i had chili on my mind all day yesterday.  we also have sweet potatoes coming out of our ears over here.  so i decided to make a sweet potato chili.  i love putting butternut squash in my chili so i thought sweet potatoes might be nice too.  they added a sweetness that i love in chili.  we also made some cornbread to go along with it… i’ll just say, i am glad there is leftovers!

recipe follows

ingredients

medium onion

green pepper

2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes

2 cloves garlic

1 big can of tomatoes

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

water

salt

1 Tbsp chili powder, or more to taste

directions

-saute the onion and  green pepper until slightly browned

-put all of the ingredients in crock pot, including the onions and peppers

-turn to high and cook for a couple of hours

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i have said this time and time again, we are so lucky to have an all year growing season.  it always makes me happy to see winter gardens.  the plants look tough and strong which helps then get through the cold nights.

yesterday we visited a lovely garden of a couple who moved a big farmhouse to their lot 19 years ago.  they have created this amazing space and eat from their garden all year long.  i left their country home….feeling inspired.

they also had a room of vines that was magical.

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• the best mac and cheese…ever
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you can get mac and cheese at just about anywhere you go in the south-  and everyone does it different.  some cheesy..some creamy. some better than others.

yesterday i made this recipe which i cannot take any credit for.  it was surely worth mentioning though.  this is one of the best mac and cheeses that i have ever eaten.  the nutmeg in the recipe may sound strange but trust me it makes it amazing.

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this time of year you see collards everywhere. the frost has sweetened them up, and out in the country, you might see a whole truck load of collards.  if a crowd is coming for new years, you may see people cooking up a black cast iron pot full over a fire. some people still do it that way, but most cook a big pot full in the house.  we picked a pile of leaves and simply chopped them up, and cooked them down.  we ate them seasoned up with a little soy sauce and apple cider vinegar.  we had enough to eat for 4 days, just keeping them in the pot on the back porch at night.  good eatin’!

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this weekend was filled with lots of celebrations to bring in the new year.  amongst the collards and black eyed peas i made a spinach artichoke dip to share.  this one is always a crowd pleaser.

ingredients

2 cans of artichokes, not marinated

3/4 cup mayonnaise

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup + 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 cups fresh spinach

1 small can of chillies

crushed red peppers, optional

directions

-pre- heat oven to 350 degrees

-usually artichokes are quartered so i like to chop them up a little bit

-put the artichokes, mayonnaise, chopped garlic, 1 cup parmesan, spinach, chillies, and spice to your likings

-mix and pour into a baking dish

-bake with foil for 40 minutes

-remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes or so .  you want the cheese to be melted and slightly browned.

-enjoy with crackers, pits, crostinis, or fresh bread

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for our holiday feast,  my contribution was sweet potato pie.  we ran out of vanilla so i added some bourbon.  i think that this will be my new standard sweet potato pie!

there was enough filling for one full pie and another partially filled pie.  glad that there was left overs.

click to read recipe

ingredients

1 pie crust, i used a pre-made crust

2 cups sweet potato puree

4 Tbsp brown butter, click here for instructions

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup sea salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

directions

-pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

-blind bake pie crust with pie weights

-remove crust and turn oven down to 375 degrees

-mix the rest of the ingredients together

-pour filling into pie crust

-put pie into oven and bake for 50 minutes at 375 degrees

-enjoy with some freshly whipped cream, sweetened with maple syrup

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i always love getting our weekly box of fresh vegetables from our farm.  this week was especially exciting when we opened up our box and saw this amazing romanesco cauliflower.   last night we made some soup with it.  one of many wintry soups to come.

recipe follows

ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion

2 stalks of celery

1 large head of romanesco cauliflower (or regular if you can’t find it)

2 small or 1 large potato, skinned

4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

3 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper to taste

directions

-dice the onion and celery and saute in olive oil on low for 5 minutes or onions are translucent

-cut the potato, cauliflower, into small pieces, place in soup pot.

