A new family dish: Sweet Potato and Sage Gratin

Hello out there to all the folks we saw this weekend!  Here is your introduction to my blog (as we probably discussed during our visit), and your access to the very popular sweet potato recipe we sampled. I tripled the recipe and baked it in a 9x13 baker and a smaller baker.

Sweet Potato and Sage Gratin

Photo and recipe credit:
thekitchn.com

4 large sweet potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, sliced thin
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper powder (optional)
1 cup cream
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan


Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 casserole or gratin dish. Peel and slice the potatoes. Toss them in a bowl with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.


Heat the butter in a heavy skillet and slowly caramelize the onions. When the onions are dark, add the garlic and cook just until golden. Reserve two tablespoons of the chopped sage and add the rest to the onions, along with the chipotle powder and cream. Cook until the cream is slightly reduced then remove from the heat.


Layer the potatoes in a greased casserole dish with the onions, lifting them out of the cream with a slotted spoon. Pour the cream over the top and bake for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are barely tender.


Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet and toast the reserved chopped sage and the breadcrumbs until golden and fragrant. Remove from heat and toss with the Parmesan. Sprinkle over top of the gratin and return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until brown and crispy.

Sunday Soup: Turkey noodle

I hope everyone out there had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  We got back into town earlier this afternoon, unpacked all of the cookware that I lugged to Door County, and spent the rest of the day decorating the apartment for Christmas. Things are pretty festive around here.

Today's soup is a nice one to use up a little bit of extra Turkey, herbs, celery, onions, and stock.  It's also super quick and easy to put together, and could definitely be done with chicken in place of the turkey.

Turkey Noodle Soup

- A glug of olive oil
- 2-3 ribs of celery, chopped (include some tops if you've got them)
- one onion, chopped

- those last few leaves of sage, chopped

- a couple of extra sprigs of thyme, stems discarded

- 6 c. turkey stock (or 4 c. stock and 2 c. water, that's what I used) (if you've got a turkey carcass hanging around from your feast, try making your own stock.  I didn't bring mine back, so I used Trader Joe's turkey broth)
- a handful of chopped cooked turkey meat
- two large handfuls of small pasta, like rotini or egg noodles
- salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and saute until translucent. Add the herbs and stir to combine.

Add the stock or water. Toss in the turkey and pasta. Simmer until the pasta is done cooking (around 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy!

Coziest spot in the apartment

This is currently my favorite spot in our little apartment:

Yes, that's a sheepskin. I know that this may bring up some feelings for some people about using animal parts...  I am more aligned with the belief that natural elements are better for our homes than man-made ones, like faux fur made from glorified plastic. So, I purchased two of these oh-so-cozy sheepskins from Ikea a few weeks back, and looooove them.  (The little pillow is from Target, purchased for our bedroom in our Redondo Beach place). I keep this one draped over the arm of the sofa when it's not in use, but when it's time to curl up on the couch and wind down from the day, I spread it under me and get C-O-Z-Y.  This is seriously the best spot in the apartment, hands down. I understand why animal furs have been used for centuries to keep humans protected from the elements. mmmmmm.

Thanksgiving decor

I generally place my decorating efforts/budget on Christmas, and this year is no exception. However, I wanted to be a little festive with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, so I created this centerpiece for our living room coffee table. I love the way this table accepts pretty much anything as far as decor goes, so things get switched out frequently.

I used a favorite wood platter (wedding gift from Al), some fake autumn leaves from a few years back, some dried chinese lantern flowers that I had laying around from the farmer's market, along with several varieties of squash (also from this fabulous market) to create a festive, natural decorative element.

This is a little glimpse into the work I've been doing this week. These are the non-fridge, non-pre-cooked  groceries that we'll be taking with us to Door County tomorrow, lining my insufferable hallway. Joe and I wish all of you a safe and smooth Travelgiving!

Thanksgiving: bring this dish!

This is a great dish to bring to a Thanksgiving potluck.  It's pretty easy, can be made ahead, and is a real crowd pleaser.  Not your traditional, can-shaped blob of cranberry gel!


