Sweet Potato & Pecan Pie

As I post my Thanksgiving recipes, I figure I should recap what we had this year.
To Drink:
Marinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider

...And Vin Glogg

 To eat:  Port Wine Cranberry Sauce

Quorn roast (for me the veggie), lobster tails (for my husband and a friend of ours, not veggie), Quadruple onion dressing (recipe to be posted soon), shallot mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, green bean casserole, roasted butternut squash, chive scones (recipe to be posted soon), and sweet potato pecan pie for dessert. Here's the pie:

Unlike all other Thanksgiving food, I don't have a particular nostalgia for any specific desserts. I was thumbing through my Dinosaur Bar-B-Que cookbook, and decided I wanted to make a sweet potato & pecan pie. This also makes the occasion of my first from scratch pie crust but I won't detail that here. I was a bit anxious about it; I'd only have sweet potato pie once before, about 10 years ago, but I was really happy with the results. I followed the recipe verbatim, Dinosaur gets the full credit here, with recipe put in my own words.

Sweet Potato & Pecan Pie (Makes 1 9-in pie)

• 1 frozen, pastry pie crust 

For the sweet potato filling:

• 2 C cooked, mashed sweet potato
• 3/4 C sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 14 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 C sweetened condensed milk

For the pecan topping:

• 1 C coarsely chopped pecans
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 dark corn syrup
• 1/3 tsp salt
• pinch ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Get out the crust and pie pan from the freezer. Mix together all the ingredients for the sweet potato filling in a large bowl and combine til smooth, working to get any lumps out of the potatoes. Set aside
2. In a separate bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the pecan topping and stir until well mixed. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pie crust shell and smooth out the top. Pour on the pecan topping and smooth out the top. 
3. Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours until the crust is golden and the filling firm. Serve at room temperature.

Kitchen Notes: This makes a very full pie, mine spilled over the top. The cookbook recommends a slightly larger than usual pie crust and a slightly deeper pie pan--use them if you have them! The only modification I made to the recipe was to add a bit more salt to the pecan mixture, which is captured in my printing of the recipe above. I thought a mild salty taste would complement the pecans well.

Verdict? This hybrid pie is a keeper! The smooth potato filling is an ideal match for the crunchy pecans. I will definitely make a few modifications for my next attempt though. I like more spice in my pie, so I'll add more cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. I'd also prefer for the pecans to be more of an additional layer, rather than a topping, so I will decrease the ratio of potato and increase the ratio of pecans.

Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes with Creamy Tomatillo Salsa

...with bonus fried pickles! Monday marked day 2 of vegan week. Here's a reminder. Monday, I ate the following:

• almond milk yogurt
• to drink: coffee, seltzer, coke, & water
• vegan chocolate cake**
• vegetable pizza*
• pepita-cranberry snack mix
• campanelle with garlicky broccoli**

*exempt leftover item that would spoil during vegan week if not eaten
**recipe to follow

This recipe was especially challenging for me. My husband and I had purchased some green tomatoes at the coop before vegan week with the intention of frying them. This was challenging because I had never made fried green tomatoes, and I wasn't sure how to compensate for the egg bath or buttermilk bath I had seen in most fried green tomato recipes.

I used the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que An American Roadhouse for guidance on prepping the tomatoes, but the recipe is my own. I searched online for a vegan buttermilk substitute, and the general consensus is 1 C soy milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, allowed to sit for 10 mins. The tomatillo recipe comes from Kevin at Closet Cooking, however the adaption into a creamy version is my own. Here we go!

Creamy Tomatillo Sauce (makes about 1 1/2 C--try to make in advance)

• 3/4 lb tomatillos, husked
• 2 jalapenos, stemmed and sliced in half longways
• 1/2 med-large onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 cloves garlic
• juice & zest of 1 lime
•  1/2 C cilantro
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 4 oz soy cream cheese

1. Put the broiler on high. Arrange the tomatillos, jalapenos (skin side up), and onion in a single layer on a baking sheet. 
2. Broil until the jalapenos are darkened, and the tomatillos blackened all over. The tomatillos release a lot of juices, be careful when removing from oven. 
3. In a food processor, place the tomatillos, jalapenos, onions, garlic, lime juice and zest, and cilantro and mix until it's reached the desired consistency. Add a bit of salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
4. Remove half of the tomatillo sauce and save for another recipe. Add the soy cream cheese and pulse til smooth. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.

