Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Snowpacolypse/Thundersnow/Traffic Nightmare of 2011 left us at 1346 relatively unscathed... while others in the DC area were sitting in their cars for 13 hours and having babies on the Beltway, I took advantage of OPM's early dismissal for the federal government, made it home pretty quickly on the bus, and made some sweet potato and black been chili and cast-iron skillet cornbread with corn. Chili and cornbread... ain't nothin' wrong with that!
Colleen came over for some intense crafting (the results of which will be posted soon), we chowed down on this warming meal, and we topped if off with some "special" hot chocolate. No better way to spend this year's Thundersnow/Snowpacolypse/Traffic Nightmare.

Sweet Potato, Apple, Cheddar and Caramelized Onion Gratin

This sweet potato, apple, cheddar and caramelized onion gratin has a lot of potential. The flavor was great: spicy, sweet, creamy. The texture was a little off, partially due to my inconsistent slicing, but partially due to either too much sauce or a too-runny sauce. I can't decide. But the flavor was delicious enough to try again! I'll report back with any changes I make...

Cumin-Coriander Sirloin and Sweet Potato Fries

Mmmm... this super simple steak rub was really good: a little spicy, earthy. Served with similarly spiced sweet potato fries that I was hoping would be a little crispier. I made a tasty chipotle lime sour cream for fry dippin'.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

So I haven't posted in a while due to a busy schedule (trip to Ann Arbor, softball playoffs, etc.) and a lack of new ideas. I've been re-making and enjoying old favorites over the past couple weeks. However, my former OSW girls came over for dinner and a Costa Rica trip planning session a couple weeks ago, and I prepared a vegetarian feast in their honor using veggies I had on hand from the CSA.

This chickpea and sweet potato curry from the voluptuous Nigella Lawson, via the New York Times seemed like the perfect meal for the occasion... vegetarian, but interesting, consisting of beans and rice (to slowly ease us into the diet de rigueur of Costa Rica), but still having some veggies and vitamins. I served it with a side of spicy roasted okra.

We all liked the curry- I think everyone came back for a second helping. The tamarind paste gave it a tangy authenticity that I liked. Plus it was pretty easy, using canned chickpeas and onion, garlic, ginger and chili chopped up via food processor. Colleen sagely observed that one could throw a handful of spinach or some green peppers for more color and veggie goodness (I lean towards spinach because green peppers are my personal devil).

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas

These tasty enchilada-esque things were a recipe-less creation from pantry items we had laying around. Laziness and unwillingness to go to the store are the mother of invention, I guess.

I roasted some cubed sweet potatoes in olive oil, sprinkled with some chili powder and cumin (and salt and pepper, of course). The black beans were heated with some minced garlic and onion that I briefly sauteed. Threw it together, topped it with some grated cheddar, wrapped it in a tortilla and put it in a baking dish that I had coated with some salsa verde. Topped the whole thing with some more salsa verde and cheese. Baked at 350 for about 10-15 minutes.

Chuck made some homemade guacamole - mashed an avocado with some grated onion and garlic, minced tomato, lime juice, hot sauce, and cilantro.

Pretty great for a made-up meal!

Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry

This sweet potato and chicken curry is a super easy, super quick weeknight meal... very gingery with some lingering heat to it. We sprinkled some cilantro on top...

I bet you could substitute some canned chickpeas for the chicken to make it a veggie meal.

Curried Lentils with Sweet Potatos and Kale

Chuck made this recipe on her day off. Good flavors, although texturally a little bit of a mushy one-note. SmittenKitchen is definitely right though: not pretty to look at!

I think we're a little tapped out after three days in a row of healthy legumes and grains and such. Nurse, bacon and cheese, stat!

Roasted Vegetables with Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Martha and Andrea cooked this recipe from the November issue of Martha Stewart Living a couple weeks ago and gave it two (four?) thumbs up... I don't think Martha Stewart has posted the recipe online yet, but I found this blog that had done a version of it. We had sweet potatoes and Romanesco cauliflower from the CSA, and some uncooked Brussel sprouts left over from Thanksgiving, so we gave it a try. Chuck had the day off, so she rocked the recipe.

Delicious! The pomegranate flavor compliments, but doesn't overwhelm the veggie flavors. Plus, the recipe is beautiful: great array of colors, and the Romanesco cauliflower is pretty much the coolest looking vegetable ever. I love the bright green color, and the shape is amazing. Natural geometry.... Wikipedia tells me it's a logarithmic spiral. Awesome.

Thanksgiving Extravaganza: The Appetizer

We weren't starting Thanksgiving too early in the day since Chuck and Mark were working, so I had to throw at least one appetizer out there to satiate the drunken/drinking masses. I saw this sweet potato "hummus" from Kim O'Donnel and thought it would be fun to serve a traditional Thanksgiving ingredient in a different way. We served the dip with pita chips.

Pretty good, although I think maybe it needed something else. Garlic? That would definitely bring it closer to true hummus. Perhaps roasted garlic. I shall try again sometime. Mark loved it, though, and that's enough for me.

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, Zucchini Salad with Garlic Lime Dressing

Hey y'all... remember when I made Mark Bittman's sweet potato and black bean salad with a spicy garlicky lime dressing?

Remember how it was awesome?

Well, for those bell pepper haters in the group, leave them out. The recipe is awesome with zucchini, too. Throw some chopped zucchini into the oven with the sweet potato after it's been roasting for a while... then throw the whole mess on top of some lettuce.

As Tyler Florence has been known to say: boom.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

This soup is very loosely based on this recipe that I saw on foodgawker.com. Although not that pretty looking, it was really hearty, perfect for a rainy Saturday!

Here's what I did:

• Rather than use squash, since we've had it a couple times this week already, I used some sweet potatoes I had lying around.
• Peeled 'em, chopped 'em up, roasted them at 400 for about 25 minutes- until they were soft.
• Mixed them with one can of drained diced tomatoes and one can of rinsed black beans.
• Mashed it all together with a potato masher.
• In the meantime, I sauteed a chopped onion, a chopped shallot, a couple cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of cumin and some salt and pepper.
• Once that was soft, I added the potato/bean/tomato mixture in, along with about 2 cups of beef broth.
• Let it simmer for approximately 25 minutes.
• Pureed it with my immersion blender.
• Served it with a ton of lime juice, some greek yogurt (out of sour cream) and cilantro.

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Black Beans and Lime-Chile Dressing

This great salad, from The Minimalist, Mark Bittman, is basically a fall version of this corn and black bean salad I made all summer. I'd definitely recommend this salad- the flavors are awesome together, it's got a ton of color, it's super easy. The only change I made was to ease up a little on the olive oil, and add a little bit of cumin.

Tonight's dinner...

Browned butter sage sauce with sage from the roof: tasty.

Sweet potato gnocchi: to be honest... kind of a pain in the ass!