Pecan-Topped Yams

Of all the foods that regularly show up on the Thanksgiving table, yams are probably the least likely to make an appearance on any other day of the year. The turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. usually come around again at Christmastime or on an equally special occasion, but yams? They seem to be reserved exclusively for the end-of-autumn feast.

So if these orange beauties are showing up on your Thanksgiving menu this year, it’s best to make them memorable. If you usually serve yams topped with marshmallows or candied in syrup, I beg you to give this method a try instead. The end result is still sweet, but with a greater complexity of flavor and a bit of earthiness to it.

This recipe comes from the Ivory Favorites cookbook, and has been served at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner for years. This dish is ideal for Thanksgiving because it can be assembled a day ahead, then popped into the oven an hour or so before dinner (these need to be served warm, but not piping hot). These yams are very rich, and, in my experience, the amount listed below will easily feed up to 12 people.

Pecan-Topped Yams

4 cups cooked and mashed yams*
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup-1 cup sugar**
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pecan topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

1) Combine yams with melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
2) Mix well, then pour into a greased 9”x 13” glass dish.
3) Combine brown sugar and flour; mix well.
4) Stir in melted butter and nuts
5) Crumble nut mixture over the top of the yams
6) Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until set.

*I cook the yams by cutting them into thirds and steaming them in a pot of hot water with a steamer basket until they are fork tender (usually takes about an hour).
** I know this is a wide range, but the amount of sugar you use depends on how sweet your yams are and how tooth-aching you want the finished product to be. I always add the other ingredients first, then taste and see how much sugar to add. I usually never use more than a half cup even though the recipe calls for a full one.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Next week is Thanksgiving, which means that autumn is officially drawing to a close. What better way to see it out than by baking some aromatic pumpkin bread? I guess you really could make pumpkin bread at any time of year, but to me it's very much a "fall" thing.

I don't like my pumpkin bread particularly spicy, so I cut down on the original quantities of nutmeg and cinnamon called for in this recipe. If you like yours to have more spice to it up the quantities a little, and maybe even get crazy and add some allspice or ground cloves.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

2 1/2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
16 oz. cooked or canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 c. oil
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2/3 c. water
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I usually use more- just add to your liking)

1) Mix dry ingredients together (first 7 ingredients on the list)
2) Mix wet ingredients (pumpkin, water, oil, eggs) separately then stir into the dry ingredients.
3) Stir in chocolate chips
4) Pour batter into two greased 9x5 loaf pans (I used one 8x4 pan and about 5 mini loaf pans- not sure of their exact dimensions)
5) Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes (less time if you're using smaller pans- my mini ones took about a half hour), or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

You know how some things are just not worth the trouble of making from scratch because the store-bought variety is both better and cheaper? I am here to tell you that Ranch dressing is one thing that most definitely does not fall into this category. The homemade version blows Hidden Valley out of the water, plus it is a cinch to make.

I have to credit my older sister for finding this recipe, which can be found in its entirety here, but since I'm nice I will type it out for you all neat and simple like.

In the summer I might try making this with fresh herbs, but it's absolutely delicious with the dried stuff, most of which is probably located on that spice rack you got as a wedding gift.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. of each of the following:
onion salt
garlic salt (or fresh minced garlic)
parsley, fresh or dried
chopped chives, fresh or dried
dill, fresh or dried
pepper

1) Mix mayo and buttermilk in a bowl
2) Stir in remaining ingredients
3) Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Potato Gnocchi with Tomato Cream Sauce

I can’t remember the first time I tried gnocchi. I only know that for years now these little potato dumplings are what I order whenever I go to an Italian restaurant. For the record, I still think the ones at Confetti’s are the best I’ve had in Salt Lake.