-add all ingredients and cook until tender.

-cool

-puree in a  handheld immersion blender or regular blender until smooth

-enjoy alongside a warm baguette

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we hope that everyone had a great thanksgiving!  we sure ate well this year!  i have been so busy lately so i loved spending the entire day in the kitchen, cooking away.  one of my favorite things that i made was a chanterelle and leek gravy.

this year we harvested lots and lots of chanterelle mushrooms, too many to eat.  we thankfully dried a few jars full and now get to eat chanterelles all year round.  if you don’t have dried chanterelles in your kitchen, you can also find dried and sometimes fresh chanterelles at your local health food store.  I had a beautiful bundle of leeks from a local farm and they made a great pairing.

click below to read the recipeingredients

3 Tbsp organic unsalted butter + 1 Tbsp for leeks

2 Tbsp AP flour

1/2 cup dried chaterelles

1 cup water ( you may need to add more)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

a bundle of leeks

directions

-make a roux with the 3 Tbsp butter and 3 Tbsp flour

-re constitute mushrooms by simmering dried ones in the water.  sprinkle some salt

-thinly slice the white part of the leek and 1 inch of the green part

-sautee the leeks in 1 Tbsp butter

-combine all ingredients including the stock from the mushrooms

-using a hand held immersion blender, puree the gravy until smooth.

enjoy on mashed potatoes….or whatever else you put gravy on!

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if you have ever been driving through the northeast mountains of georgia, you may have visited one of the many orchards selling fried pies. while on a recent trip to the mountains, we were inspired to make these pumpkin fried pies. we used a fresh mountain pumpkin, local sorghum, and pecans from our own tree.

click to see recipe

pumpkin fried pies with a sorghum and pecan topping

makes 10 – 12 pies

for dough:

store bought crusts work fine for these pies, but for those who embrace working from scratch (and have the time), here is a recipe for perfectly buttery crusts:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 t salt

1 t brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 cup ice water

combine flour, salt and sugar in a food processor. add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

add water in a slow steady stream through the processor’s feed tube while the machine is running.

once the dough is holding together, pinch a ball with your fingers. if the dough seems crumbly, add more ice water, no more than 1 tablespoon at a time. test until the dough is bound. do not over process – over processing will create a tough crust.

divide the dough into 2 equal balls. press each into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour before using.

***dough can be frozen for up to one month.

pumpkin filling:

1 cup pumpkin puree, fresh or canned

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 stick butter, melted or browned

2 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/2 t allspice

1/2 t fresh grated ginger

pinch of salt

combine all ingredients until smooth – this can be done in a mixer, food processor or by hand.
Sorghum & Pecan Sauce

1 cup sorghum. *you can substitute cane syrup, maple syrup or honey

1/4 cup brown butter

1/2 cup chopped georgia pecans

pinch salt

melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. to brown, let milk solids begin to brown on the bottom of the pan. scrape with a spatula to avoid burning. once the butter has become golden brown and has a nutty aroma, add pecans. remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. add sorghum. return to medium heat. stir until combined.

to assemble:

roll out pie crust on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. using a 4” round cutter, cut rounds out of dough.

on one half of each round, scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of pumpkin filling. brush the edges of the round with water and fold over to make semi-circular pies.

press the seams together lightly. with a fork, gently press seams together, being careful not to pierce dough.

frying pies

heat 1-2 quarts corn oil to 350-375 degrees. the amount of oil will depend on the size of your pan. we used a stovetop pot with a fryer basket but an electric home fryer works perfect. carefully lower each pie into the oil, making note not to crowd. we fried no more than 2 at a time. you want to maintain a good frying temperature and too many cool pies will drop the oil’s temperature, causing the pies to stick together or get super greasy, so be patient…

fry each pie until golden brown, flipping once during the process.

serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of sorghum-pecan sauce.

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