<< Giveaway Contest! (Winner chosen!) | Home | White Chili: Something to do with left-over turkey >>

Sweet potatoes, wine and more potatoes!

Like pumpkin pie and egg nog, sweet potatoes are one of those dishes that just scream holiday dish.

Unfortunately, I don’t much like sweet potatoes.
I’ve had them with butter and salt, with honey and nuts and marshmallows and mashed up in a pie...yuck.

But it is just a staple Thanksgiving dish. So I was determined to find a way to make sweet potatoes so I would gladly eat them instead of choking down a relative’s sweet sweet sweet potatoes out of obligation.

And I did.

Voila, anti-fans of sweet potatoes: I bring you sweet potato french fries!

Photo by Angela Boyko

Sweet Potato French Fries
• However many sweet potatoes you want (how many fries that come out of each one depend on size of the potato and how big you cut your fries)
• Salt
• flour
• 1 egg, for egg wash
• Dry pork rub (how much depends on how many fries you’re making)
**I would recommend Grill Mates Dry Pork Rub  www.mccormick.com
• Graham cracker crumbs
• canola oil

1. Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into wedges or sticks.
2. Blanch them in salted boiling water. Cook them until they start to get soft, about 4-5 minutes, but don’t let them start to fall apart.
3. Get egg wash ready in a shallow pan or bowl. (1 egg mixed with about a 1/4 cup of water or milk)
4. Mix 1/4 cup of the pork rub with 1/2 cup of the graham cracker crumbs in a small shallow pan or medium bowl. (Start with that, you might need more for more fries)
5. Remove the wedges or sticks from the water and cool. Drench them in flour.
6. Heat canola oil over medium to medium high heat. There should be at least an inch of oil from the bottom of the pan. (You might want to use a smaller but taller pan)
6. Coat the wedges or sticks in the egg wash.
7. Coat them in the crumb mixture.
8. To test the temperature of the oil, take one of the sticks and drop it in the oil. The fry should sizzle, float and start to turn a darker brown as the breading cooks. If the oil splatters everywhere, you’re oil is too hot. If there is no sizzle, your fry will start to get soggy and the heat isn’t high enough.
9. When you get the temperature right, drop in a few sticks or wedges in at a time. As they turn a golden to darker brown, remove them from the oil and place on a paper towel.

** Remember the more fries you put in the oil at a time, it lower the temperature of the oil. Only do a handful or so at a time.

Bring a spiced wine to a Thanksgiving celebration! My husband and I tried a spiced wine on our honeymoon in northern Michigan last summer.
It’s called Witches Brew and it’s made at Leelanau Cellars on the Leelanau Peninsula just north of Traverse City, Mich.

It’s a wonderful concoction of red wine and hearty spices. Get a bottle of a spiced wine, pour it in a slow-cooker and serve it just barely warm. It’s a wonderful dessert wine, yet it’s not too sweet.

It’s a great relaxing and soothing beverage for the sometimes stressful holidays.




                                                                                                                                     www.leelanaucellars.com


Another quick and easy side dish comes from my Campbell’s soup recipe book:

Cheese and Sour Cream Potatoes (I told you before, I love potatoes!)

• 1 bag of frozen hashbrowns
• 1 can of cheddar cheese soup
• 1 medium size tub of sour cream (maybe a 7 oz. container?)
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 package Velveeta crumbles
• 1 package cooked and crumbled bacon

Preheat oven to 400F
1. Mix the soup with the sour cream and salt in a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, stir the frozen hashbrowns with the Velveeta crumbles.
3. Pour the soup mixture into the hashbrowns and cheese and mix until the hashbrowns are all coated.
4. Top with the bacon.
5. Bake 30-40 minutes or until bubbly all the way through.

Print posted @ Tuesday, November 25, 2008 12:56 PM

 

 

Copyright © Amelia Jeffirs