Mustard-Glazed Chicken with Roasted Root Vegetables

Cooking Light published this recipe (back in March of 2015). I've used the basic idea for inspiration before, and did again just recently. BOTH times, I've completely forgotten to take a photo. (The one at right was published with the original recipe in Cooking Light; I'll TRY to remember and take one of my own next time I make something along these lines!)

I've no complaints about the original recipe as it is except...  It's one of their "cook once, eat three times" features and starts off with 3 pounds of butternut squash and then adds carrots, parsnips, onions and sweet potatoes on top of that. As a single person, I'd be eating for not three meals, but three months!!

But...

I diced (large dice) ONE sweet potato, ONE small onion, and ONE parsnip; toss them in a tablespoon or two of olive oil with some salt & pepper (I used cayenne, not black pepper) and a generous sprinkling of minced rosemary. Spread on a baking sheet, they went into a hot (425° F) oven for about 40 minutes, turning them once half way through.

While they were roasting, I seasoned two chicken thighs with salt & pepper (cayenne again for me), and sautéed them over medium heat until golden brown and cooked through (4-5 minutes per side). Remove them aside -- onto a plate -- and cover them with foil to keep them warm. Add about a ¼ cup chicken stock and a splash of white wine (or just more stock) and deglaze the pan. Then add a teaspoon or two of whole-grain mustard, a teaspoon of honey, and simmer to reduce and thicken it just a bit.

Pour this over the roasted, diced vegetables and the chicken. Season with additional salt & pepper if needed.

With these amounts, I had two generous meals (not weeks or months worth).

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!

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.

Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds - Appetizer

There are a lot of variations of this appetizer posted online -- topped, most soften, with goat cheese and any number of different things: cranberries (dried or fresh), diced apple, minced shallot, thyme, basil, candied walnuts or pecans, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts... And then drizzled with: honey, maple syrup, balsamic glaze, olive oil (mixed with a  little lemon or blood orange or cranberry or pomegrante juce) with herbs or spices like smoked paprika, thyme, rosemary, basil... You get the idea. It's pretty adaptable!

Here's the basic idea:

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes - long and thin works best

3 T olive oil - flavor infused oils could work here!

½ t salt

¼ t pepper

½ t smoked paprika

2 t lemon zest

1 T honey (or maple syrup)

5 oz chevre (soft goat cheese)*

1/3 C dried cranberries (or other chopped fruit)

1/3 C chopped candied pecans**

2 T fresh chopped basil leaves (sage, thyme, rosemary...others could also work here)

optional: balsamic glaze

* You can buy a pre-seasoned chevre with herbs, or one pre-sweetened with honey; or you can go basic and add your own flavorings in the toppings.

** I skipped the pecans -- I have nut allergies. But if I made these again (WHEN I make these again!) I think I'd throw something else in to add a crunchy, textural element. Honey roasted peanuts would be a nut alternative I CAN have; pumpkin or sunflower seeds would work. Crumbles of crisp bacon would be delicious!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°.

In a small bowl combine 2 T olive oil with salt and pepper. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into ½" thick rounds. Toss the rounds in olive oil, s&p; place them on a baking sheet in a single layer, slightly spaced apart.

Roast the sweet potatoes about 20 minutes, turning half way through, until golden and browning around the edges. While they are roasting, add remaining tablespoon of olive oil to small bowl of olive oil, s&p. Stir in smoked paprika and lemon zest (or other spice/flavorings).

Transfer sweet potato rounds to a serving platter. Top with goat cheese, cranberries, and candied nuts. Drizzle with seasoned olive oil. Sprinkle with chopped herb(s). If desired, drizzle with balsamic glaze.

Best served warm.

Sweet Potato & Bacon Frittata

I was inspired by this recipe from Cooking Light; but after last night's snowfall (on top of the previous week's accumulation) it wasn't worth going on a grocery run, especially when I had reasonable substitutes and things that needed to be used up right here in my frig! Here's my version, finished in jumbo muffin cups for easy single servings that I can keep and re-heat individually...though a larger skilled -- or casserole -- would be fine too.

