Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro & Lime

As promised, here is the recipe for the AH-MAZING sweet potatoes we made on Memorial Day! They were super tasty, but here are some observations: (1) I think we cooked them too much before placing them on the grill. And I think next time I will try using fatter sweet potatoes or cutting them in slabs rather than wedges since ours were REALLY skinny potatoes. My husband had had a hard time turning the potatoes on the grill for both reasons. (2) I would add a touch more cayenne. The sweet potatoes themselves are such a dominate flavor, they can stand up to more heat in my opinion. Ours tuned out so mild that our friends 3 year old had no problem eating them. (3) I also didn't end up using all the salt lime mixture. For the size of our potatoes it just seemed like it would have been too much. All that said I will SOOOO be making them again!

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cilantro and Lime
(Recipe by Bobby Flay via Food Network)

INGREDIENTS:
3 sweet potatoes, unpeeled
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
 
DIRECTIONS:
1) Parcook the potatoes: Place in a pot of water and boil until fork-tender; let cool. Slice each potato lengthwise into eighths (quarters or sixths worked better for my skinny potatoes).

2)  Preheat a grill to medium.

3)  Mix 1 tablespoon salt, the lime zest and cayenne in a small bowl.
 
4)  Brush the potato wedges with the oil and season with salt and pepper. 

5)  Grill until golden brown on all sides (including the skin) and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. 

6)  Transfer to a platter; immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

NOTE: You can also cook these on a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. And the lime salt mixture plus cilantro would be TASTY on pre-packaged oven baked sweet potato fries! 

This is not the best picture - frankly I gobbled them too quickly to think of capturing a good photo.  This was taken the next day as I reheated the leftovers - which were still very tasty!

Memorial Day - Grilling & friends!

I love having people over - sitting around my back yard, talking about everything and nothing all at the same time, enjoying tasty food, and simply being in the company of good friends is the BEST! yesterday we celebrate Memorial Day with 2 other couples who have children around the same ages as our kids.  So much fun despite the funky weather! The children were digging in the dirt, running around, laughing, and playing with each other. The dads all gathered around the grill.  The mom's lounged in chairs trying to keep tabs on the kiddos and get caught up on life. Delightful!

And of course we had some great nosh! Beverages - Brazilian lemonade for the adults (although there is no alcohol, so you could share with the kids if you WANTED to) and juice boxes for the little ones. Grilled shrimp (with my new favorite condiment chimichurri sauce), three kinds of grilled sausages, hamburgers for the kiddos, fruit salad, corn on the cob, and a lovely new recipe for grilled sweet potato spears with lime and cilantro. For dessert we served strawberry bread pudding with vanilla ice cream, and some tasty s'more muffins.

While everything was D-LISH, the two standouts for me were both full of summertime lime flavor. Here is the recipe for the beverage with respective source link:

Brazilian Lemonade
(and yes, I do think it is odd to call a drink with no lemons a lemonade, but TRUST me! It is so smooth and tasty, yo won't really care!)

INGREDIENTS:
4 juicy limes
1 cup sugar
6 cup cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS:
1) Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.
2) Wash limes thoroughly to remove any wax. Cut each lime into 4 pieces and place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.
3)  Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 - 6 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large serving pitcher and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Discard the pulp and skins. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water.
4) Add sweetened condensed milk (THIS is the secret ingredient that makes this beverage SO yummy!) You may want to taste test it at this point - If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more sweetened condensed milk.
5) Serve immediately over lots of ice. This will begin to curdle if it sits too long, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance).

NOTES:  Serves 6 - you'll want to have another batch ready to go though, because your guests will want more! My husband said it reminded him of Key Lime pie and was surprised how smooth and not too sweet it was. I could see adding a splash of coconut rum to this for a truly tropical summer adult beverage!

Tomorrow I will share the recipe for the sweet potatoes!! They were even tasty reheated for lunch!  I think they will show up often on our backyard BBQ menus.

Birthday Popcorn!

For my baby's first birthday this past weekend we had a Minnie Mouse theme. Everything was in various shades of pink.  The Menu:  make your own Minnie sandwiches, "Minnie" quiches, crudité with hummus, a huge pile of strawberries, cupcakes and ice cream, and piled high in trifle bowl, pink popcorn. the popcorn was SO easy to make and super tasty. One of my friend said it reminded of her the Mother's brand Circus Animal cookies - both in color and flavor. it is a lovely concoction of salty, sweet and crunchy. I made two batches and combined them in one big bowl for a fun festive look.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag of microwave popcorn (I used Orville Redenbacher's Naturals, Simply Salted)
6 oz. white candy melts (1/2 a bag)
gel food coloring
1 t. coconut oil (or vegetable shortening if you don't like / have coconut oil)
candy sprinkles

EQUIPMENT:
Rimmed cookie sheet
Silicone baking mat or parchment
Microwave safe bowl

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Pop the popcorn and spread out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2)  Cook candy melts in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat, microwaving for 20 seconds at a time until smooth. Add 1 to 2 drops of the gel food coloring plus coconut oil and stir until the food coloring is completely mixed in.

