Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Saturday mornings as a kid were the most exciting mornings. Besides it being the weekend, it was also the time for all of the Saturday morning cartoons. We didn't have cable in my younger childhood years so it was so exciting to get to look forward to watching cartoons on Saturdays. My parents had converted our garage into a playroom and this was where my brother played with his toy trains and I colored and did crafts for hours at my desk.

Now even though I'm supposedly an "adult", I still look forward to Saturday mornings. Besides not having to go to work, I love having these mornings to do a recipe and photography for my blog. I also have my Saturday morning "cartoons" in the version of all of my favorite cooking shows! I never understood why my mom would watch cooking shows as a kid because I thought what was the point of watching it when you weren't going to make it? But now I find it very therapeutic and so inspiring watching some over-friendly stranger chop onions. I don't know.

My favorite cooking shows are the ones based in NYC, because then I get ideas on where to go if they feature other restaurants or unique grocery stores. This past weekend while watching The Kitchen, they made a super simple twice-baked stuffed sweet potato and it sparked my interest. We eat sweet potatoes at least weekly at our dinner table, and I love finding new ways to cook them. They are so easy, and I usually throw them in the oven right when I get home from work and working out so by the time I shower and chill out dinner is ready! 

These stuffed sweet potatoes were made with everything I had in the kitchen, and the honey baked beans give it a touch of sweetness which pairs extremely well with sweet potato. We loved it and it is so healthy for a weeknight meal!

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Twice Baked Sweet Potato (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 cup honey baked beans
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 3 tbl. sour cream
• 1/2 medium avocado

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, and drizzle with olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until middles are soft. Cooking time depends on size of sweet potatoes. When middles are soft, remove from oven, and scoop out the inside and place in a medium sized bowl, leaving the skins intact. 

While sweet potatoes are baking, in a medium saucepan heat 1 tbl. of olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, and saute until clear, 3-4 minutes. Add bell pepper halfway through cooking, and continue to cook until soft. Remove pan from heat.

In a medium bowl, combine sweet potato, beans, cooked bell pepper and onion, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Spoon back into sweet potato skins, and return to oven for another 15 minutes.

To make the avocado crema, mash half of the avocado with a fork until smooth. Mix with sour cream and spoon atop sweet potatoes when ready to serve.

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P.S. My lumpia recipe is a finalist in the latest Food52 contest for best appetizer to share with friends! Please create an account and vote for me here and I will love you forever!!!!!!!

Kale and Quinoa Winter Citrus Salad w/ a Grapefruit Olive Oil Vinaigrette

While Snow Storm Jonas was gorgeous and cleansing and quiet and peaceful, the aftermath of nearly 27 inches of snow fall in less than one day is pretty messy. Dirty, wet, icy slushiness on every street corner makes it difficult to get where you need to be at a certain time. And since I refuse to wear my heavy firefighter snow boots to work, I have to do lots of walking around, going way out of the way and sometimes a bit into the road, just to cross the street. Whereas when I wear my heavy duty snow boots, I feel like some unstoppable force, where I can trudge through the deepest puddles and coldest snow and most slippery ice and still not fall and manage to keep my socks dry. 

Oh, the lovely Januaries.

I also cannot believe it's only Wednesday, because this week I have already done so many things:

• dirtied up my (fairly new) boots from the muddy slush
• jammed the copy machine
• finished my second spin class (!)
• shoveled snow for one hour (or...mostly watched Kyle shovel the snow)
• processed 23548719845618974151997213 emails, or what feels like it at least
• ate a bagel and a donut in the same day because trudging through snow has me starving 24/7 and, help I'm surrounded by bakeries!

The best part of the day though is when I get to come home to a warm and cozy apartment and to a husband who has been cooking really good dinners as of late. Kyle, I think you should guest post that bacon-wrapped, sour-cream-and-cheese-stuffed chicken!

I love that citrus season happens in the coldest and dreariest of months because it is like a bright pop of color amidst all of the snow. The grapefruit in this winter citrus salad could be swapped out for blood oranges, mandarins, or any other citrus fruit. I squeezed the extra grapefruit juice into some olive oil to make its own vinaigrette. Also, toasting the almonds really bring out a nutty and earthy flavor and gives the salad a whole new crunch. 

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Kale and Quinoa Winter Citrus Salad w/ a Grapefruit Olive Oil Vinaigrette (serves 1-2)

Ingredients:

• 2 large handfuls of kale, washed, stems removed
• 1/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1 large grapefruit, sliced thinly

for the grapefruit vinagrette

• 1/4 cup good olive oil, such as California Olive Ranch
• juice of 1/2 large grapefruit
• 1 tbl. honey
• 1 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions: To make the grapefruit olive oil vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a small jar or bowl and whisk together until combined. Set aside.

