This week mini-life lessons were just flying all around me. Wanna hear ‘em?! Of course you.

1. If you go to the movies with a boy and he ends up eating ALL of your Sour Patch Kid–that you specifically wanted to buy yourself so you didn’t have to share–and you find yourself annoyed, he’s not the right dude for you. You should WANT to share your Sour Patch Kids, you know?!

2. I just watched Clueless for the bajillioninth time and just realized it came out in 1995…WHAT?! That’s SO long ago. How is it still so amazing?! How are the clothes still relevant?! How do I STILL know practically every line in that movie?!

3. I call my mom too much. The woman has been out of the country for a week and I’ve reached for my phone to text/call her, like, a million times. It makes me feel like an orphan. So now I just email incessantly. And I’ve tried to call my dad to talk…but he just presses ignore, I think.

4. Don’t get addicted to those San Pellegrino Aranciata orange soda things. I’ve bought two six-packs in the past two days and now I’m kinda poor. Don’t go poor because soda. That’s just silly. Everyone knows if you’re gonna go poor because of anything it should be because of shoes.

5. Sweet potatoes aren’t yams. But yams are sweet potatoes. WHAT?! Good gracious, USDA, do you understand how confusing you’re making me/the entire country?

C’est la whatevsies!! I say we give them a new name.

Sweet potato is kinda boring and obvi, no?

Clementine potato? Tangerine potato? Creamsicle potato? OMG! I have it:

Aranciata Potato.

It’s like if my San Pellegrino orange drink obsession and a sweet potato did it in the back of a car. And had a child. It would totally be a Aranciata Potato.

Now that we’ve settled on the future of sweet potatoes/yams, let’s talk this hash.

This magic starts with lardons. Basically lardons are slab bacon cut up into 1/4″ cubes. They’re kind of like bacon bits. But bigger. Kind of. Not really. Why is life so confusing!?

No but really, lardons are just slab bacon cut into thick bits. That’s all.

It’s starts with them getting crispy and well cooked.

I then cooked the sweet potato and onion and added a few spices. That cooked up in about 20 minutes. I added the red pepper and garlic and lardons back, poached a few eggs…and BOOM! delicious breakfast.

Pro tips:

If you wanna make it veggie, leave out the bacon.

If you wanna make it vegan, leave out the bacon AND egg.

If you dig spicy, add a dash of cayenne or hot sauce. I bet it’d be major.

Anyway you choose to spin it, it’s super easy and amazing.

And P.S. That whole Sour Patch kids didn’t happen to me. It happened to my best lady friend. I would never eat Sour Patch Kids. Those things create too much saliva and I start gleeking involuntarily. #disgusting

Sweet Potato and Lardon Hash

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1/2 pound slab bacon, sliced into 1/4-inch sticks
Olive oil
1 sweet potato, cubed
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 eggs, poached

In a cast iron skillet (or any skillet), over medium-high heat, add the lardons and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lardons and transfer to a paper towel to drain. Set aside.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil and when hot, add the sweet potato and yellow onion. Add the cumin, paprika, to the sweet potato mixture and mix. Stirring regularly, cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are cooked. Be sure to give the largest cubes of sweet potato a taste to make sure they’re thoroughly cooked.

Add the red bell pepper to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Next, mix in the minced garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant. Taste for salt and pepper and add what you think it necessary.

Place over low heat to keep warm while you poach the eggs. Add the lardons back to the hash and toss. Top with 3 poached eggs and serve.

Serves 2

Thanksgiving is next week?! Starbucks changed to festive cups? Umm…wasn’t it, like, October yesterday?

I’ve been working like crazy the past month and feel like I’ve barely had time to think about what I’m gonna make next week and this year I’m in charge of all of the sides.

I still have no clue what I’m cooking, BUT I do know what I’m going to do with leftovers.

I’ve been dreamy about those Thanksgiving sandwiches with turkey, stuffing, cranberry in between two pieces of bread. I almost want that more than Thanksgiving dinner. And Turkey Pot Pie! I can’t wait to save some pie crust, add turkey, some cream and leftover vegetables and make a classic pot pie. Dreamy!

And next week, when you’re tired from shopping (I won’t be going to the mall, by the way), you should come home and whip up this sweet potato hummus. Just grab that random sweet potato in the back of the fridge, some cannellini beans from your pantry and whip this up for an awesome leftover snack.  Or just do it now, to test it…or something.