NOTE:  If you are using colored candy melts you do not need to add the coconut oil and food coloring.  Only add the coconut oil if you are adding additional water based liquid, like flavored extracts or food coloring - this will ensure a smooth consistency).

3)  Pour the melted candy melt mixture over your popcorn. Use a rubber spatula or your hands to coat all of the popcorn with the candy melt mixture. I found it much easier to control the popcorn by using my hands - candy melt mixture is warm but will not burn you.
4)  Sprinkle your favorite candy sprinkles or colored sugar. Toss the mixture and sprinkle again to ensure the sprinkles get on every piece of popcorn.
5)  Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes.  You can now dig in! The popcorn will stay fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

You could easily change up colors and flavors using any combination of color food coloring, extract flavors, and sprinkles.

Manly Quiche

Last night was another of my Family Dinner Nights.  We had a bunch of left overs from my daughters 1st birthday party - deli meat, cheese, and veggies galore!  We made a truly delicious gluten free quiche with a hash brown crust that was inspired by a goat cheese and arugula quiche recipe found here. I tossed a bunch of the left over crudité with some spring lettuce mix for a tasty salad. To quote my husband, "Real men eat quiche. Especially when it is made with hash browns and bacon!" There was not a spec left!

INGREDIENTS:
cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter, melted - plus more for pan
1 pound package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
8 large eggs
sea salt and ground pepper
½ cup light sour cream
1 cup half and half
sea salt
8 - 10 oz  grated cheese (I had left over deli cheese so I just chopped it roughly) 8 - 10 oz  chopped deli ham
1/2 cup red onion - small dice
3/4 cup cooked and crumbled bacon (4 - 5 slices)

DIRECTIONS:
1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2)  Spray a 9-by-2 1/2-inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Line the sides of the pan with strips of parchment paper (trim to the same height as pan). Spray the parchment with more cooking spray - this part is essential, it will give you a beautiful golden crust and as well as keep the crust from sticking to your pan.
3)  Place hash browns on 3-4 thicknesses of paper towels and fold paper towels over potatoes. Hold over sink and squeeze excess moisture from hash browns.
4)  In a large mixing bowl whisk  melted butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add squeezed hash browns and mix until all the butter egg mixture is coating the hash browns. Pat into bottom and up sides of prepared pan, using your hands. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes (we did 18 minutes in our convection oven).
5)  In a large bowl, whisk 7 remaining eggs, sour cream, half and half,  cheese, ham, onion, bacon, 1 teaspoons sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until well combined. Pour into crust, and bake until set, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove outer ring of springform pan, and gently peel off parchment paper.
6)  Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.


NOTES: you could sub any meat and cheeses you like.  Spinach, arugula, chopped broccoli, chopped asparagus, or green onions would be good too.

(photo curtsey of Sarah Germain)

DIY Beauty...

My older girls asked to watch Beauty & the Beast while their baby sister napped this morning. I took the opportunity to do a little "beauty" work myself. I perused Pinterest and came upon an interesting article about the benefits of honey for your skin. Honey has great cleansing and moisturizing qualities. I've heard of "washing" your face with honey - it is supposed to minimize pores, remove gunky build up, moisturize, and thus reduce blemishes - so I thought, what the hay, lets give it a try!

I pulled back my hair and squeezed a quarter size dollop of honey into my palm. I massaged it into my face all over. After sitting with it on my face for 15 minutes I used warm water and a face cloth to wash it off. My face feels WONDERFUL! Soft and smooth. AND because this is so gentle and good for your skin you can do this facial multiple times a week! Yay!

Winner winner chicken dinner!

This was super tasty, super fast, & super easy! Grilled chicken, fruit salad, multigrain veggie medley.

I marinated 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts for about an hour in about:

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 T Mrs Dash (garlic herb)
2 T canola oil

Then my hubby cooked it on the grill.
- - -
The multigrain veggie mix is a bag from trader joes in the frozen section - thaw and serve.
- - -
For the fruit salad you can use any combo you like. Here is what I had on hand and it turned out great. The key is to use citrus juice to prevent browning, and use a variety of textures. My 3 year old asked for another helping 4 times!

2 apples, cored & chopped
1 pint of strawberries, quartered and chopped
1 cup frozen peaches, chopped
3 cutie clementines chopped
plus the juice of 1 more cutie

Toss it all to make sure the juice from the cutie coats everything to prevent browning. Let rest at least 30 min so that the peaches thaw completely and the fruit has a chance to mingle & get happy.