Sweet Potato Pie

Served at book club for To Kill A Mockingbird. Recipe by Paula Deen.

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled, cooked sweet potatoes (not Yams! Sweet Potatoes are yellow inside, not orange)
  
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 stick melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup milk
• 9-inch unbaked pie crust (I used Wegman's brand)
  
• 3 egg whites

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the filling, using an electric hand mixer, combine the potatoes, 1 cup of the sugar, the butter, eggs, vanilla, salt, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Add the milk and continue to mix. Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (It may have just been my oven, but it took mine almost an hour to bake!) Place the pie on a rack and cool to room temperature before covering with meringue.

For the meringue, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form; beat in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue beating until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is glossy and stiff, but not dry. With a rubber spatula, spoon the meringue onto the pie, forming peaks. Make sure the meringue touches the crust all around. Sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until delicately browned. Cool and serve. (I guess I didn't read this far because I didn't bake it again after putting the meringue on...oops!) Or you could just do without the meringue and put a dollop of whipped cream on top. I think it would be just as good.

This was awesome! It's not as overwhelming as a pumpkin pie.

Cinnamon-Apple Cake

this was a favorite dessert my college roommate NICOLE used to made all the time! (thanks nicole & cooking light!!) as served at book club last night for cry the beloved country at kashann's (& also at richard & erica's first-ever BATTLE OF THE SEXES PARTY on 6/8/07).

you can also double this and cook in a 9x13 pan... recipe calls for "springform pan," but lets get serious: I don't have one of those. so I used my lovely favorite ever williams-sonoma pie pan (thank you wedding gifts) and it worked out fine.

1 3/4 cups sugar, divided (I use raw turbinado sugar)
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used smart balance)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat neufatchel cheese)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use 1 C white, 1/2 C white whole wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 C chopped peeled apples
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Place 1 1/2 cups sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl (GO KITCHENAID, WOOHOO); beat on medium speed until well blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to cream cheese mixture, beating at low speed until well blended.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Combine 2 TABLESPOONS of cinnamon mixture and chopped apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour the batter into an 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon mixture. Bake at 350° for 60-75min (I cooked it 75min) or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cake will look pretty "done" on the outside, but will be delicious and moist on the inside! Cool cake completely on a wire rack. Cut into 12 wedges, using a serrated knife. (This can be served warm or cold.)

12 servings
Nutritional Information: CALORIES 281(28% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 1.8g,mono 3.7g,poly 2.6g); PROTEIN 4.8g; CHOLESTEROL 39mg; CALCIUM 89mg; SODIUM 234mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 1.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.3g (COOKING LIGHT 1997)

Granola...a yummy anytime snack

This is the granola recipe I made for Christy's spa night, a couple weeks ago. The awesome thing about this recipe is that it can be modified depending on your taste for that day. I made mine with raisins, almonds, craisins and I added some honey. You can add any nut, dried fruit, etc. Be creative and have fun! There is nothing like a bowl of yogurt and granola to brighten your day. I got this recipe from an on-line USA today article which can be found at: http://www.usaweekend.com/06_issues/060226/060226cooksmart.html


The How To:


Master Granola Recipe Makes 1 quart
Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside. Mix oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, salt and Extra Ingredients --except dried fruit -- in a bowl. Bring syrup, oil, water and any Flavoring indicated below to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat. Drizzle over oat mixture, and stir to combine. Pour mixture onto prepared pan. Working a handful at a time, squeeze cereal to form small clumps. Bake for 30 minutes. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN...this has happened to me a couple times and I end up wasting an entire batch! Stir in dried fruit. Continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let cool. (Granola can be stored in an airtight tin for up to two weeks.) For nutrition information on each granola variation, go to usaweekend.com.



Ingredients


2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup wheat germ (I also like to add some flax seed)

2 Tbs. dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup Extra Ingredients (see complete list below)

1/4 cup maple syrup

3 Tbs. flavorless oil, such as vegetable or canola

1 Tb. water Flavoring (see below)

Varieties

1. Classic Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dark or golden raisins Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon You can replace the 1/4 cup of maple syrup with 2 Tbs. each of maple syrup and molasses.


