Thanksgiving Dish #1 - Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend that followed full of family, friends and, of course, full of good eats.  I'm thankful for so many things in my life in all aspects if it...you, the reader, included. :) The weekend was well spent. With belly fulls of yum yums. 

As always I like to do things simple. I don't like to fuss around too much in the kitchen especially during the holidays. But this was a good excuse for me to spent some time in the kitchen. I've been pretty busy with work related things that I haven't been able to cook as much as I would like. I did enjoy the several hours I spent making this meal and I'm happy with how it all turned out. With a little smoke alarm going off. No worries. Nothing major. I just think my smoke alarm is jealous for not being able to eat the delicious food on the table. So, it's a dinner for two. I always have the trouble of sometimes cooking too much or too little. No matter how much you calculate it. It's never exact.  But I think I did pretty well fine this year. 

First up, sweet potato. No thanksgiving should go without sweet potato in some form. I chose to mash them up instead of serving the traditional mashed potatoes and serve it along with the chicken gravy, which I will post that recipe with the roast chicken. I first steamed rather than boiling them and I used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream to make it smooth along with a couple pats on butter and shredded mozzarella cheese. Delicious! Smooth and creamy.


Serves 2-3

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 medium to large sweet potatoes 

1/3 c evaporated milk

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

pepper

1/3 c shredded mozzarella

Steam the sweet potatoes until fork tender.   Once cooked, cool the sweet potatoes before handling and remove the skin. Then place them in a small pot and mash the sweet potatoes thorough. Turn the heat to a medium flame Add the butter, evaporated milk. Stir until combined and the butter has melted. Then add the mozzarella and stir once again until cheese has melted. Season with a a little pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve. 

Happy Halloween!!!

It's Halloween!!!!! Today's a good a excuse to eat as much candy and chocolate as you want. Just be mindful of the impending cavities that may come after. :)  And to mark the occasion, I couldn't think of a more appropriate song than "This Is Halloween" from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love that movie!

Oh look... Jack Skellington took it upon himself to sit on my computer, interrupting me as I wrote, and have himself a kit kat bar. Oh, Jack!

Anyway...here's a couple Halloween food facts:


* The jack-o-lantern tradition comes from an old Irish folk tale about a man named Stingy Jack. It was said that he was unable to get into heaven and was turned away from the devil because of his tricky ways. So he set off to wander the world looking for a resting place. For light, Stingy Jack used a burning coal ember in a hollowed out turnip. When the Irish immigrated to the U.S. during the Great Potato Famine of 1845-1850, they found that turnips were not as readily available like they were in the homeland. So they started carving pumpkins as a replacement for their tradition. 


* The number one candy of choice for Halloween is Snickers


* Did you know that chocolate is better for your child's teeth than hard candy? Chocolate rinses more easily from the mouth by saliva, leaving it in contact with teeth for a shorter time. Chocolate also contains tannins, which inhibit the action of cavity-causing bacteria


*More than 35 million pounds of candy corn will be produced this year. That equates to nearly 9 billion pieces -- enough to circle the moon nearly four times if laid end-to-end

Be good and stay safe out there for those of you who will be out trick or treating. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

sources:

http://www.rexanne.com/hwn-facts.html

http://www.parents.com/holiday/halloween/traditions/fun-and-freaky-halloween-facts/?page=2

A good ol' pint of Guinness

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! To celebrate the day, there's no other food or drink that would be better than a nice cold pint of Guinness. I would love to travel to Ireland one day and visit the factory in Dublin. It's been a while since I've had a pint myself, so today may be the perfect day for one. Goes well with a good helping of corned-beef hash or which ever dish you'd prefer.

So eat up, be merry and have a pint or two. Get your green on! Cheers!!