Honey Glazed Ham on Sweet Potato Biscuits with Blackberry-Balsamic Drizzle

Sometimes when I visit my in-laws in the South, they serve delicate little ham biscuits (usually on special occasions, as hors d'oeuvres). These are really nothing like those, except that there's a biscuit and there's ham. But the biscuit is totally different (bigger and sweet potato) and the ham is honey glazed, not extra salty, country heart attack ham (which everybody loves, but hopefully no one has an actual heart attack at your party). These are more hearty (although one is definitely too small for lunch - you'd probably need 3 or 4). They may not be big, but there's a lot of flavor packed into these petite sammies. The biscuit is slightly sweet. The ham is salty. The arugula is a little bitter and crunchy. The drizzle is tangy and sweet. Sound delightful? It is.

Side thought: Why do people call sandwiches sammies? Last time I checked, there's no m in there anywhere. Come to think of it, I've also called my daughter punkin. But I use it on those days that she's acting like a cross between a pumpkin and a punk.

HONEY GLAZED HAM ON SWEET POTATO BISCUITS

WITH BLACKBERRY-BALSAMIC DRIZZLE

Yield: 14 biscuits

Sweet Potato Biscuits:

1 pound sweet potatoes (2 to 3 potatoes)

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks cold butter, small diced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle:

1 (12 to 13 oz.) jar blackberry preserves

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, stems and all

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup yellow mustard, such as French's

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 serrano chile, split in half

14 slices honey baked ham (or your favorite ham), torn into pieces to fit the biscuits

arugula, for serving

1.      For the biscuits: Preheat oven to 425˚ F. Poke the sweet potatoes with the tines of a fork and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Let the potatoes cool, and then peel them, discarding the skins.

2.      In a food processor, puree the potatoes with the buttermilk and nutmeg until smooth.

3.      Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. With your fingertips or a dough cutter, cut in the cold butter until pea-size chunks are formed. Fold in the sweet potato puree until just combined, being careful not to overwork.

4.      Dust a work surface with some flour and turn the biscuit dough onto the counter. Form the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick disc. Using a 2 1/4-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 14 biscuits, starting on the outside of the disk and working your way in. You may need to reshape the last bits of dough back into a disk to get all 14 rounds.

5.      Grease a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with the vegetable oil and place the biscuits in the skillet, working from the center out. The biscuits should be a tight fit and nestled against each other. Brush the biscuit tops with the melted butter and bake until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.

6.      For the blackberry balsamic drizzle: Combine the preserves, basil, vinegar, mustard, peppercorns and chile in a medium saucepot on the stove. Set over medium heat. Simmer the sauce until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. Strain the reduction through a fine sieve. Thin with water if needed.

7.      For the sandwich build: Split the hot biscuits, place some of the torn ham on the bottom half, drizzle the Blackberry Balsamic Drizzle over the ham and then pile some arugula on top for a peppery bite.

from Jeff Mauro

sweet potatoes

baked sweet potatoes

peeled sweet potatoes, buttermilk & nutmeg

sweet potato puree

flour, brown sugar, baking soda & salt

adding butter

butter mixed; adding sweet potato puree

mixed

sweet potato biscuit dough

cutting into rounds

in the pan

brushing with butter

brushed with butter

baked

sweet potato biscuits

blackberry-balsamic drizzle ingredients

mixing & cooking

straining

blackberry-balsamic drizzle

drizzling the drizzle on top of
ham (well, spooning/drizzling)

drizzled

topped with arugula and biscuit top

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Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Lime Syrup and Chives

These might look like sweet potatoes, but they're actually a symbol of my personal triumph over extreme procrastination. I bought them a month ago. Week one came and went, no pressure, still fresh. Every morning of week two I passed by them, gave them a quick inspection to make sure they were still edible and kept walking, confident that they would be cooked by the end of the day.