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 2 C)
5 slices bacon, chopped
1-2 T vegetable oil or butter
1 large shallot, thinly sliced (about 3/4 C)
6 eggs
1 oz Gruyere, grated
½ C sour cream
½ C milk
½ C heavy cream
1 T fresh sage, chopped*
     (okay, I didn't have fresh sage...substitute 1 tsp dried sage)
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ C crumbled chevre
2 T chpoped fresh chives (I didn't have any, but I'll include it here as it would be welcome!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cook bacon in skillet to desired doneness (I like mine fairly well done); remove bacon to paper-towel-lined plate, reserving drippings in skillet.

Add sweet potatoes and sliced shallots; cover and sauté over medium heat, tossing periodically, until potatoes are almost fork tender and shallots have caramelized (6-10 minutes, depending on size of dice).

Meanwhile, lightly coat 6 jumbo muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray (or ramekins, or 1 9-inch pie plate or similar size casserole dish...). Whisk together eggs, Gruyere, sour cream, milk, heavy cream, sage, salt and cayenne.

When potatoes and shallots are ready, divide equally between muffin cups; top each with bacon. Pour egg mixture over each muffin cup, dividing equally...2/3 - 3/4 full as they will puff as they cook. Top with crumbled chevre.

Bake 20-24 minutes, until centers are set and tops are golden brown. (A larger casserole will need 40-45 minutes.) Garnish with chopped chives.

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Wonton 'Ravioli'

I had a little of this, a little of that -- a little butternut squash soup, a few leftover sweet potatoes, and some wonton wrappers -- and pulled off a close approximation of a Ree Drummond Pumpkin Wonton Ravioli recipe. It wasn't exactly the same, but mine was delicious! Wonton wrappers as a quick 'cheater' 
version of homemade ravioli! :)

butter
minced garlic
pumpkin puree OR butternut squash OR sweet potatoes...
chili powder (I think I used a squirt of Sriracha)
salt & pepper
wonton wrappers
1 egg

shaved parmesan

pine nuts

Sweet Potato & Gouda Gratin

This recipe (from Sunset magazine, October 2016) was a good excuses to use the slicing and shredding attachments to my KitchenAid mixer – they’ve been packed away in storage since shortly after I got them about 2 years ago! I love thyme. Still, it was relatively strong to my taste in this recipe. I might reduce it whenever I make this again. Also, even after sitting more than 10 minutes, the cheesey sauce was still a little thin. I increased the flour in the ingredients list below…hopefully that’ll make it creamier.

Ingredients

3 - 4 medium-large sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs), peeled and thinly sliced

1 large shallot, thinly sliced, rings separated

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus thyme sprig for garnish

1 tsp coarse salt

½ tsp coarse pepper

1 T flour

6.5 oz gouda cheese, shredded

¼ C flour

1 C heavy cream

¾ C chicken broth

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine thyme, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Toss together shredded gouda and 1 T flour in another bowl.

Lightly coat a 3 quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange half of sweet potatoes and half shallot onto bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with half the thyme, salt and pepper. Layer half the gouda-flour mixture onto seasoned sweet potatoes. Arrange remaining sweet potatoes and shallots in a second layer.

Whisk ¼ C flour with half cream until smooth. Whisk in remaining cream and broth. Pour over sweet potatoes; top with remaining gouda.

Bake 45-55 minutes, increasing temperature to 400°F for the last 5 minutes or so, until gratin is bubbling and golden brown on top. Let sit 10 minutes before serving (sauce will thicken). Set a thyme sprig on top to garnish. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Sesame-Ginger-Chickpea-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

4 medium sweet potatoes

1 tsp vegetable or canola oil

1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 T sesame oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp coarse salt

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ C tahini

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp grated or minced fresh garlic

2 tsp rice vinegar

¼ C hot water

1 T Sriracha sauce

¼ C thinly sliced scallions

1 tsp sesame seeds (white & black mixed adds visual appeal, but any sesame seeds will do)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Lightly coat sweet potatoes with vegetable oil and pierce multiple times with a fork. Bake for 1 hour, until tender. Cool until handle-able. (Bake chickpeas while they’re cooling; see below.) Split potatoes lengthwise; score inner flesh deeply with a knife.

In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, and ginger. Gently pat chickpeas dry with paper towels. Toss in a wide bowl with sesame oil; sprinkle with garlic-salt-ginger and toss to coat evenly. Bake 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Combine tahini, fresh ginger, fresh garlic and vinegar in a small bowl with 3 tablespoons hot water; stir until smooth. Combine Sriracha with 1 tablespoon hot water in another small bowl.

