Grilled Sweet Potatoes

If you are a regular reader you probably realize that I like to cook out on my grill in the summer... well even in the winter sometimes I will brave an ice storm in order too grill out a tenderloin.  Anyway I grill out about 4-5 nights a week I grill out every sort of protein and most vegetables have found their way to my grill this summer, my problem has been the starches.  I make a mean cheesy potato (they really rock so I haven't tried too hard to replace them) but I have always felt like a "one trick pony" with the potatoes.  This past couple of weeks I have been trying some starches on the grill.  This way I can walk onto the deck, beer in hand, and get everything done in one place.  This is one of my more successful new additions.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes
3 Sweet potatoes
juice from 4 limes
grated zest from one of the limes
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of chopped cilantro

Place the potatoes, peel on, in cool salted water and bring to a boil let them boil until almost tender, about 25 minutes.  They should still be a little firm in the middle when poked with a fork.  Pour out the water and cool with cold water until you are able to handle them,  I put mine under cold running water for a few minutes.  These can be stored in the refrigerator for several hours until you are ready.
For the Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette mix the rest of the ingredients together with a whip and set aside.  This can be made a day ahead if you like.

When the time comes peel the sweet potatoes then cut into quarters lengthwise.  Put them on a HOT grill (you want the grill marks) for 3-4 minutes on a side.  Take them off and set aside, when it is time to serve drizzle the Cilantro Vinaigrette on them.  You can serve them hot, right off the grill but I like mine about room temp (or outside cookout temp).  These guys are sweet and tangy with a little of that caramelized sweetness it turns out to be a great picnic side dish.

The leftovers worked well for dinner a couple of nights later here they are diced and sauteed with some chicken, crumbled goat cheese and just a touch of brown sugar.  This one almost qualified as foodie crack!

Sweet Potato Hash

The comfort food menu continues, I really need it... sometimes the New Years season causes me stress, especially the last couple of them. This year I have seriously considered going on a good old fashioned bender. Couple of bottles of vodka and avoid the stressors altogether, however as responsible grown ups we have to stop that and deal with stuff and I like to use a lot of comfort food to compensate. My beautiful wife Kris often says that I am the only person that could take someone that struggled with anorexia her whole life and make her fat. I don't agree with the "fat" part, but you see my point I compensate for bad feelings with food. What else works so well?

Sweet Potato Hash was on the menu that I served my friend on Christmas. Similar to the Ham and Gravy, even if you have never tried this it has a comfort food quality to it that is hard to describe... it just makes you feel warm all over.

I have made this dish two ways both were wonderful, but you will soon see why I made it the second way.

This serves about 4 people, Ingredients:
4 Sweet Potatoes peeled and diced
1 Onion finely diced
1/2 pound Bacon diced
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder.

The first time that I made this dish I fried the diced Potatoes in vegetable oil. I heated enough oil in a small saucepan to cover the diced sweet potatoes (the oil was 375 degrees). I did it in two batches and cooked them for about 8-10 minutes. Here is where it gets good, while the second batch is frying saute bacon and onion together over pretty high heat, when the second batch of potatoes is done frying pull it out of the oil and into the saute pan. Saute until all ingredients are cooked through, maybe another 5-7 minutes. This is the way I made it for the pictures, it is wonderful the Sweet Potatoes are caramelized on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

In the spirit of New Years however; really how often should we pull something out of frying oil and immediately put it in rendered bacon fat? Whats next coating it in heavy cream and butter? Ok, that sounds kind of good but stop... When I made this for my friend Rochelle on Christmas I did everything exactly the same except I boiled the diced sweet potatoes. The Hash looked like a more traditional hash the sweet potatoes looked like they had been beaten up a bit, they needed a little more seasoning but they were good and I made up for any loss by serving it with ham gravy. Still on a kick from the gravy, maybe I should sell that in jars. Anyway it is your kitchen and your family/friends you decide which works best for you, both are delicious.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

I have found myself in that strange situation again where I get to the end of the year and have a bit too much vacation time left. I have never run out of vacation time before the end of the year before yet I have an impossible fear that it will happen so I save my days until the end then try to take them all in a frenzy in November and December. So for the next several weeks I don't think that I will be working more than four days in a row ever.

The the plus side is that I will get a little needed rest and have time to try some new recipes, the down side is my schedule is so strange that writing them down may be sporadic. Please bare with me. Recently I tried something new, Sweet Potato Pancakes these I served with Mackerel that I filleted, for me anyway I have mentioned before that I am the only one in my house that eats fish. The Mackerel will come up in another post. The rest of my family had pasta.

The recipe itself is pretty simple for each person that you are serving you need:
1 Sweet Potato shredded
1 TBS finely chopped Green Onion
1 egg
1 TBS flour
1/2 tsp Orange peel finely grated
1 tsp Maple Syrup

the rest is easy just like you would regular potato pancakes take these out about an in about Tablespoon sized globs and put on a hot skillet. Press down and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown they really are a nice touch to a meal.