Heat a medium pan over medium-high heat, and add almonds. Stirring occassionally, toast for 1-2 minutes or until almonds give off a warm, nutty aroma. Feel free to chop into smaller pieces or keep whole. In a large mixing bowl, combine kale, cooked quinoa, and toasted almonds. Toss lightly with vinaigrette, and set on a large plate. Top with sliced grapefruit!

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This post features olive oil from California Olive Ranch. Be sure to check out their site and cool recipes!

NYC Subway Fruit Eclairs

There is currently a very intense blizzard situation happening in the northeast. So far, I believe we have gotten 25 inches of snow!! It felt like Christmas morning today; I woke up really early, put on my slippers, shuffled into the cold kitchen, peered outside the curtains, to see a gorgeous soft falling of the whitest snow. I literally have never seen so much snow in my entire life. It's enchanting! And since it's a Saturday, I was able to curl back up in bed and sleep for a couple more hours. It was seriously the best.

And how fitting is this Snow Storm Jonas, because this past week we celebrated two years of living in New York! I swear it's like a time warp here, where minutes feel like seconds and days feel like hours and months feel like...well, you get it. I get weirdly serious and philosophical when I think about our move and time in New York. I just can't get past the idea that it all still feels like a complete dream. Yeah, there are definitely bad days. There are times I want to move back home. But there is this overpowering emotional connection with NYC, that I think lots of people experience who fall in love with it. It's a city full of people pursuing dreams, and I love the energy, inspiration, and daily push I get just from walking out my apartment door. 

When we moved here two years ago, it was about a month after I had graduated college. We had been married only a few months. Kyle and I were both applying for jobs in NYC, and then suddenly, he was miraculously offered a promotion that would pay for our entire move. The next thing we knew, we were packing up everything in the little guest house we were living in, and had less than two weeks to make the biggest change in our lives thus far--a move nearly 1700 miles across the country. 

It wasn't easy--it was actually really hard. I didn't have a job, we barely knew anyone, and we were hundreds of miles from family. But it has been a literal dream. I love living in a big city, the freedom of taking public transportation, experiencing four seasons, and having access to so many different restaurants, parks, coffee shops, and exploring! I also feel like I could never have grown as a person as much as I have if we hadn't moved here. I've never been so challenged in daily life--emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically (hello subway stairs!). In a way I feel like I do better in situations where I am challenged, instead of being restless or comfortable due to familiarity. Am I making sense?

Anyways, to celebrate two years in NYC, we had eclairs inspired by the NYC subway!! Each color represents a train I have taken pretty consistently since moving here:

Raspberry - The 1/2/3 trains!

Kiwi - The 4/5/6 trains!

Blueberry -The A/C trains!

Strawberry - The B/D trains!

Happy two years of living in the city that never sleeps!

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NYC Subway Fruit Eclairs (makes 6)

adapted and inspired from Rachel Khoo

Ingredients:

for the pastry

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 stick butter, cubed
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2 large eggs

for the pastry cream

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tbl. corn starch
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup milk

for the topping

• handful of assorted fruits, sliced lengthwise (strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, raspberry)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, pour in milk, water, sugar, salt, and butter. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix vigorously until batter forms a ball, pulling away from pan. This should take about 1 minute. 

Remove from heat, and continue beating vigorously, for 3-4 minutes, until dough is cool to the touch. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Dough will be wet and lumpy but continue beating until it is smooth. It takes a bit of patience and arm strength.

Once dough is smooth, put in a piping bag fitted with a 3/4" nozzle, or just use a plastic bag and cut about a 3/4" slit. Squeeze dough onto prepared baking sheet, about 4 inches long. It should make 6-7 4-inch eclairs. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

While eclairs are baking, make the pastry cream. In a medium sized bowl,  whisk egg yolks and sugar together until combined. Whisk in the cornstarch, until mixture becomes very thick. 

In a small saucepan, heat milk over medium heat until warm. Add in vanilla, and stir. Remove milk from heat, and very slowly add to egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously the entire time. Return to a clean saucepan, and heat over medium heat. Whisk vigorously until mixture starts to thicken. Make sure to scrape sides so pastry cream doesn't burn. It should be very thick.

Pour in a bowl to cool, and then cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until chilled. 

When eclairs are done and cooled, slice in half. Spread with a spoonful of pastry cream, and sliced fruit. Stack with the other half, and top with more pastry cream and fruit. Serve!

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