Sweet Potatoes Rock!

Amy Ephron and One for the Table rounded up a half dozen sweet potato recipes for a contest held by “The North Carolina Sweet Potato Association’s Food Bloggers’ Recipe Contest." The recipes she submitted take sweet potatoes from savory to sweet.

I contributed a recipe for Sweet Potato Inari Suishi.

By definition sweet potatoes bring a deep sweetness to any dish. If anything, sweet potatoes are so strongly flavored, they must be used with a deft hand. Sweet potato pie is great, but sweet potatoes work as well as a savory ingredient in beef stews, chicken pot pies, and simply sauteed as a side dish.

You can read the recipes Amy submitted to the contest on One for the Table.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes, washed, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Taking a tip from Japanese robata grilling, first steam the potato slices for 5 minutes in a covered pan in lightly salted water (1 teaspoon to a quart of water). Drain and let cool.

Put the olive oil on a plate, season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge each sweet potato round through the seasoned olive oil, both sides.

Grill for a few minutes on each side until tender. If you don't want to use a grill, then put them on a cookie tray covered with a Silpat sheet or piece of aluminum foil. Roast in a 350 degree oven, turning once, for 5-10 minutes or until tender.

Serve as a side dish with grilled chicken breasts or julienne the rounds and saute with garlic and parsley and toss with pasta.

On the Web: the 4th of July, Picnics, Barbecue, and Cole Slaw

On the web there are sites worth checking out for this 4th of July. In the current gathering of essays on oneforthetable, Amy Ephron brings together memories of celebrations past in well-written essays. Mark Bittman has a series of articles about 101 picnic basket recipes and holiday ribs. Eatdrinkordie has recipes and videos to help celebrate the day.

In the Palisades the 5k/10k races finished by 10am. As is the tradition, the night before folding chairs are put out to guarantee a curb-side seat for the parade.

We're home making food for our picnic. Our friends have called to confirm what they are contributing to the pot-luck picnic.

We saw a beautiful cabbage at the farmers' market, so we decided to add cole slaw to the salads we're bringing tonight.

Cole Slaw with Capers

Yield 10-12 servings
Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cabbage
1 bunch Italian parsley (washed,leaves and some stems, finely chopped)
1 scallion (washed, trimmed, white and green parts finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup capers
Sea salt and pepper
Tabasco (optional)

Method

Cut out the bottom core and discard. Slice into slabs then chop to create 1/2" square pieces.

Mix together all the ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve chilled.