Happy Thanksgiving

It's been awhile since I've had to worry about cooking a Thanksgiving meal. This year, Mark and I celebrated Thanksgiving just the two of us at our home. We had a fabulous meal... Mark smoked a turkey and I made the sides... green rice caserole, salad of spring greens, and sweet potato home fries. For dessert I made one of my signature desserts - Bailey's marbled cheesecake.

Fall...

Fall brings out different kinds of vegetables. One very common one used at this time is the sweet potato. I am not a fan of sweet potatoes in a sweet dish (like the overdone mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping found on so many Thanksgiving tables). I like my sweet potatoes done in a more savory style. This is a simple, but tasty way to make them.

Sweet Potato Home Fries
2 large sweet potatoes - quartered and cut into strips (about the size of french fries)
1 large onion - halved and then sliced into 1/4" slices
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS soy sauce
fresh crack black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

A different kind of chili

It's cooling down and is finally chili time! I found this interesting version of the tex-mex dish in Simple Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin. Here's how I made it.

Sweet Potato Chili
3 TBS canola oil
2 large onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 1/2 TBS chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 1/2 cups water
28 oz can ground tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste, thinned with 1/4 cup water
2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, at least 10 minutes. Stir in the bell peppers and cook 10 minutes, stirring often

Sprinkle on the chili powder and cumin and cook 2 minutes, stirring continously. Stir in all the remaoning ingredients - except the cilantro and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chopped cilantro and serve.

Heavenly Pasta

There's a pasta dish at Jason's Deli that I just love. I was craving it the other night and decided to try to recreate it at home. It turned out great!


Veggie Pasta
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 red onion, halved and sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 portabello mushrooms, halved and sliced 1/2" thick
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), cut into slivers
14 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water), quartered
8 oz bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
2 cups spinach

Heat olive oil in pan and saute onion and garlic until just tender. Add mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and wine and cook until wine is reduced to half. Add the artichoke hearts and cook until they are warm throughout. Add the pasta and the spinach and toss until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and serve with shredded asiago cheese.

Soup creation

I had a wonderful soup at TGI Fridays this past summer. It was a roasted red pepper soup... and it was delicious. I searched high and low for a recipe that would be similar to it, and couldn't find one. This past weekend, I tried to recreate it... I think I came pretty close.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Oil for pan
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cups vegetable stock
8 oz roasted red peppers
1/4 cup fresh basil
28 oz can ground tomatoes
1 cup half and half
4 TBS butter

Saute onion, garlic, carrot and celery in olive oil until fragrant. Add stock and simmer until carrots are fork tender. Add the peppers and basil. Place the vegetable mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Return to pot and add the tomatoes and cook until heated through. Add the half and half and butter and cook until the butter is melted.