Brittany's PantryMashed Sweet Potatoes
Brittany wrote this on 4 October 2011
gluten-free, maple syrup, sweet potatoes
It is fall.
I know! I know! The 80 degree weather out your door (depending on where you live) is desperately trying to convince you otherwise, but it is upon us and I love it! And when certain vegetables are in season, we like to cook things that are orange. Pumpkins, squash, and sweet potatoes. Actually, if I can find them, I eat sweet potatoes year round, but it helps to have a best friend who drives home to Mississippi and brings back a grocery bag of them for you. I know this must not be true, but I swear they grow them year round down there…
Mashed sweet potatoes, like the recipe below, are so lovely, it is hard to add anything to them. But was anything really ruined by adding maple syrup to it? I didn’t think so. While we are on the subject of maple syrup, you may have noticed that I specify pure maple syrup when it is called for in a recipe. Please. I beg you! Do NOT use the pancake stuff you eat in the morning that comes in a bottle shaped like an old woman. This is NOT pure maple syrup. Yes, I know the real stuff is expensive, but it last a very long time. Just suck it up and buy a good sized bottle and you can use it for the next six months or so. Trust me! You will not regret this!!
So back to sweet potatoes…
Please continue to read all the hints and ideas below the recipe for more ways with mashed sweet potatoes. There is a combo there for every palette, and if you think of something, or make something that is fantastic and I don’t mention it, add it to the comment section below. I really love to hear about what you all are cooking!
One more thing! If you decide to make these, I highly recommend reserving 1 c of the plain potato mash before you continue with the recipe, just so you can make Sweet Potato Biscuits. I do this every time so that I am making the effort once and getting two recipes out of it. Also, because Sweet Potato Biscuits make me happy.
One Year Ago: Remoulade Sauce
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2-3 T pure maple syrup
2 T butter
salt and pepper
Steam the potatoes until tender. Drain well and dump into a large bowl. Mash thoroughly with a potato masher, or if you really want them smooth, use a hand mixer to get the consistency you want. Stir in the maple syrup and the butter. Add a bit of salt and pepper and then taste for more syrup or more seasoning. These seem to do very well with a heavy hand on the pepper. Butter can be omitted completely and you probably wouldn’t even know it, so do what you like!
Ideas: Use honey or brown sugar in place of the syrup or skip it altogether. Stir in crumbled bacon, caramelized onions, finely chopped pecans, crumbled bleu cheese, Parmesan cheese, or sprinkle with cinnamon. Mashed sweet potatoes are also fantastic with a bit of butter and a splash or two of orange juice. Sooo good! Also, try mashing equal parts sweet potato and regular russet potatoes. Just peel and cube and steam together. Salt and pepper and maybe a bit of butter and you are good to go!
Hot Apple Cider
Brittany wrote this on 2 October 2011 apples, gluten-free
Hot drinks are a necessity when you grown up in the north. Something to warm your bones and thaw out the inside of your nose when the weather dips to less than 30 degrees below zero. Some steaming hot chocolate is usually at the top of my list of chosen drinks. But some hot apple cider has a special place in my heart, and the smell of it heating on the stove makes the whole house smell so comforting, it is a definite cure for what ails you.
I know I say this a lot, but please treat this recipe like a method. Drinks like this are designed to be suited to your own taste so please see these ingredients as a springboard for whatever floats your boat. And please please please use apple cider, not apple juice to make this. When it comes to flavor, there is no comparison. Well, actually, there is a comparison. Apple juice is just that-juice. The apples are squeezed and the juice runs out and voila! Apple juice. Apple cider is actually the whole apple, peel and all, pulverized to make a kind of chunky soup and then the whole thing is strained. That is why apple cider is cloudy! There is a fine sediment in it of peel and pulp. So actually, apple cider has a higher nutritional content, including fiber, of which the majority in an apple is found in the peel. Simply Apple is the only kind of apple juice or cider that we buy any more. The flavor is consistently fantastic and it isn’t so tart that you can’t drink it on its own. Of course, a little doctoring is yummy too. Hence, todays recipe.
One Year Ago: Apple Crisp
Hot Apple Cider
Apple cider usually comes in quart, half gallon, or gallon jugs. Adjust the ingredients based on how much cider you are making!
half gallon of good apple cider (maybe from your local orchard?)
1/2 c brown sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp of WHOLE cloves
Heat all ingredients in a large sauce pan over low heat until sugar dissolves and it all is steaming. Add more sugar if needed! Enjoy!
Note: There are so many different ways to change this. Use honey or pure maple syrup instead of brown sugar, but taste as you go. The level of sweetness you prefer and what you cider may need is different depending on what you use. You can use ground cinnamon instead, but add a bit at a time to figure our how much you want. Adding the peel of an orange (just the peel-no white pith) gives great flavor, or even a shot of orange juice if you want. And nothing was ever harmed by adding a glug of jarred carmel sauce to it. Experiment and see what you like! Also, feel free to use the crock pot if you are serving a crowd and are low on stove top space.
Pumpkin Pie Muffins: A fall recipe for you!
Brittany wrote this on 25 September 2011 buttermilk, molasses, pumpkin, whole wheat flour
Yup. This is just for you. An autumn recipe that makes your house smell fantastic and is actually good for you. Here it is, for your eyes alone. No one else except the World Wide Web. We are keeping this between you and me.
The above is no exaggeration. This recipe will make your house smell just like the front of the fall issue of the Pottery Barn catalog looks. It basically makes you want to dress like a pilgrim and dole pumpkins out to your neighbors. The fact that it may remind you of pumpkin pie (hence the happy feeling) is irrelevant.
I actually make these year round. They taste so fantastic and are so good for you, why limit yourself to a season? As a matter of fact, when canned pumpkin goes on sale during the holidays I stock up. Like, my purchase of cans goes well into the double digits. In the fall, when sugar pumpkins are everywhere, I prefer to just bake my own, scoop out the flesh and keep it in the fridge to cook with, but during the off season, canned pumpkin is a great substitute. Pumpkin is incredibly good for you with more potassium than a banana and more Vit A than carrots. The high potassium make these a great snack before or after you exercise. These muffins are light, fluffy, and full of flavor. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the ingredient list. A lot of it are the warm spices that help make them so irresistible. This batch makes a lot of muffins so don’t forget to freeze those which you won’t eat right away. Although I can guarantee they won’t last long. They are so moist, these muffins are nearly cake-like in texture.
Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Adapted from Ellie Krieger
To make your own mashed pumpkin, cut a small, baking pumpkin in half from stem to stem and clean the seeds it out with a spoon. Lay the two halves cut side down on a sheet pan covered with foil or parchment paper. Bake at 350 until you can easily pierce the sides with a knife without resistance. Let cool slightly and scoop the flesh away from the shell into a separate bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Store in the fridge for several days and use just like you would canned pumpkin! Here is a step by step!
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add:
1/2 c canola oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c molasses
1 can (2 c) solid-packed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
Mix well, scraping down sides if necessary. In a separate large bowl, whisk together:
2 c flour
2 c white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Measure out 1 1/2 c low fat buttermilk and with the mixer running alternate adding the dry ingredients with the buttermilk, ending with buttermilk. Mix just until combined, stirring by hand at the end to make sure the sides and bottom is scraped clean. Bake in paper muffin cups or a sprayed muffin pan at 400 degrees for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
