Sweet Potato Fries

These did not come out as crispy as I had hoped they. They are cooked through and resemble fries. I used Japanese sweet potatoes (red skin, yellow flesh) for this; though certainly garnet yams (red skin, orange flesh) or the other sweet potatoes (brown skin, white/beige flesh) can be also be used.

The Foodening Blog: Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2" matchsticks
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Clean and cut sweet potatoes so that the pieces resemble fries. The idea is to cut them into uniform sizes so the fries cook evenly. Toss in a large bowl with olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper.

Spread onto a baking tray in a single layer.

Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F. Remove from oven and flip fries with a spatula. Return tray to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.

Serve with homemade ketchup.

Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Yams and Sweet Potatoes

I really don't get why Americans would put a layer of marshmallows on top of an already sweet root vegetable; perhaps to get the kids to eat it? to salute industrialized manufacturing? to pad the coffers of the corn industry? At any rate, this recipe ignores all of that marshmallow nonsense.

Depending on how many guests you have, it is likely that you'll either have a few leftovers or a lot. This side dish is for people who don't necessarily care for mashed potatoes for their starch allotment at Thanksgiving; like me. I don't like putting a serving size estimate on a side dish since it doesn't really reflect a true serving size when paired with a larger holiday meal. A whole yam or potato is the typical serving size for an adult.

Ingredients

6-8 medium-sized yams, any variety, peeled and cut into 1" wedges
1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in to 1" wedges
3-4 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves only, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. In a very large bowl, combine peeled yam and potato wedges with garlic, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Mix with hands or a large spoon to evenly coat the wedges.

2. This may need two rimmed baking sheets, depending on the amount of cooked. Spread into a single layer on a prepared baking sheet (either use a Silpat, or a buttered baking dish, otherwise the wedges will stick to the bottom of the sheet)

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the wedges are fork-tender.

Chestnut Soup

It is good to end a rainy day with a hot bowl of homemade soup. This one turned out really tasty and I only added one leftover to it, baked Japanese sweet potatoes. Tree-grown chestnuts are hard to come by, mostly because the last three seasons haven't been good growing conditions for local chestnut growers. This years' chestnuts from the farmers market were really small. In previous years I'd gotten my chestnuts, fresh and dried, from the Allen Creek Chestnut Farm in Ridgefield, WA.

Steaming chestnuts rather than roasting allowed me to peel the chestnuts easier with less waste. For this soup, half were roasted and the other half were halved then steamed.

Ingredients

2 c. roasted or steamed chestnuts, coarsely chopped
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 carrot, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 1/2 Japanese sweet potatoes, cooked and coarsely chopped
1 tbsp dry sherry
1/2 tsp dried marjoram (optional)
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a 3-qt pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook vegetables for 25 minutes, or until the onions start to caramelize. 

2. Add peeled chestnuts, salt, freshly ground black pepper, marjoram and water. Bring to a boil, then let simmer over low-medium heat for 45 minutes. Mid-way through cooking, add the Japanese sweet potatoes, if using. In the last five minutes of cooking, add the sherry.

3. Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup.

4. Serve while hot. Can garnish with fresh cream.