Curried Cranberry Sauce


1 T vegetable oil
2 c fresh cranberries (about 8 oz)
1 T minced fresh ginger
2 c Pinot Noir
1 1/2 c sugar
3 T chopped crystalized ginger
1 t curry powder
large pinch Chinese 5-spice powder


Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add cranberries and fresh ginger; stir until cranberries begin to burst, about 3 minutes. Add wine and sugar; boil until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2, about 30 minutes. Add crystalized ginger, curry powder, and five spice powder. Season with salt and pepper. Serve cold, or, if desired, reheat over low heat, stirring often.

Sunday Soup: Butternut squash or "Thanksgiving in a bowl"

I'd like to thank Carrie, long time friend and author of Sunshine and Fresh Cut Grass, for the Sunday Soup shout-out, and the inspiration for this week's recipe!


Joe and I headed over to Ann Arbor for the football game between our Alma Mater and his current school, The University of Wisconsin.  Sadly, Big Blue lost (and NO, Joe was NOT cheering for the Badgers!). We hit the road early this morning, but still came home to lots of work to do to get ready for the week ahead.  Because of that, I needed a soup recipe that required few ingredients, all readily on hand.


I've been sitting here, planning the menu and shopping list for my family's Thanksgiving celebration, which will be held in Door County, WI (northern Wisconsin), in a couple of rented condos.  So, not only am I planning the menu and doing the shopping, I will be schlepping all of the essential cookware with me! It's looking pretty delicious...but a lot of work. I'm thinking that there is a big shopping trip in my near future, like tonight.


But I digress...

Photo from Carrie's blog post, above

This week's recipe: Butternut squash soup or "Thanksgiving in a Bowl"


1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 small sweet potatoes (because the regular potatoes were all sprouty, whoops!)
1 onion, chopped
1 quart veggie broth ('cause that's what's in the pantry, you could also use chicken broth or make your own veggie stock by simmering a quart plus a little extra water with a carrot, celery stalk, onion, and bay leaf)
1/2 to 1 cup whole milk (I'm stirring together some 2% and some half and half, since I don't have whole)


- preheat the oven to 400 F
- toss the squash and potatoes with olive oil and salt/pepper in a baking dish; bake for 45 minutes to an hour while blogging until tender
- transfer veggies and any juices into your favorite soup pot; add the broth and simmer over medium heat
- remove from heat and use an immersion blender, if you've got one, to puree the soup until smooth; or in batches in your regular blender (being careful to keep that lid on tightly!). As always, I like to leave a few chunks for texture.  
- stir in the milk to your desired thickness; season with salt and pepper.  


And since I know Joe will say, "You know what would make this even better?" I'll fry up some chopped bacon for a garnish.

Tailgate fare: Chili!

Hi all!  We are heading to Ann Arbor for the Michigan-Wisconsin football game this weekend. Since it'll be a little (ahem) chilly, I decided to whip up a batch of Chili for our tailgate!

The plan is to bring the chili in the cooler, and throw it in the slow cooker to heat up in the morning before we head out to tailgate.  Fingers crossed, it'll stay hot long enough for us to enjoy before we head to the game.

This is my mom's chili recipe, one that I grew up eating.  It is, by far, the best chili recipe out there. (Don't let Joe even talk to you about Chili by George, bleh).

2 lbs ground beef or turkey
1 lb sausage (I usually use hot Italian sausage, but today it was sweet because that's what Trader Joe's had)
1 large onion, chopped
1 sq unsweetened chocolate
1 green pepper
1 T salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 T Paprika
1 1/2 T Chili powder
1 T Cumin
2-3 cans chopped tomatoes
2 cans kidney beans
1 15 oz can tomato sauce

Saute the onion and brown the beef; drain, set aside. Brown the sausage separately; drain. Combine all ingredients, simmer ~2 hours.

If I've got some to use up, I throw in a tablespoon or so of ground cinnamon. Nommm.  Enjoy with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, saltines, lime, baked potato, tapatio, whatever! And Go Blue!

Sunday Soup: Lemony chicken and rice

Tonight's Sunday Soup was chosen for its comforting qualities, as I contracted a little bit (ok, a lotta bit) of a tummy ache over the weekend.  Also, it was easy and quick, which was necessary since we got home at about 4 from being in Michigan all weekend for Joe's Grandma's funeral.