Drizzle a couple teaspoons of tahini mixture over each half of sweet potato. Season with remaining salt. Spoon Chickpeas generously over each potato, drizzle with remaining tahini mixture and Sriracha mixture. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Season with additional salt (if needed) to taste.

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes

salt, to taste

2 eggs

1½ tablespoons olive oil

1 cloves garlic, minced

1½ teaspoons smoked paprika

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Peel and grate sweet potatoes. Place sweet potatoes in bowl; sprinkle with salt. Mix, and let stand 20 mintues.

Squeeze or strain moisture from sweet potatoes (use a strainer, or use a towel to 'wring' the moisture out); return to bowl. Mix with the egg, garlic, paprika, onion powder, rosemary, black pepper, and another pinch of salt.

Line a baking sheet with parchment; divide sweet potato mixture into 4 portions; shape and press to ½" thickness.

Bake 20-25 minutes until browning at edges. Let cool to set (approx 15 min). Best served warm.

Delicious with sour cream & brown sugar dipping sauce: mix ½ C sour cream with 2 T brown sugar; add a dash of hot sauce or sriracha if desired.

Bacon Sweet Potato Waffles

Hmmm...this recipe is really hit and miss. Sweet potato and bacon -- a 'hit' flavor combination! But the texture and technique of this "recipe" -- definitely needs help. (Of course, I'm not a 'paleo' dieter; and if this recipe is typical, it would not inspire me to go paleo!)

Original 'recipe' here: http://predominantlypaleo.com/bacon-sweet-potato-waffle/

There's no measure of any kind indicated for the sweet potato, and with a large sweet potato, I had to add an extra egg as binder just to keep the 'batter' from falling apart. 

There's no flour. Or leavening of any kind other than the eggs. The sweet potatoes are raw, cooked only by the waffle iron, so the 'batter' isn't really a batter...just a collection of separate ingredients. With egg and a little oil (I used the bacon drippings for extra flavor). The blogger's preference for "crispy" waffles is probably a necessity if you don't want raw sweet potato bits in your waffles -- I shredded mine, so pieces were quite small. And the advice to "remove waffles carefully" is needed...with no real 'batter' they fall apart very easily.

This recipe indicates serving waffles as either savory or sweet. The sweet potato and bacon combo can easily go both ways, but with garlic salt in the 'batter' and chives...that might not be quite so tasty if you want to go sweet. Maybe keep the 'batter' neutral (plain salt) and serve the waffles with a garlic-chive compound butter if you want to go savory? Or a garlic-chive sour cream sauce? Standard maple syrup would go great with these flavors for a sweet waffle.

I'm still inspired by the sweet potato and bacon flavor combo in a waffle, so I may play around and come up with a better recipe. (I've no intention of limiting it to a paleo diet.) Probably some batter to hold it all together, though I like the texture -- some precooked mashed sweet potato? with some flour, and a little leavening for fluffiness -- and maybe a bit of orange juice and/or zest to 'zing' up the flavor. We'll see... hopefully I'll post again soon.

4/25/2016 UPDATE:  MY version of Bacon Sweet Potato Waffles
Figured I'd better do this right away; otherwise it just gets forgotten! Side-by-side pics show a bit of difference: lighter/brighter color -- probably from the OJ, fluffier due to baking powder, and with a bit of batter from the mashed sweet potato and a little flour, they hold together instead of falling apart all around the edges.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
8 oz bacon
1 large (or 2 smallish) sweet potato
zest of 1 orange
1-2 T orange juice
2 eggs
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ C flour (I used whole wheat)*

* If you have celiac disease or are avoiding gluten by choice, you might be able to skip the flour altogether...maybe cut down on (or cut out) the OJ so your batter isn't too runny; the zest will still add flavor. Or substitute a gluten free rice or corn flour. You'd know options better than I would! :)

Directions:
Fry bacon until crisp. Crumble; set aside.

Peel and shred about half the sweet potato (I ended up with 1¼ C). Cook the other half until tender (I did mine in the microwave; quick!). Cool until handle-able; While it cools...

Mix orange zest and juice into shredded sweet potato. Not only does this taste great, but it keeps the potato from oxidizing...stays nicely bright orange. Add bacon and toss to combine. Set aside.

Preheat waffle iron.

