stir in sugar, salt and butter. Allow to cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water in medium bowl and stir in milk mixture, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix by hand until dough leaves sides of the bowl. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour if needed. Lightly oil dough in bowl and cover with a towel allowing to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1 ½ hours. Meanwhile, make topping. Cream together butter and brown sugar and spread on bottom and sides of 9×9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with nuts and set aside.
Punch down dough and roll into a 16×12- inch rectangle. Spread with the softened butter, sprinkle on the brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. Roll up from long side. Cut crosswise into 12 pieces. Hint: Using a knife tends to flatten the rolls. Instead use a piece of thread, string or even dental floss. Slide piece of string under dough where you wish to slice. Holding string ends above roll cross the ends over each other and pull outward. String will cut through easily. Repeat with remaining rolls. Place in prepared pan and cover with cloth, allowing to rise until doubled, 1- 1 ½ hours.
Bake 25-30 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Invert onto board and let stand 1 minute. Remove pan. Serve warm. Makes 12.

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Herbs

I like sweet potatoes cooked any number of ways. Steamed, roasted, mashed. In this biscuit recipe, raw sweet potatoes are grated and added to the dough, along with some herbs. The biscuits come out tender, with great flavor and texture. They go well with any number of dishes. I enjoy them with a bit of butter, warm from the oven.  When you mix the dough, don’t be worried if it seems too dry. It takes a little bit of kneading to get the moisture out of the potatoes. The extra effort is worth it.

 Sweet Potato Biscuits with Herbs

2 1/4 c. flour

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. grated lemon peel

1/4 t. each baking soda, dried basil and dried thyme

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 c. shredded sweet potato, about 1 large

1/2 c. fine chopped green onions

1/2 c. sour cream

2T. butter, melted or olive oil

Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients and add to flour mixture mixing until just blended. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead a few times until dough just stays together. Dough will look too dry- but it will come together after you knead it. Press into an 8-inch square and cut into four squares.* Cross cut each square into four triangles. Place on greased baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Makes 16.

* I press the dough into a lightly floured 8×8-inch baking pan and then flip it out onto the work surface. That way you’ll get nice, even edges.