Cookish: Thanksgiving

Here's a favorite Thanksgiving side dish, introduced to me by one of my college roommates. Who needs marshmallows? This is the best sweet potato casserole you'll ever have.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Filling:
1 40-oz can of sweet potatoes, drained.
1/2 stick butter, softened (original recipe called for 1 stick, but I think it is overkill)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3 eggs, well-beaten
2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon, to taste

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup pecans (I rough-chop mine)
1 stick butter

Mix together filling ingredients (I use a potato masher for this). Spread in a 9 x 13 pan. Combine the topping ingredients with a fork, pastry cutter, or your fingers and sprinkle on top of the casserole. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.

Easy and delicious!

Cookish: What's for dinner?

I wanted these potatoes: http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=26327&Extcode=N1JSPHA00

Om nom nom.

So I made them with little Yukon Golds. To go with them, I cut up some cauliflower and tossed with oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. When the potatoes went back in on the top rack, I put the cauliflower on the bottom rack. When I moved the potatoes to the bottom rack, I moved the top rack down one rung and then roasted for 10 more minutes.

In the meantime, I cut some chicken breasts into nuggets, tossed with salt, pepper, and coated with dijon mustard. Then I coated them with a mixture of bread crumbs, parmesean cheese, and garlic powder. When the potatoes and cauliflower were done, I turned down the oven to 375 and baked the nuggets for 10-15 minutes.

Yum!

Cookish: What's for dinner?

Colcannon

This recipe is adapted from Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cooking School CookbookIB

3 large baking potatoes

1/2 head of cabbage

2 garlic cloves, slightly crushed

1 cup milk*

salt and pepper

butter

Peel potatoes and cut into quarters. Put in a large pot and cover with water. Add some salt. Cover, and while the water is coming to a boil, remove the core from the cabbage and shred thinly. When shredded, add to a steamer basket suspended over the boiling potatoes. If you do not have a steamer set-up like this, you can steam in the microwave in a covered bowl with a very small amount of water. In the meantime, put the milk in a small saucepan with the garlic and warm over medium-low heat. Keep an eye on the cabbage--it will likely be tender before the potatoes are done. When the cabbage is tender, toss with salt, pepper, and butter. When the potatoes are done, drain and mash with the warm milk. Add salt and pepper. Stir in the cabbage and add a little more butter. Yum!

*I only keep skim milk in the house, but I had a small amount of whipping cream, so I mixed the two. Use whatever milk you usually use for mashed potatoes.