Like souffles or puff pastry, gnocchi tend to have a certain scare factor associated with cooking them at home. Every cookbook in the world will warn you of the extensive time involved, as well as the potential risks: put in too much flour and the gnocchi are heavy, don’t add enough and they disintegrate, handle the dough too much and you’re also in trouble. While these statements are not unfounded, it’s not like the process is rocket science. Here’s what I have found to be true in my limited gnocchi-making experience:

The Bad News:
-You’ll need to buy a potato ricer to make these suckers. A lot of recipes will simply call for mashed potato, but to get gnocchi that are light and fluffy you’ll want to use a potato ricer.
-Gnocchi are not a quick meal. I once decided to make them on a Monday night after work and nearly ended up in tears.
-Making the dough is not an exact science, and depends a lot on feel, trial and error, etc. If you’re uncomfortable cooking without precise measurements, this might be a little stressful for you.
-Don’t plan on serving gnocchi to a crowd. You have to cook them in small batches, so they aren’t ideal for parties larger than 6 people.

The Good News:
-Unless you want to employ your potato ricer for other meals, you can buy a crappy 5 dollar model like the one I have. It ain’t the greatest, but it gets the job done.
-Although these sound all fancy and foreign, the ingredients needed to make gnocchi are dirt cheap and you probably have them on hand.
-Like other pasta, gnocchi are versatile. You can serve them simply with sauce, use them in soup, saute with some vegetables, etc.
-Gnocchi can be kept frozen for up to a month. So although it takes a couple of hours to make the original product, you can freeze them and have a quick dinner later on.

Now that you have the rundown, here is a very basic gnocchi recipe. I made these on Sunday and committed the cardinal sin of adding too much flour so my gnocchi were a bit heavy, but I have adjusted the recipe so you (hopefully) don’t make the same mistake.

(image courtesy of city-data.com)

Gnocchi

2 pounds russet potatoes
1 ½- 2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

1) Bake the potatoes at 400 degrees for about one hour, or until fork tender.
2) Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes, then peel the potatoes and pass through a potato ricer or food mill (you want the potatoes to be cool enough to handle, but still hot).
3) While the potatoes are still warm, add the beaten egg, salt, and nutmeg.
4) Add the flour, starting with one cup, and lightly knead the dough with your fingertips.
5) Keep adding flour until the dough isn’t sticking to your hands, but still has a bit of sticky softness to it. Knead lightly until you have a homogenous dough, then separate it into 6 pieces.
6) On a lightly floured surface, gently roll each piece into a ¾ inch thick rope.
7) Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces.
8) Roll each piece over the tines of a fork to get that classic ridged gnocchi shape (this takes some practice. If you don’t want to deal with it you can just poke a hole in them with the tip of your finger- the idea is to make the gnocchi a little rough so that sauce will adhere to them).
9) Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil.
10) Drop gnocchi in about ten or so at a time, depending on the size of your pot (you don’t want them on top of each other)
11) When gnocchi float to the top of the water (this will take about 3 or 4 minutes), wait another 30 seconds or so and remove them with a slotted spoon.
12) Serve immediately or keep in a heated serving bowl.

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce and grated parmesan cheese. (Recipe for one of my favorite sauces below).

To freeze: place gnocchi on a parchment-lined baking sheet and put them in the freezer until they are firm (about an hour or so), then place in a ziploc bag.

Tomato Cream Sauce
I made this sauce to go with the gnocchi I served on Sunday, and man alive was it good. This is a fairly chunky tomato sauce, but if you like yours smooth then just puree the tomatoes or use all tomato sauce instead of canned tomatoes. I kinda just threw it together with the stuff I had on hand but I’ve tried to backtrack and come up with some exact measurements, instructions, etc. Here goes:

42 oz. canned diced tomatoes, drained.
14 oz. tomato sauce
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp. salt*
1 tsp. dried basil*
~8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 cup cream

1) Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat.
2) Add garlic and saute for a minute or so
3) Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, and salt (at this point I broke up the tomato chunks a little with the tip of my spatula so they weren’t quite so big).
4) Simmer uncovered on low heat for about an hour, or until the mixture is reduced to your liking
5) Add fresh basil and simmer 5 more minutes
6) Add cream and simmer for ten minutes more.

*These are the measurements I’m most unsure of. I always just sprinkle in seasonings and taste the sauce throughout the cooking progress to see if the amounts need adjusting. I suggest you do the same.