Kitchen Notes: Kevin's original recipe called for 1lb tomatillos. I only had 3/4lb, so I reflected that here. I was concerned that the flavor of the sauce would be very charred tasting, but it isn't. I needed to remove the jalapenos before the tomatillos. I use Tofutti brand Better Than Cream Cheese.

                                                                  Waiting for the oven

                                                             Before Cream Cheese...

                                                             And After!

Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes (serves 3)

•  3 green tomatoes
• 3/4 C soy buttermilk (see instructions above)
• 1/2 C cornmeal
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning (or more, or less to taste), plus extra
• 1 tsp chili powder (or more, or less to taste)
• pepper to taste
• peanut oil 

1. Slice the tomatoes into 1/2 in slices. Blot on paper towels to drain and dry out the tomatoes a bit.
2. Begin heating the peanut oil to 350 degrees. You'll need at least 1/2 inch of oil for a 9 inch heavy skillet. Sprinkle a bit of Old Bay seasoning on each slice of tomato, each side. 
3. Mix together the corn meal, Old Bay, chili, and pepper in a large bowl. 
4.. Set up a work station: buttermilk, bread, fry, drain, warm. Dip a slice of tomato in buttermilk, shaking off excess. Next, heavily coat the tomato slice in the corn meal mixture. 
5. Fry the tomato 2-3 mins on each side. Several tomatoes can be cooked at once, but don't crowd the pan. 
6. Drain the tomatoes on a paper towel, and keep warm in low oven. 
7. Continue frying tomatoes, but ensure that oil returns to 350 before adding more. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! 

Kitchen Notes: The Dinosaur Bar B Que cookbook recommends breading the tomatoes then allowing them to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Verdict? Kevin's tomatillo sauce recipe was spot-on, I'll try to never buy commercial salsa verde again. The addition of the soy cream cheese made for an outstanding dip, but without the heaviness of cream based dips. The breading was delightful, but the tomatoes were not very crispy, but they were not soggy either. I'm exciting to make these again.

Dinosaur BBQ Jalapeno Cornbread

I'd been craving cornbread since I made blueberry butter. Then, my husband had planned to go to Dinosaur Bar B Que in NYC, which is the sister restaurant of the wildly popular original in Syracuse, NY. We used to go there when I was in school, and it's an egalitarian paradise. It's where bikers, professors, and students co-mingle. And it's a great spot for vegetarians. I'm not kidding.

I had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the Dinosaur empire when they catered an event at the Syracuse U bookstore and he bought some books from me. But I digress. My husband's planned trip to Dinosaur in NYC convinced me to make something from the Dinosaur Bar B Que cookbook, and cornbread it was.
 The cookbook's called Dinosaur Bar B Que: An American Roadhouse by John Stage and Nancy Radke.

Dinosaur BBQ Honey-Jalapeno Cornbread (serves 9-12)

• vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 C yellow cornmeal
• 3/4 C flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C buttermilk
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 C butter, melted
• 2 jalapenos, finely diced
• 1-2 Tbs honey

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 x 8 baking dish with the shortening. Pop the dish in the oven while the oven heats up.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter. Once mixed well, stir in the jalapenos.
4. Mix together the dry and wet ingredients until just moistened. 
5. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Cook for 25-30 mins (took 20 in my oven). Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean.
6. While the bread is still hot, drizzle the honey on the bread, and brush the honey over the top. After the bread has cooled 10 mins, it's ready to cut and enjoy. 


 Kitchen Notes: I had never made cornbread before, so I didn't deviate from the recipe. Now I'm ready for mix-ins. I'm thinking: cheddar, chipotle, chopped chives, or caramelized onions.

Verdict? The cornmeal I used came from a local farm, Moore Family Farm, and its ground was a lot coarser than cornmeal I've seen before. As a result, this is a slightly gritty, earthy tasting cornbread, but it works. The jalapenos don't add a lot of spice, but do contribute to the earthiness of the cornbread. It's not a very sweet variation, but the honey glaze adds a lot of depth. The vanilla is a crucial element of the flavor.