- Merrill While I have always been somewhat of a sweet potato addict, I prefer savory preparations to the traditional brown sugar and maple syrup concoctions typically found on the Thanksgiving table. I originally got the idea for these potatoes from Marcus Samuelsson, chef and co-owner of Aquavit in Manhattan. A few years ago, he teamed up with Slow Food to give cooking lessons to some of the students at The Children's Storefront, an independent tuition-free school in Harlem. I happened to be there observing one afternoon when he taught the kids his version of the recipe, and I have been making my own adaptation ever since. I hope you'll find the combination of sweet potatoes, crème fraîche, garlic, herbs and parmesan as rich and satisfying as I do.
Here are the recipes that intrigued us this week. My Best Roast Chicken Helen talks a big game, but she has yet to make this for us. Elegant Easy Chicken We like that the chicken breast is flattened like a Paillard. Chicken Dijon Stew Chicken Mustard Croquettes Chicken Pot Pie Provencale (pictured above) You'd need to be up for an all-day project, but it looks gorgeous. Big Zombie Mustard Chicken Tagine with Couscous The mustard isn't the star of this show, but the dish is sweet and spicy in all the right ways. Whiskied Roasted Parsnip and Apple Puree Who doesn't want whiskey in their parsnips? Sweet Potato Puree with Goat's Cheese and Smoked Paprika Grated Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Puree Cool technique. Cumin-Scented Puree of Autumn 'Oranges' Venetian Pumpkin and Chestnut Puree Crazy Parsnip Carrot Puree with Frico Get your fric on. Butternut Squash Puree with Honey Sage Butter Great technique: the sage is fried in butter, and then the butter is browned and poured over the puree.
- Amanda This past weekend, on a trek to Chelsea Market in Manhattan with a friend and our kids, we stopped in for lunch at Buon Italia, an Italian grocery store that many of the city's chefs turn to for esoteric and high-quality Italian ingredients. I couldn't stop thinking about one of the dishes we had, a butternut squash antipasto. The squash had been sliced into ribbons so that it looked like pappardelle, and then these ribbons seemed to have been roasted -- there were browned edges -- and yet not quite cooked through -- some had a great little crunch. They tasted candied but were doused with plenty of vinegar. Transfixed and determined, I got in the kitchen, and now you, too, can make this salad....
Click the play button to see us prepare the two finalists recipes for Your Best Fig Recipe: Ficchi Caramellati (Caramelized Figs) by Loulies and Fig and Anise Clafoutis by Oui, Chef. Watch A&M in Merrill's kitchen, as they reminisce about the 80's and encourage rum for breakfast.
Here are some recipes -- other than the finalists -- that stood out this week: Fresh Fig, Walnut and Rosemary Upside-Down Cake Roasted Figs in a Red Wine Cardamom-Infused Reduction with Vanilla Ice Cream Fall Fig and Chicken Sandwich Stuffed Chicken Breast with Figs and Pistachios Vinaigrette Roasted Stuffed Figs Cheese Plate Crostata Grilled Pizza with Figs, Prosciutto, Gorgonzola and Arugula Pesto Fig Bonbons Mission Fig Rolls Rosemary-Kissed Fig Tartlets Squid, Potato and Olive Stew Poulet à la Provençale Huachingo a la Veracruzana Spicy Lamb Stew with Date, Mint and Parsley Gremolata Mediterranean Vegetable Stew with Olives
Click the play button to see us prepare the two finalist recipes for Your Best Recipe with Paprika: Hungarian Meatballs by Bogre and Smoky Fried Chickpeas by Aliwaks. Watch A&M demonstrate a safe way to cut hot peppers, and yell at chickpeas. Just another day at the office...
- Merrill Since we did a video tour of Amanda's kitchen, I thought I'd put together a slide show of mine. Here I've included some of my favorite cooking and serving items, along with a recipe for Coconut Rice Pudding with Ginger Lemongrass Syrup that would be perfect served in the Roseware glasses my mother gave me.
