Thanksgiving Adventures: Yams

There are a number of benefits in having a steady female presence in one's life. Among the numerous reasons I'm thankful for the lady in my life is her cooking. Catfish? Whoo boy! Her macaroni & cheese? Ruined me for anyone else's or any brand, for that matter.

So, when she told me that Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without yams, I said sure thing, Babe, let's hit the grocery store and get down to business.

Ingredients:

1 29 Ounce Can of Yams

1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 Tablespoon Melted Butter

1/4 Cup of Evaporated Milk

Mini Marshmallows

Steps/Analysis:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the yams into an oven safe baking pan or casserole and get mashing. If you don't have a potato masher on hand, a fork works just as well.

Add the remaining wet and dry ingredients, except for the marshmallows, and stir to combine. You'll notice the pumpkin pie spice coming into play again. There's no sense in letting it go to waste, but if you didn't just finish baking a pie, cinnamon and nutmeg are essential.

Next, toss in a handful or two of marshmallows and give them a quick stir as well.

Finally, use the rest of your marshmallows to create a thin top layer. It's okay to see some yams poking through this level of soft, pillowy sweetness, so don't pack them too tight.

That's really all there is to it. Pop those yams into the oven for about 20 minutes or until the marshmallows on top are melty and starting to brown.

Serving/Notes:

Spoon these bad boys onto a plate with some turkey and enjoy.

In all likelihood, you'll have a ton of marshmallows left over because they're generally packaged in pretty big bags. My suggestion? Make some hot chocolate for yourself.

Simply Sides: Pineapple Slaw

To wrap up my report of this week's dinner, I wanted to share this really easy, colorful, and tasty side with you.

Ingredients:

1/2 Small Pineapple

1 Red Bell Pepper

4-6 Carrots

1 Lime

Small Bunch of Parsley

Steps/Analysis:

I made one significant change to the original Real Simple recipe I found. It called for one small jicama. Now, I'm not entirely sure what a jicama is, but I do know that my local grocery store doesn't carry them. Stymied in the produce aisle, I racked my brain for a logical substitute. Carrots seemed a welcome addition to any slaw and the bright, orange color would go well with the yellow pineapple and red bell peppers, so I grabbed a pack and called it a day.

If you have a greater variety of produce at your disposal, I encourage you to try jicama (and let me know what it tastes like!).

I was actually able to find a nicely plastic-wrapped half pineapple. If you can't, you'll have to make do with what's available, but I would avoid the temptation to sub this ingredient out. Carefully cut away the sharp, knobby skin and slice the fruit into thin strips, about 2-3 inches long.

Treat your bell pepper and carrots the same way, making sure to peel the carrots beforehand. Toss all three prepared ingredients in a large bowl.

Roughly chop the parsley and add it to the mix. Try not to let any stems in; they're not particularly pleasant to chomp on.

Finally, cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over the slaw. Mix everything up with a large spoon and bring it to the table.

Serving/Notes:
The combination of fruits and vegetables may seem odd, but this turned out to be a very nice, refreshing side. I was particularly surprised by the remarkably tasty combination of bell pepper and pineapple. The two really compliment each other well.

This sweet, tangy slaw goes well with the pork tenderloin from my last post, but I imagine it would be a welcome addition to any strong meaty entree, especially if that entree happens to be served at a barbecue.

Garlic Bread Doesn't Get Any Easier

Remember that toast sitting next to the frittata in my last post? That, my readers, is the easiest garlic bread you'll ever make.

Ingredients:

Bread

Olive Oil

Garlic Salt

Steps/Analysis:

It seems a little misleading to even call this a recipe. Three ingredients and barely as many steps. The hardest part is finding the right bread. A French baguette or Italian bread will do nicely. Basically, though, you'll want a nice, crusty loaf - something that you can cut into thick slabs.

Lay your slices out on a baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil. You'll want to get a nice, even coating so feel free to use a brush if you have one. A paper towel can be used to effectively spread the oil as well.

Next, sprinkle some garlic salt over the whole kit and caboodle. Be careful, though, because its potent stuff. Too much will overload your taste buds in the final product, but just enough will provide all the garlicky goodness you'll need.

Place the baking sheet on the top rack of a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it'll burn quickly. Once it's brown and crispy, it's done.

Notes:

Is it fine dining? Not quite, but it's pretty much interchangeable with the garlic bread you'll find at just about any restaurant. It's a damn fine second fiddle to an appropriate entree.

Spruced-up Guacamole

Since I've got a few recipes back-logged at this point in time, I thought I'd parse some out as time and interest allowed. This first taste isn't a meal, but it is one of my favorite shortcut snacks/sides: Spruced-up Guacamole.

Ingredients:
Store-bought guacamole
Onion
Tomato
Bell Pepper
Jalapeno Pepper
1/2 of a Lime
Salt

Steps/Analysis:
I prefer organic guacamole out of a tub rather than a tube. That may be an aesthetic choice, though. Something about squeezing creamy, green goo out a small opening rubs me the wrong way and conjurs up all kinds of unappetizing imagery.

Dump the guac into a bowl and break out your cutting board. At this point, I encourage you to experiment with your own methods; see what appeals to your tastes. I don't think I've ever made this the same way twice, but here are the general ratios that seem to work best for me.

Onion is your work horse here. It's going to provide a lot of good, contrasting texture. I recommend up to half of a medium-sized onion, depending on how much guacamole you have. In any case, you should add about twice as much onion as any other ingredient. Chop and toss in equal amounts tomato and bell pepper and one small jalapeno.

A couple important notes about the jalapeno. First, scrape out all the seeds. You want the flavor, but a minimal amount of heat; that's not what guac is about. Second, wear gloves of some kind. I cannot stress that enough. Wash all you want, the raw jalapeno will stay on your hands and under your nails for days and you will pay the price. If you use canned or otherwise already processed jalapenos (which is certainly an option) this isn't as much of a concern.

Squeeze half of a lime over the mixture, no more. There's a lot of moisture in the tomatoes you added and you don't want soupy dip. The acid will keep your guac green by preventing oxidation and that nasty brown color. Stir everything up and salt to taste.

That's it! Serve and enjoy. 15 minutes of effort and the fresh ingredients will liven up any store-bought guacamole to the point where people will swear you made it from scratch. You can decide whether or not to tell them the truth. That's none of my concern.

Storage Tip:
If possible, put the guacamole back into the original tub. Get some plastic wrap and press it down right on top of the dip. You want to make as much contact as possible, removing all of the air that you can. Your guac will stay green for at least another day or two.