Sweet Potato Hummus

1 sweet potato

1 can of cannellini beans

1 clove of garlic

1 teaspoon of tahini

2 tablespoons of olive oil (might have to play with this amount for your liking)

2 tablespoons of lemon juice (from one 1/2 lemon)

1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

Pita chips

Pre-heat oven to 350F.

On a baking sheet, place sweet potato in the oven to roast for 30 minutes, or until tender.  Allow it to come to room temperature and then peel and mash.

In a food processor, add your can of cannellini beans, garlic, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and salt.  Pulse for 30 seconds or until creamy. You might have to add more olive oil or lemon juice to get it to the consistency of your liking.

Then add the mashed sweet potato and pulse for 15 more seconds until combined.

Serve with pita chips, regular chips, or whatever you like!

It’s fall! Summer was great, but it’s time for something new. I’m not sure what it is about the fall air, but it makes me feel adventurous. So guess what we’re going to make today? Homemade ravioli! Without eggs! Or a pasta maker! We’re doing this all by hand! Don’t freak out, this is totally gonna work out fine. Seriously, it’ll be delicious.

OK, let’s do this.

First, you add exactly one cup of hot water to exactly 2 ½ cups of flour. Resist the urge to add eggs; I know it’s probably difficult.

Stir that up with a spoon or your hands until you have a nice little dough ball. Allow to sit for a few minutes so it can cool down a bit. Now separate this into two balls. See? We’re doing so well!

Set one of the dough balls aside. Take the other one and roll it out into a rectangle.  Or a sort of rectangular oval like I did. It’s okay, this will still work. Be sure to flour the board and your rolling pin really well since the dough should still be sticky. Roll it pretty thin, cause these things plump up when you cook them.

Now it’s time for filling. I decided to use sweet potato cause sweet potatoes make me think of Thanksgiving. As in, I feel warm and fuzzy inside, and I can always use some warm fuzzy fillings. Spoon roughly 1-2 tablespoons of filling near the edge of the dough, leaving a little room. Then spoon some more about an inch away from that, until you have a nice little row.

Now, fold the dough over the little balls of filling. Pinch the edges all the way around the filling to seal it in.

Take a glass, or a ravioli cutter if you have it (I don’t), and cut out the little mounds of filling. Repeat this process until all of the dough has been used.

Voila! You’ve just made your own ravioli. Way cool, right? Now that you have all these raviolis you have choices to make – do you want to cook them all right now and get fat on sweet potato heaven (yes please!)? Or do you want to flash freeze these to be used again later? Totally up to you, just make sure that you thaw them out before cooking if you decide to freeze.

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecans and Herb Brown Butter Sauce

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Filling & Sauce recipe adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Pasta recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Filling:
1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup dried bread crumbs

Pasta:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup hot water

Herb Brown Butter Sauce:
4 – 6 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the filling:
Cook the sweet potato in boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, add butter and beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To make the pasta:
Make a well in the center of the flour, and add in the hot water. Gently stir together with a wooden spoon, using your fingers if necessary to fully combine the ingredients. Allow to sit for a few minutes so it can cool down a bit.

Separate the dough into two separate balls. Set one of the dough balls aside. Take the other one and roll it out into a rectangle. Be sure to flour the board and your rolling pin really well since the dough should still be sticky. Roll it pretty thin, cause these things plump up when you cook them.

Spoon roughly 1-2 tablespoons of filling near the edge of the dough, leaving a little room. Then spoon some more about an inch away from that, until you have a nice little row.

Now, fold the dough over the little balls of filling. Pinch the edges all the way around the filling to seal it in. Take a glass, or a ravioli cutter if you have it (I don’t), and cut out the little mounds of filling. Repeat this process until all of the dough has been used.
Cook the ravioli in gently boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain, and toss in sauce.

For the sauce:
In a large skillet melt the butter with the sliced garlic, sage, 1 tablespoon parsley and thyme and cook over medium heat until the butter is lightly browned. Add the pecans, remaining parsley and cooked raviolis to the sauce and cook for 10 more seconds. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

I don’t really have much to say today. I think it’s because spring is here, which in LA  feels like the heat of summer. There’s a thick heat over everything and I can’t help but feeling hazy. I don’t want to do anything but sit outside and drink lemonade. My preference is to do this by the beach, but since that would require the extreme effort of driving, parking, and then walking to the ocean, I’ll accept my apartment’s little porch as an alternative.