Click the play button to see us prepare the two finalist recipes for Your Best Potato Gratin: Potato Leek au Gratin by AlexisC and Individual Sweet Potato Gratins with Creme Fraiche, Onions and Bacon by ApartmentCooker. Watch A&M work through bloodshed and control issues, and make some delicious food!
Here are some of the recipes that caught our eye among this week's contest entries. Bubbie's Holiday Apple Cake by Bubbie Deep South Apple Cake by Frugal Kiwi Gingerbread Apple Bundt Cake by suz Sunday Morning Apple Coffee Cake by SavorySweetLife blueberry applesauce cake by Heather Heavenly Apple Cake by Veronica Rosh Hashana Apple Cake by koshercamembert Bay-scented potato gratin by Marie Viljoen Potato, Porcini and Squash Gratin by Maria Teresa Jorge
- Amanda After a week during which my kitchen felt like an apple cake factory, I figured it was time for a salad. So I took the concepts behind escarole salad with warm bacon dressing and pear and blue cheese salad -- two salads I love -- and combined them. I crisped bacon in a pan, then sauteed shallots and figs, and finished the dressing with red wine vinegar and a little sugar. The warm dressing softens the lettuce leaves -- I used curly endive but you could use escarole, arugula or romaine -- and adds a little bitterness. And for a little salinity to contrast with the sweet figs, I crumbled some blue cheese on top.
- Merrill Recently, we've been trying to eat more fish in my house. One day I was at the market looking for wild salmon and discovered they were out of it. Although I had never cooked with it before, I bought some arctic char at the fishmonger's recommendation. That night, I improvised with a few things I had in the fridge, and the resulting recipe is one I've repeated many times since. It's simple and quick, but it never fails to please. Keeping the skin on, you coat the fish in a lemon herb mayonnaise and then cook it, skin up, at a very low temperature (250°) for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, you flip it over and broil it quickly to brown the top. The gentle cooking keeps the fish really tender and prevents it from drying out, and the broiler gives you the added benefit of some caramelization -- it's the best of both worlds. You can make this recipe with salmon, but char is a fish you should get to know if you don't already. Not only does it have a mild, rich flavor, but it's also an eco-friendly choice.
- Amanda (photo by Deborah Copaken Kogan) This past weekend, my husband and I had dinner at our friends' Deb and Paul's house. Paul had marinated a butterflied leg of lamb to grill on their rooftop patio, and he headed out there well after dark. The fall's earlier sundowns have never stopped people from grilling, but grilling in the dark usually involves a jury-rigged move with flashlights. Paul, an excellent cook, has come up with a nifty solution: he wears a camping headlamp from L.L.Bean. Nerdy, you say? I think not, after tasting his perfectly grilled lamb. For the recipe....continue reading.
Click the play button to see us prepare the two finalist recipes for Your Best Brunch Eggs: Cowinmyundies' Scottish Farmhouse Eggs and kamileon's Savory Bread Pudding. Merrill tries to control raw eggs, and Amanda burns herself. Again.
- Amanda I found this little pot when Merrill and I went on a shopping expedition to Williamsburg and stopped in at Whisk. Made by Krona, a moderately priced line of Norpro, the pot holds 12 cups (with measurements marked inside), has a comfortable tea-pot-style handle, a spout and a lid with small and large holes for straining -- in short, a lot of carefully thought out details. The pot is perfect for cooking small amounts of vegetables and pasta (without having to pull out a colander), scalding milk, making chai or hot chocolate and cooking soup. Plus it's cute! (Call Whisk to order one: (718) 218-7230; it's $45 at Amazon.) We'd like to know what your favorite pot is -- either comment below, or better yet, send us a photo ([email protected]) and we'll add yours to this blog post. Remember to tell us -- in a single sentence -- what you love about your pot. Can't wait to hear from you!
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