Maple-Whipped Sweet Potatoes

You have enough to think about on Thanksgiving and sweet potatoes shouldn't be one of them. Adapted from, An American Place, this simple preparation demonstrates how good they can be with just a bit of butter, sour cream, and maple syrup.
Bake four large sweet potatoes until soft before scooping the pulp into a bowl along with a tablespoon of melted butter and two tablespoons each of sour cream and maple syrup. Mash and beat until smooth, salt and pepper to taste, then transfer to a baking dish for reheating before serving.
This dish can be prepared a day ahead of time as well so you have more time to make sure your green beans are crisp and your Turkey isn’t overcooked. And depending on your tastes you could easily jazz things up with some fresh ginger, cardamom, or hot sauce. Happy Thanksgiving!

Blackened Cod

With Thanksgiving a week away I’m thinking light and easy, and blackened cod fits the bill on both of those counts. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet your heaviest frying pan will do, regardless, the key is to get it real hot.

While you’re heating your pan combine enough of the following spices in a small bowl to completely cover your filets: paprika, granulated onion, granulated garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chipotle or regular chili powder, oregano, thyme, and salt. No need to worry about exact quantities but use less oregano and thyme than the other spices and just a little bit of salt.

Lightly salt both sides of the fish before covering both sides with your spice mixture then fry in a couple tablespoons of butter and olive oil. Four minutes per side should be enough to get them good and black as well as cooked through. Serve with lemon.

Kimchi Rice

If you don't eat lots of kimchi you should, not only does it make everything taste special but it's also really good for you. For this dish start by making half a cup of rice and once fully cooked set aside to cool, last night’s rice would be even better. Next, splash some oil into a large frying pan then sauté a sliced shallot and some minced garlic until translucent before adding a third to a half bottle of kimchi. 

Continue to sauté over medium heat until everything begins to brown. Ten minutes before you’re ready to serve add the rice to the hot pan and stir everything together with a little bit of soy sauce and sriracha to taste. I recommend serving with a piece of red meat...so good!

Covered Eggs

It’s a great time of year for brunch and there’s never a hesitation about my eggs when I go out, it’s always over easy. But they don’t always work out for me at home, turning out four pairs of over easy eggs simultaneously just isn’t that easy with just two pans, and even if it’s just me I still end up breaking a yolk half the time. I asked a professional breakfast cook about it and she said it’s all about having the right pans in perfect condition.

Since that’s not a reality I’ve resorted to the next best thing, covering my eggs. Add a little bit of oil or butter to a Teflon pan and heat on medium for a couple of minutes. Break two eggs into a small bowl then gently slide them into the pan and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Within a few minutes your eggs will be perfect, and depending on the size of your pan you can cook two or three pairs of eggs all at once. No need to ruin your Sunday morning with a broken yolk any longer.

Curried Squash Soup

It’s a great night to go orange and your local farm stands still has a lot of squash to choose from for this tasty curry soup. Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large soup pot before adding two peeled and chopped squash, a chopped onion, and some freshly ground black pepper.

After ten minutes add about six cups of chicken stock or enough to cover your squash, as well as a couple of heaping teaspoons of Thai red curry paste. Bring to a boil, add a can of coconut milk and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add salt and Sriracha to taste in addition to more curry paste if needed. Puree with a stick blender or food processor, if it’s too thick you can always thin it out with some more chicken stock. Serve topped with crispy spiders.

Couscous with Pistachios and Mint

It doesn't get any easier than couscous and the last of the mint from the garden along with some nearly stale pistachios made for the perfect last minute side dish.

The hardest thing about cooking couscous is measuring; it’s a cup and a half of water for each cup of couscous. Add the water and a tablespoon of butter or oil to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then remove from the heat, stir in the couscous along with a half a teaspoon of salt, cover, and let sit for at least ten minutes. That’s it.

At this point I stirred in a quarter cup of chopped pistachios, mint, and the juice of half a lime. However the possibilities are endless; herbs, dates, apricots, raisins, olives, pine nuts, fennel, and lemon come immediately to mind. And probably lots more possibilities lingering in the back corners of your fridge or pantry…you just need to have the couscous on hand.

Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions

Here’s a great one for the world series regardless of your team, Italian sausage with peppers and onions. Heat up a bit of olive oil in a large non-stick pan while slicing half an onion and green pepper for each sausage you’ll be making. Sauté over medium heat with salt, black pepper, and a pinch of chili flakes for at least thirty minutes while stirring frequently. Add a couple of minced garlic cloves ten minutes before serving.

In the end your onions and peppers should be very soft and brown around the edges. There are no shortcuts, better to start early and leave them on a low heat to ensure perfection. Grill or fry your sausages until cooked through and serve. Bun is optional…cold beer is not.

Caramelized Cauliflower Steaks

This preparation is so easy and adaptable it has instantly become part of my veggie repertoire. From a head of cauliflower cut away the green outer leaves and cut into half inch slices, don’t worry if some of the end pieces break apart. Place in a large straight sided pan and add a quarter inch of water, a tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon of cumin powder, three tablespoons of butter or olive oil, the juice from half a lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.

Cook over high heat for about fifteen minutes or until the water evaporates, once the cauliflower is browned flip and turn the heat down to medium low and brown the other side. Instead of cumin powder you could substitute smoked paprika, garlic powder, chili flakes, ground ginger, or five spice powder depending on what else you’re cooking. You could even top it with grated parmesan cheese. Have fun with it!

Maple Glazed Root Vegetables

There are lots of root vegetables at the farmer’s market these days and this preparation adapted from a David Chang recipe is a fantastic combination of salt and sweet. While you’re preheating your oven to 375 cut approximately two pounds combined of parsnips, carrots, and potatoes into ¾ inch chunks. Add them to some hot oil in a large ovenproof skillet and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. 

Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Return them to the stove top and add a ¼ cup each of soy sauce and maple syrup and leave on medium heat until the sauce becomes syrupy, approximately ten minutes. Before serving stir in a couple of chopped scallions, a few drops of sesame oil, and a tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Stewed Squid and Potatoes

For me cooking dinner is a lot like golf, most shots are okay but every once in a while you really nail one…and I hit the sweet spot with this squid stew. In a large pot sauté a chopped shallot in some olive oil until translucent before adding the zest of a quarter of a lemon, a quarter teaspoon of dried chili flakes, and at least three minced garlic cloves.

While that’s cooking cube six small red potatoes, finely chop a half a bunch of parsley, and open a 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes. Next, slice a pound of squid into half inch pieces and add to the pot followed by the potatoes, tomatoes, and a bottle of clam juice then simmer for 45 minutes. Add the parsley fifteen minutes before serving along with a great piece of bread.

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan is such a satisfying combination of flavors and textures, and this time of year it provides a great excuse to turn on your oven. Preheat your oven to 400 while heating about an 1/8 of an inch of olive oil in a large frying pan. Next, pound your boneless chicken breasts or tenders between a couple of sheets of saran to a ¼ inch thickness then liberally salt and pepper.

For the breading add a cup of flour, three lightly beaten eggs with a splash of milk, and two cups of breadcrumbs or panko to three separate bowls. When your oil is hot individually dredge each piece of chicken in the flour, egg and breadcrumb mixtures in that order and fry on each side until golden, about three or four minutes. Lay them all out in a large baking dish and top with tomato sauce and sliced mozzarella and bake at 350 for fifteen minutes. Serve with pasta, in this case I did an orzo with basil pesto.

Bread with Tomatoes

If it’s this easy to achieve food bliss why try any harder? But if you’re going to get there you can’t skimp on the ingredients: Local tomatoes, local artisan bread, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and flaky Maldon salt.

It’s important not to slice your bread too thick, right around a 1/4 inch, then toast on medium. Your tomatoes should be sliced even thinner, about an 1/8th of an inch. Once out of the toaster drizzle your bread with olive oil then cut a garlic clove in half and rub each slice with the exposed side of the clove…like an eraser on a chalk board.

After that simply lay on your sliced tomatoes, squish them gently into the bread with the flat side of a chef’s knife, and sprinkle liberally with flaky salt. Chew slowly, they’re only going to be available for a couple more weeks.