That spilled over into week three (by then, my confidence was long gone and I swore I would make them just to prove I could follow through). I also found myself hoping they were too gross to eat so I could justify throwing them out (I know, it's wasteful - get off my back, I have a problem). And by week four the ritual remained the same, except I added a step where I questioned what the hell is wrong with me for not making these damn sweet potatoes!? Other things were getting bought and cooked left and right, but still these sweet potatoes just sat there. And I wanted to make them, except I just didn't. I felt kind of shitty about myself too...because of SWEET POTATOES. If I was more insightful, I might be able to figure out what the hell these sweet potatoes represented to me, but I'm not. They really just looked like sweet potatoes.

month old sweet potatoes
See how they mock you?

Then one day, I finally made them. And I can't explain why that day was different from all the rest. Nothing else made it special. But I definitely felt triumphant. And these sweet potatoes with the sweet-tart lime syrup and the oniony chives...they were sooo good. Maybe it was the taste of victory, and not the sugar, that made them so sweet. I guess you'll have to test that theory out for yourself. But whatever you do, don't let the sweet potatoes win. I'm pretty sure you're bigger and smarter than they are.

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH LIME SYRUP AND CHIVES

Makes 4-6 servings

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

1.      Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450° F.

2.      Toss potatoes with butter, salt, and pepper in a bowl until coated well, then spread in a single layer in a large (15- x 10- x 1-inch) baking pan and roast, uncovered, until potatoes are tender and undersides are browned, 20 to 25 minutes total.

3.      While potatoes roast, bring water, sugar, and lime juice to a boil in a very small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then simmer until reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 4 minutes.

4.      Pour the syrup and lime zest over the potatoes; toss. Sprinkle with chives.

Cooks' note: Potatoes can be roasted and syrup made 1 day ahead (without tossing together). Chill separately in airtight containers. Reheat potatoes in a single roasting pan in oven, and heat syrup in a small saucepan until hot. Toss together, then toss with zest and sprinkle with chives.

barely adapted from Gourmet, November 2005

chopped sweet potatoes mixed with butter, salt and pepper

ready to roast

Ideally, they would be spread in only one layer,
but I didn't feel like washing another dish.

lime zest

lime syrup

I accidentally added the lime zest to the syrup (you're supposed
to sprinkle it over the sweet potatoes once they're roasted).
Oh well. At this point I was just giddy that the sweet potatoes had
actually been peeled and cut. Everything else was gravy. Or syrup.

lime syrup, reduced

chopping the chives

pouring the lime syrup over the roasted sweet potatoes

sprinkling on the chives

ready (and delicious, I might add)

It took me all of 20 minutes to peel/cut/chop/zest stuff to make
this recipe. I'd like to say I've learned something from this,
but clearly my college psych classes have yet to pay off.

.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

There's not much I
can say about sweet
potato casserole...

...that Flula hasn't already
said (way more expressively
than I ever could have). He
really has a way of capturing my
intensive love and raw emotion:

video: Sweet Potato Casserole (SPC 4 Life) by Flula       

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE WITH PECAN TOPPING

Yield: 12 servings

8 medium sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened to room temperature

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar or maple sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 cup milk

8 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

maple-pecan topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup chopped pecans

_____________________________________________________________________

Preheat oven to 325° F.  

1.      Put sweet potatoes in a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil; lower heat to a simmer and cook until tender.  Drain and mash.

2.      In a large bowl, mix together mashed sweet potatoes, butter and maple sugar until thoroughly combined. Add salt, cardamom, milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.  Transfer to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.

3.      In a medium bowl, combine the maple sugar and flour. Using your fingers, mix in the butter until the mixture looks like crumbs. Mix in the pecans. Sprinkle topping over the sweet potatoes.

4.      Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and golden brown.

adapted from allrecipes.com by Tina B.

sweet potatoes

peeling a sweet potato

slicing a sweet potato

boiling sweet potatoes

adding the butter and maple sugar
(I don't use a separate bowl, I just use the same pot.)

mashing

adding salt, cardamom, milk, eggs and vanilla

all mixed

spreading in the casserole dish

making the pecan topping

baked and sweet

I looove the crunchy pecan topping...you won't miss
the marshmallows (I can't speak for the kids though).

.