The nice thing about this one, as well, is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples, so I had them all on hand without taking an extra trip to the store.

Lemony Chicken and Rice soup

32 oz Chicken broth (the amount in one of those resealable boxes, or two regular sized cans)

2/3 c. white rice (probably could use brown or some wild rice, but this is easy on the tummy and quicker to cook)

1/2 c. cooked chicken, chopped to 1/2" pieces

3 eggs

1/4 c. lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the broth and rice in a largish saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer (not a boil).

Cook 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is done. Add chicken.

While the rice is cooking, beat the eggs until frothy (I used my trusty Kitchenaide here, but I'm sure you could do it by hand). Whisk in the lemon juice. Ladle 1 c. of broth from the pot, then slooowly wisk this in (not too fast, or you could scramble the eggs, bleh).

Whisk this mixture into the rice/broth/chicken mixture. Cook on low-medium heat for 4 minutes (boiling here could lead to curdling of the eggs).

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with a little chopped fresh parsley if you've got it.

Joe recommends serving in a bread bowl (his request for our future renditions of this recipe).

Lighting inspiration

I found what I want for my hallway lighting situation.  OOOOOh I'm inspired. 

I've been thinking about how to add some flair to my light fixtures (thanks for the idea, Andrea). I needed something that would be inexpensive and that I could take with me when we leave the apartment.  I found this post from younghouselove, where they used a boring boob-light to create a custom drum pendant.

They converted this...

http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/06/office-progress-let-there-be-light/

Into this... 

http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/06/office-progress-let-there-be-light/

This was done using a large drum shade.

Kind of like this one, which would go nicely with my decor...

http://www.shadesoflight.com/carnival-wonderland-lamp-shade-2-colors.html

 

 

 

 

Alas, the $125 price tag might be a bit steep. I think I'm on the right track, though, since I found some boob lights for 2 for $10 at Menards last week, and the landlord will be installing them next week (and since they'll stay when we leave, I included the receipt with the rent check, so this part was free for me!).  I'll keep looking for a more affordable version of the above lampshade, then use the hardware of the boob light to customize a fun light fixture to jazz up the hallway.

Cure my hallway: New hall table

In an effort to cure my long, bare hallway, I addressed a couple of issues: created a designated "landing strip" for thing like keys and sunglasses, as well as improved the little "jog" in the hall.  I purchased a console table (with a %25 off coupon) from none other than World Market, my source for affordable, rich looking, solid wood furniture.

Photo credit: World Market

The table works perfectly because of the curved shape (less likely to graze the corner with a hip or something). I feel like the curve is easier to walk around than a rectangle table, so it works nicely with the narrow hallway.  Also, it's the only one I found, through some pretty extensive searching, that is just 12.5" deep.  Again, works well with the 39" hallway.

TA DA!

To give you an idea of how it works in the little "jog"

I used several accessories that were already on hand, such as the candle stick, gerbera daisy plant, and bowl of stones (we try to have friends write their names on a stone when they come to our house, although I think we're out of blanks at the moment). We also have a wooden bread server that, for a long time, has served as a catch-all spot for random pens, coupons, tape measures... This has found a new home on the shelf of the console. I bought a new candle, a li'l arty thing, and a really pretty ceramic bowl that will catch our keys and sunglasses.

Plan is to add some more art and possibly remove the full length mirror from the wall across the hall from the table... I have to convince the husband that this is a good idea, and that there is somewhere else better suited for the mirror.  We'll see.





P.S. Please keep the Ypma family in thought and prayers this week. Joe's grandmother passed away today. He and I will be making the trip to Michigan tomorrow and Thursday, respectively. 

Keep up with housework: 20 minutes per day

I wanted to share this Apartment Therapy post outlining a 30 day schedule for keeping your home clean. The suggestion is to set aside just 20 minutes per day to tackle these tasks, which should be adjusted according to your home's needs. My plan, since I just discovered this schedule yesterday, is to start with #7 (get it? it's November 7 today) and tackle the windows. I will probably spend a bit of extra time cleaning the bathroom window, as I have been slowly but surely tackling each window and scrubbing the heck out of the windows, sills, etc. They were filthy when we moved in, and take about 45 minutes each to clean. I will also be heading to the laundromat, sigh.

