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.

Polenta - Cauliflower Puree with Barbecue Shredded Chicken

You could just put BBQ shredded chicken over creamy polenta, but the cauliflower puree increases the polenta base without adding many calories, and the flavor is so mild as to be nearly unnoticeable. The homemade, mustard based barbecue sauce is good, and easy to tweak to your personal tastes. However, if you’re in a hurry, store-bought BBQ could be substituted easily to save time.

Ingredients

12 oz cauliflower florets

1 C (low sodium) chicken stock

½ C coarse cornmeal

3 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp coarse salt

½ C tomato sauce

3 T water

2 T yellow mustard

2 T ketchup

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

dash chile powder

12 oz cooked, shredded chicken (mix of breast and thigh)

½ c thin sliced scallions

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Process the cauliflower in a food processor until very finely chopped. Transfer to saucepan; add stock and cornmeal. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, whisking often, until cauliflower is cooked and mixture is thickened (~15 minutes). Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Combine tomato sauce, water, mustard, ketchup, garlic, onion and chile powders in a small sauce pan. Bring gently to a simmer, stirring often until slightly thickened (5-10 minutes). Stir in shredded chicken.

Divide cauliflower-polenta into 4 bowls; top with chicken and barbeque sauce. Garnish with scallions.

Chocolate Tart with Cocoa Whipped Cream

I have quite a few chocolate tart/pie recipes. But, when I was without internet connection recently, I found this one (ripped out of a magazine – probably Cooking Light or Food Network, but it’s ripped off the page so I can’t be sure). Worth adding to the options…

Ingredients

CRUST:

6-8 oz crushed chocolate wafer cookies

          (plus extra for garnishing, if desired)

3 T sugar

¼ tsp salt

6 T butter, melted

FILLING:

1 ½ C whole milk

4 egg yolks

¹/₃ C sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 T cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

TOPPING:

1 C cold heavy cream

2 T cocoa powder

3 T powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Make crust: Crush (or process in a food processor) wafer cookies to fine crumbs. Stir in sugar and salt. Add melted butter, blending until the mixture starts to clump. Press to bottom of springform pan and slightly up the sides. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven; while still warm, use the back of a spoon to gently press any cracks together. Cool.

Make filling: Heat 1 C milk in saucepan just to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and ½ C milk in a large bowl. Temper the egg mixture by slowly whisking in hot milk until mixture is smooth. Transfer everything back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it comes to a boil and thickens (~5 minutes). Remove from heat; add chopped chocolate, whisking until melted. Pour filling into crust; smooth with spatula. Cover with plastic wrap (directly on top of filling to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate until cold and set (at least 2 hours).

Make topping: Whip heavy cream with powdered sugar and cocoa powder to soft peaks. Spread cocoa-whipped cream on tart. Garnish with additional cookie crumbs, if desired. (Or garnish with chocolate sprinkles, jimmies, etc.)

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.