Spicy Ginger Syrup

Cooks Illustrated published something similar recently. Here's my approximation...

Ingredients
1 C sugar (a heaping cup!)

½ lb fresh ginger root

½ tsp coarse salt

pinch crushed red peper flakes

1 T apple cider vinegar

Directions

Slice the ginger root into rounds (no need to peel it).

Puree everything but the vinegar in a food processor. (A blender works okay too.) Let it rest 5-10 minutes, then process (or blend) it again. Scrape everything into a FINE mesh strainer over a bowl. If you've got cheese cloth, line the strainer first. Let it drain 5-10 minutes, at least. If you used cheesecloth, gather the edges and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If you're working without cheesecloth, use a rubber spatula to press the solids in the strainer to get as much liquid as possible from the solids. Discard the solids. Stir in the vinegar. Refrigerate syrup.

Use the syrup in seltzer to make a non-alcoholic ginger beer. Add a splash to hot spiced cider in the fall, or to fresh made limeade in the summer. Add lime juice and vodka for a Moscow Mule. (Apparently substituting dark rum for the vodka makes a "Dark & Stormy".) Pour a little into orange spice tea. Use a spoonful in marinades and sauces... 

Orange-Maple Dressing on Sweet Potato Salad

This was definitely inspired by the Washington Post's version, here. The critical part is the dressing. The salad itself could have any number of things with the sweet potatoes. Feel free to improvise off my suggestions below...

Dressing Ingredients

2 T orange juice

2 T olive oil

1 T balsamic glaze

1 T fresh ginger, minced to a paste

pinch (generous) nutmeg

pinch salt - to taste

Dressing Directions

Whisk together all ingredients vigorously, to emulsify.

Salad Ingredients

2-3 medium sweet potatoes

2 scallions

½ C dried cranberries

½ C honey roasted peanuts*

1 T chopped fresh parsley

* Pecans would be more traditional with these flavors, but with my tree nut allergies, I always substitue. Pine nuts would be another option; anything...to add a crunch factor.

Salad Directions

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Cook until tender. The Washington Post's recipe indicated boiling; a similar version from Food Network said to steam them. I sautéed mine because I like the bit of caramelization they get that way, though it does add a little more fat. I reduced the olive oil from the original recipe's dresssing; so it works out to be the same overall. Do as you please! Cook them; cool them.

I reconstitued my dried cranberries in some extra orange juice for 20 minutes or so, then drained them; it's not necessary, but I like the extra flavor and juiciness it adds.

Chop the parsley and scallions -- and the nuts, if desired, though they'd be fine whole too if they're peanuts or pine nuts and already quite small.

Toss the scallions, cranberries, nuts and parsley with the dressing. Pour over cooled sweet potatoes and gently stir to coat. Serve chilled.

Sweet Potato Chips and MORE

The basic idea for these came from Food Network magazine - a "Thanksgiving Snack Mix" that called for sweet potato and kettle chips, turkey gravy mix and poultry seasoning, and toasted pecans... 

I borrowed the basic idea. I made my own chips and fried some fresh sage leaves (also in FN's Thanksgiving Snack Mix). I skipped the gravy mix and poultry seasoning -- they'd be fine, I'm sure, but I didn't have either. I did add a smoky African spice mix instead, and some dried cranberries. If I'd had honey roasted peanuts, that would have substituted nicely for the pecans...I'll do that next time around.

This was a deliciously addictive mix for munching!

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's the time of year when you can get pumpkin spiced EVERYTHING! I don't want to overload, but I do like pumpkin ...and sweet potato, and butternut squash...all of which appeal to me even more this time of year.

I tried this one from AllRecipes.com ...with a few alterations. I didn't have gingersnap  cookies on hand, and I have nut allergies, so skipped the pecans (in the crust and as garnish); but I did have graham crackers that needed to get used up, so I made a graham cracker crust and added a bit of candied ginger to it.

I was a little short on cream cheese, but made up the difference with a couple ounces of mascarpone; that shouldn't impact the overall outcome much.