2. Crunchy Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup slivered almonds, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 2 Tbs. sesame seeds, 6 Tbs. currants Flavoring: none


3. Granola with Tropical Flavoring Add the coconut along with the cashews and banana chips. Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted cashews, 1/4 cup chopped banana chips, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. ground ginger


4. Granola with Cherries and Almonds Extra Ingredients: 1/3 cup sliced almonds, 1/3 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/3 cup dried cherries Flavoring: 3/4 tsp. almond extract


5. Trail Mix Granola Extra Ingredients: 1/4 cup chopped roasted unsalted peanuts, 1/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, 1/4 cup dark or golden raisins, 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips* Flavoring: none *Stir chips into the granola only after it has completely cooled.


6. Orange-Berry Granola with Pecans Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped pecans,1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup dried blueberries Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest


7. Pear Granola with Hazelnuts and Vanilla Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts, 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries, 1/4 cup chopped dried pears Flavoring: 1 tsp. vanilla extract


8. Orange-Flavored Granola with Pistachios, Mangoes and Dates Extra Ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios, 1/4 cup chopped dates, 1/4 cup chopped dried mangoes Flavoring: 1/2 tsp. finely grated orange zest and 1/4 tsp. allspice

the best cornbread in the world

served at THESE IS MY WORDS book club:

1-1/2 C flour (I usually do a combo of white & wheat)
2/3 C (turbinado or brown is best) sugar (I only used 1/2 C)
1/2 C cornmeal
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/4 C buttermilk (or milk or soymilk)
2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 C oil
3 Tb melted butter

place 2Tb butter in pan & preheat pan to 350 to melt butter. mix dry ingredients & wet ingredients separately. then add wet to dry & mix together. pour into prepared pan, bake 20+min or 10+min for muffins. it's done when it's golden & crusty on top and not raw in the middle!
(this is best in a cast iron skillet... but I don't have one of those. I always use my 9" pie pan or 8" pyrex square. also I usually use 1/2 C wheat and 1 C white flour. I also use the powdered buttermilk for this.)

Black Bean & Chocolate Chili

we met last night for our october book club meeting. we read TWILIGHT & decided to go with a fallish-halloweenish-vampireish food theme... I got this out of sarah a's moosewood restaurant celebrates cookbook & served it with fritos scoops.

2 TB vegetable oil (I used olive)
1.5 C chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 small fresh chile, minced (I just used 1tsp cholula sauce)
1 TB ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 C chopped bell pepper (I used one large green pepper)
3 C cooked black beans (2 - 15.5oz cans, rinsed/drained)
2 C undrained crushed canned tomatoes (14.5 oz can)
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB soy sauce
1.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (I used about 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips that I ground up in my food processor so it would melt faster)

in a saucepan, warm oil on med heat. add onion & garlic; sauté until onions become translucent, about 10min. add celery & chile (or cholula); cover & cook about 5 min.

reduce heat & stir in spices (cumin-salt) & bell peppers. cover & cook 5 min, until bell pepper begins to soften. stir occasionally to keep the spices from burning. if needed, add a little juice from the canned tomatoes.

add beans, tomatoes, lemon juice & soy sauce. bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 5-10min. stir in the chocolate. when it has melted, adjust salt/pepper/lemon juice to taste.

garnish with chopped scallions (green onions).

Dal

we had our first BOOK CLUB meeting last night! we met to discuss THE KITE RUNNER & eat lots of yummy afghan food. here's what I made: DAL. this is actually an indian dish - a lentil puree - but it had similar ingredients to most of the afghan dishes I found online. I doubled this recipe.

rinse & place in large saucepan:

• 1 C red lentils (or yellow split peas)

add:

• 2 C water
• 1 small sliced onion
• 3/4 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 3/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric

simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 20-25min. puree in food processor & return to saucepan. stir in:

• 1 C water
• 3/4 tsp salt

simmer, partly covered, until the dal is thickened to the consistency of split pea soup, about 20 mins. stir in:

• 2 fresh jalepeño peppers (sedded, cut into 1/3rds)
• 1.5 plum tomatoes, diced
• 3 Tb chopped fresh cilantro

serve over:

• kashann's afghan rice!

from the joy of cooking

afghan cookies

| Edit...

My Notes

Requires Premium Membership

My Notes

ONLY YOU see your private notes, and they print with the recipe.

200	g butter (14 Tb if I did my math right?)
1/2	cup sugar
1 1/2	cups plain flour
2	tablespoons cocoa powder
1	cup corn flakes, slightly crushed
1/2	cup flaked coconut

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, sift together flour and cocoa and mix into butter mix, then fold in cornflakes and coconut.
2. Put teaspoonful balls onto lightly greased or baking paper covered trays.
3. Bakes at 325 F for 15-20 minutes.
4. Makes about 40 little cookies