Scoop cooked sweet potato out of the skin. Discard skin. Mash sweet potato (I had about 1¼ or maybe 1½ C of mashed sweet potato). Add eggs, salt, baking powder and flour, mixing thoroughly. Stir shredded sweet potato and bacon mixture into batter. 

Drop scoops of batter onto waffle iron; cook until nicely browned, slightly crispy (very little steam should be coming out of your waffle iron when they're cooked through).

Enjoy!
These are great 'sweet' waffles with a little butter and maple syrup. If you want to go the savory route, try garlic butter and fresh minced chives. (Or if you're a chicken and waffle eater maybe try that? It's not really my thing, but it could work!)

Sweet Potato Fritters

Ingredients:
1 lb sweet potatoes (about 2½ C)
1 egg
¼ C brown sugar
2 T butter
1 C flour
¼ C fine dry bread crumbs
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
vegetable oil for deep frying

Directions:
Peel sweet potatoes, cut into ½" pieces. Boil in large stockpot 12-15 minutes until very tender. Drain; cool slightly. Combine sweet potatoes, egg, and brown sugar, blending until smooth. (Using a food processor makes this quick and easy, but it's not necessary.)

In separate bowl, combine flour bread crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to sweet potato mixture, blending until just combined.

In a large heavy saucepan, heat 1" oil to 350˚. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons into hot oil. Fry in batches about 2 minutes, turning once, or until fritters are golden. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.


These are tasty as a savory appetizer or side dish (serve with a yogurt-garlic-chive dipping sauce*), or dust with powdered sugar for a beignet/doughnut-like bite of sweet.
* 6 oz of yogurt with a tablespoon of minced fresh chives and clove of garlic

Sweet Potato Chips

The May 2013 issue of Cooking Light, available now, has a recipe for sweet potato chips (p114) done in the microwave. Aside from heating leftovers and melting things, I'm leery of most microwave cooking. The claim with these chips was that the microwave dehydrates them, cooking and crisping without burning them as might happen in a conventional oven. I tried it both ways, in the microwave and @ 425° for 12-15 minutes -- depending on how thin you can slice your potato. (Try using a vegetable peeler if you don't have the recommended mandolin and/or exceptional knife skills!) I just sliced...VERY THINLY.

My personal conclusion: Microwave = no burning, but they are a little...chewy. And my microwave took considerably longer than their recipe indicated. Conventional oven = potential of dark edges if you don't watch your chips closely, or if they're not evenly sliced; but I think they're more 'toasted'. The conventional oven still gets my vote; but the microwave was better than I expected.

Sweet Potato Biscuit Sandwiches with Ham & Blackberry-Balsamic Sauce

Sandwiches...
Sweet Potato Biscuits (recipe follows)
Honey Ham
Spinach, Arugala or choice of greens
Blackberry-Balsamic Sauce (recipe follows)

Split warm biscuits. Layer biscuit bottoms with ham and greens, drizzle with blackberry-balsamic sauce. Top with biscuit tops.

Biscuit Ingredients
1 pound sweet potatoes (2 to 3 potatoes)
2 T buttermilk
¼ t grated nutmeg
2½ C flour, plus extra for dusting
3 T brown sugar
1½ t baking soda
¾ t salt
¾ C cold butter, small diced
1 T vegetable oil
2 T butter, melted

Biscuit Directions
Preheat oven to 425° F. Poke sweet potatoes with a fork; bake until tender (about 1 hr). Cool, peel; discard skins. Beat potatoes with buttermilk and nutmeg until smooth. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture is coarse and crumbly. Fold in sweet potato mixture until just combined.

Dust a work surface with flour; turn biscuit dough onto counter. Press dough to ¾" thick. Use a 2½" biscuit cutter to cut biscuits, reshaping dough as needed. Place biscuits on a baking sheet, brush biscuit tops with melted butter. Bake (400° F) until golden (15-18 minutes).

Blackberry-Balsamic Sauce Ingredients
12 oz blackberry preserves
1 C packed fresh basil leaves, stems and all
½ C balsamic vinegar
¼ C yellow mustard
1 t whole black peppercorns
1 serrano chile, split in half

Blackberry-Balsamic Sauce Directions
Combine preserves, basil, vinegar, mustard, peppercorns and chile in saucepot over medium heat.
Simmer until thickened (8-10 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve to remove leaves, peppercorns and chile. Cool.