Archive for April, 2009

I Give You Sweet Potatoes

April 2, 2009

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Friends, it’s been a week.

First of all, I had no monitor until late last night.  I felt so utterly disconnected from the outside world and so bummed to not be able to share some really great recipes with you.  Thankfully, Dell, Federal Express, and my husband came through.

Second of all, I did indeed have a flat tire and it could not be repaired.  Because I have a four wheel drive car, that means having to replace all four tires.  Now that is NOT what I want to spend money on.

Third of all, my original client – the one who got me started as a personal chef and the one who has remained constant all along – laid me off two weeks shy of our three year anniversary.  She is in sales and her commission structure changed drastically.  Drastically enough that having a personal chef became an unnecessary luxury.  I completely understand this.  A personal chef is not a good thing to be during a recession.  I can’t help but feel very sad about the whole thing because, in addition to being great clients, they are good friends.  The friendship will continue but the job will not.

I still have two clients and will continue cooking for them on Tuesdays.  I am thankful to have them.

Onward to good news!

First of all, we are going to San Francisco this weekend, just the two of us.  I can’t even believe it and I can’t tell you how excited I am.  Since I almost never fly without my kids, I am even excited about the flight.  Magazines!  Airline food!  Airline wine!

We are staying at a lovely hotel and plan to just walk the city and eat well the whole time we are there.  We had a weekend away for my birthday last year and this is just as needed.  It is an incredible luxury to have time just with your spouse when you have young children and I can’t wait!

Second of all, finally she gets to the food, sweet potatoes.  This is a recipe I truly adore and have made many times, including for parties I have catered.  When I tested out the macaroni and cheese recipes, I also tested these out as a possible catering item.  They got devoured.  You know you have something good when it disappears from the table.  I decided to make them for my clients along with homemade veggie burgers and homemade buns.  I had high hopes for those burgers, but alas, they did not turn out quite the way I wanted them to.  The sweet potatoes did though.  Sadly, due to the tire episode (see above) I was not able to get this dinner to two out of three clients.  We were able to enjoy it with a lovely friend who I reconnected with on Facebook.  There were lots of extra sweet potatoes for us to eat.

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Spicy Sweet Potatoes with Lime
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s The New Classics
Serves 6

Strange as it may sound, the sauce really makes this recipe, so don’t skip it!

4 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. hot paprika (DN: I used smoked paprika.)
1 tsp. ground ginger
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime wedges, for serving
Yogurt Dipping Sauce (recipe below)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Heat a baking sheet in the oven until hot, about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, slice the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; slice each half into 3 wedges.  Place in a medium bowl, and toss with the oil, cumin, paprika, and ginger.  Season with salt and pepper.

2.  When the baking sheet is hot, remove from the oven.  Arrange the sweet potatoes in a single layer on the sheet.  Return to the oven; cook until the potatoes are crisp and golden on the bottom, about 15 minutes.  Turn, and contiue cooking until golden all over, about 15 minutes more.

3.  Remove from the oven; season with salt and pepper.  Serve with lime wedges and sauce.

Yogurt Dipping Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

1 cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. chopped toasted walnuts
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
Coarse salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.



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