It's good. Not fantastic, but really good. Pumpkin flavor is mild and the cheesecake texture is moist, creamy and firm. Topped mine with a dollop of barely sweetened vanilla whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon-nutmeg.

Pumpkin Spice Fudge

Too early for chocolatey Christmas fudge? It's not too early for a pumpkin fudge!

Ingredients
1¾ C sugar

¾ C pumpkin puree (canned)

2/3 C sweetened condensed milk

½ C maple syrup

3 T butter

1 t salt

½ t ground cinnamon

¼ t ground cloves

¼ t ground nutmeg

4 oz cream cheese

12 oz white 'chocolate' chips

Directions

Lightly coat a 11x7 glass casserole dish (or 8x8 or 9x9 square) with non-stick cooking spray. (I also lined mine with parchment paper, under and up the sides - which made for easier removal.)

In a saucepan, cook sugar, pumpkin, condensed milk and maple syrup over medium heat, stirring frequently until it reaches 240 F. Stir in remaining ingredients until chips are completely melted and ingredients are well blended.

Pour into prepared dish, tilting to spread evenly -- or use a spatula, coated lightly with non-stick spray, to spread evenly. Allow to cool completely to room temperature. Cut into 1" squares.

Cranberry Curd

A holiday twist on lemon curd. Not quite as good as I'd hoped; but not bad and worth making again...making tweaking it in hopes of improving it. I'd like a little less sweetness and a little more acidic cranberry punch.

But...not bad for a holiday flavored bite -- with a little cream cheese on a pumpkin roll!

Cranberry Curd Recipe

Maple-Miso Sweet Potato Glaze

Last month, Bon Appetit published a recipe for Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Lentils. For the most part, it was the glaze that got my attention. I'm a wimp when it comes to spicinesss, and I have a sweet tooth (bring on the maple syrup!), so my version isn't quite the same, but the maple-miso combo with a punch of vinegar and a hint of a kick from pepper flakes...yum!

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes

2 T maple syrup

1 tsp soy

2 tsp white miso

2 tsp sesame oil

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 T rice vinegar

1 T butter

Optional: 1 T thinly sliced scallions to garnish (sesame seeds would be a nice finish, too)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, soy, miso, remaining tsp sesame oil, red pepper flakes and vinegar. Set aside.

Peel sweet potatoes and brush (or rub - I put on gloves and use my hands) with 1 tsp sesame oil. I used a combination of red garnet yam and white sweet potato just for color variety; either works fine. Place on baking sheet and bake 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool until just handle-able. Slice into 1 inch thick pieces.

Melt butter in large sauté pan; sauté sweet potato pieces over medium heat until deeply caramelized on both sides. Reduce heat to low; add maple-miso glaze. Continue to cook until glaze is bubbling; swirling pan or spooning glaze over pieces to coat them evenly. 

Remove to serving dish; drizzle with remaining glaze from pan. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions.

Tuna Steaks with Grape-Caper 'Salsa'

The original recipe for this comes from All Recipes magazine. Below is my variation -- with only minor adjustments in ingredients, and reduced to serve 2. The original directions were for grilling the steaks; I seared my in a sautè pan. Tuna is usually served very rare; my photo hardly shows how pink it is. (This time of year, it's dark so early that my dinner time photos are really NOT great quality -- no natural light whatsoever, and it really makes a difference.)

The grape-caper 'salsa' would be great on other fish as well...even on pork. Or chicken. (You can put just about anything on chicken!)

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

3 T capers, rinsed & drained

1½ T minced shallot

1 T fresh parsley, chopped

2 (6-8 oz) tuna steaks

2 tsp lemon juice

1 C seedless grapes, rough chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil, capers, shallot and parsley. Toss with the grapes; season with salt and pepper.

Brush the tuna steaks with lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.

Preheat a fry pan (cast iron skillet would work great here too; or go for the grill). Add a drizzle of olive oil; sear tuna steaks in HOT pan to form a golden crust on both sides (flip after 2-3 minutes for 1" thick steaks), but still pink in the center.

Top steaks with grape-caper 'salsa. Garnish with lemon wedges.