The 30 day schedule

1. Surface clean living room and kitchen (pick up stray items, dust, sweep, vacuum)
2. Clean bathrooms (toilets, showers, floors, walls, mirrors)
3. Surface clean bedrooms (put away toys, clothes, dust)
4. Surface clean "extra" rooms (basement, office, play room)
5. Surface clean living room and kitchen
6. Clean bathrooms
7. Clean all interior windows (white vinegar and newspaper works great and is cheap!)
8. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house (don't forget stairs)
9. Surface clean bedrooms
10. Deep clean living room (mirrors, baseboards, dust artwork)
11. Clean bathrooms
12. Clean out closets (hang up clothes, mittens, jackets, hats)
13. Surface clean "extra" rooms
14. Deep clean bedrooms (organize drawers, check under bed, tidy closet, dust artwork, fans, lights, mop)
15. Surface clean living room and kitchen
16. Deep clean bathrooms (clean inside drawers, inside of trash cans, tops of mirrors, tile, mop)
17. Clean all door knobs, phones, entertainment equipment (remote controls), switch plates, banisters and other things that are repeatedly touched.
18. Clean out the refrigerator, take stock of food, organize pantry
19. Clean entryway, sweep porch (if you have one), clean out car (because they're often our home away from home)
20. Surface clean living room and kitchen
21. Surface clean bathrooms
22. Surface clean bedrooms
23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable
25. Surface clean living room and kitchen
26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)
27. Surface clean bathrooms
28. Surfaces clean bedrooms
29. Clean one item you've been meaning to get to and haven't (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)
30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

 I figured this is just what a full-time workin', part time domestic, MBA student wife like me needs to stay on top of the chores!

A switcheroo

Awhile back, I posted this post showcasing my un-packed kitchen. After living with it for a couple of months, I decided to do a little switcheroo (is that how it's spelled? no idea).

See, the kitchen table used to be in the middle of the room, allowing us to pull four seats up to it (even though it's a little tight). The butcher block island lived next to the windows and served as our primary prep space.  This worked fine, but I wanted to try a little experiment: I swapped the placement of the table and the island (dramatic, I know).

Here's how it looks, now.

 

The island now floats in the middle-ish of the room and continues to provide lots of prep space. The pantry is about 18" to the right of the island (can't see it in the photo), and there is plenty of space to easily stand between the island and the pantry, take out what we need, and set it on the island for prep. 

 

The table and chairs are tucked away against the wall, which seems to work pretty nicely. We moved the extra stools below the wire rack that stands over the radiator. There, they can easily be pulled up to the island while one or the other of us (let's be serious, while I) cooks for a glass of wine and a chat. Or, if we have friends over, we can pull the table out and add the two stools. This works much better for our daily needs.

This adjustment in furniture placement seems to give us a lot more space to walk around, and is a lot more efficient.  I think I was originally grieving the loss of our separate dining room, so I wanted to have plenty of room for friends to eat with us.  The reality is, though, that company is on the rare side, and we mainly use the table for our dinners together. Someday I'll have a dining room again, though, I'm sure of it! 

Slow cooker, to the rescue!

I knew when I woke up this morning that it would be a busy evening. Joe and I each had a couple of errands to run after work, Joe has a volleyball game, and I needed to whip something up for a book club meeting tomorrow. Little time would be available to make dinner. So...

SLOW COOKER, TO THE RESCUE!

Chicken with mixed dried fruit

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen solid (just kidding, this isn't a requirement, but mine were a brick!)
a couple of leeks, sliced (could chop a medium onion, if you wanted)
a couple of handfuls of dried fruit (I used raisins and dried apricots, which I roughly chopped)
a couple of shakes of ground ginger (or fresh, if you want)
a couple of shakes of cinnamon
a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
a spoonful of honey
about 2 c. water

Throw it all in.  Turn on the slow cooker to low. Cook for 9 hours.

When you get home, throw some rice on the stove, then eat in 15 minutes with minimal effort!

How's that, MBA students?