So…that’s my plan for a while. Sitting in the sun, and drinking lemonade. Oh yeah, and eating these biscuits. I’m not going to tell you how many I’ve already eaten. Cause that would be really embarrassing. Let’s just say it was more than two. A lot more. That’s all I’m gonna tell you.

Okay, I’m gonna go now. I’ve used up all the energy I have for today, and my glass of lemonade is looking a little lonely. Just promise me that if it feels like spring where you are, you’ll make these biscuits, and then spend quality time with them and some lemonade.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Adapted from Martha Stewart

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Be sure to read the end of the recipe for my tip on how to make these amazing – maple butter!

1 medium – large sweet potato,
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
2 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup buttermilk

Peel and dice the sweet potato. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook the potato until tender. Drain the water and mash the potato into a puree. (you should end up with about ¾ – 1 cup) Place the puree in a refrigerator for at least and hour until chilled.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Cut in butter and knead until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining. In a small bowl, whisk together sweet potato purée and buttermilk; stir quickly into flour mixture until just combined.

Pour out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead very gently until dough comes together but is still slightly lumpy. (If dough is too sticky, you can add a little extra flour.) Roll the dough out to 1-inch thickness. Using a biscuit cutter or a glass, but out the biscuits and place on a greased baking sheet. Gather together scraps, and repeat to cut out more biscuits. Arrange biscuits snugly in pan (to help them stay upright) and brush with melted butter. Bake until golden, 20 to 24 minutes.

Want to make these extra tasty? Soften ½ cup of butter and stir in 2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup. Spread the maple butter over the biscuits and ooooo man is it gonna be good.

It’s a sage-filled Thanksgiving here at A Cozy Kitchen! I swear, Adrianna and I did not plan on both making dishes that include sage, but hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?

For all of my childhood, one of the greatest moments at Thanksgiving was when the sweet potato casserole that my aunt made was pulled from the oven and added to the epic spread of food. It evolved a bit over the years, first being topped with toasted mini marshmallows, and eventually progressing to a candied nut topping. It didn’t matter to me what you topped it with though, only that sweet potatoes were about to be consumed.

Imagine my shock the first year my extended family couldn’t make it to Thanksgiving and to my horror sweet potatoes were left out of the meal! It soon became apparent that I was the only one among my dad, stepmother and sisters that shared in a love of sweet potatoes, and sadly, my addiction went unfed for years.

This year though, I’m taking control of my own life. I saw this recipe in the current issue of Martha Stewart, and couldn’t wait any longer. After making a few adjustments, I’ve found my favorite version of sweet potato casserole yet. The sage gives it a sophisticated feel but it’s still sweet and satisfying. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Maple Sweet Potato Casserole with Sage-Butter

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, November 2009

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So, I found another blogger who made this dish with the original recipe but complained that it came out bland. To avoid that, I used all sweet potatoes instead of a mix of both regular and sweet, and I added maple syrup, both to sweeten it and add just a little more flavor. I also made a nut topping instead of one made from bread crumbs as the original had done. I’m beyond satisfied with the result, and it’s going to be a long time before I decide to venture to another version of this dish.

3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 ½ cups milk
1/8 cup maple syrup

For the Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Place sweet potatoes  in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 1 stick of butter with the chopped sage in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat. Add butter mixture, milk, and maple syrup to the potatoes and beat with a blender until smooth. Transfer to a 2-quart casserole dish. (mix can be refrigerated for up to 2 days)

In a small saucepan, combine pecans, butter and maple syrup. Heat for 1-2 minutes, or until pecans are well coated in the butter and syrup.  Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the potatoes. Bake, uncovered, until bubbling around the edges and the pecans are beginning to darken, about 30 to 40 minutes.

For the past few weeks, everything I’ve made has been “fall” food.  First there was this, and then these…and then this.  I’m guessing that autumn feels pretty appreciated by me…or totally exploited.  Either way, I’m not done with fall.  I have more up my sleeve. So fall, forgive me, because I’m going to use you as long as I can. Everyone, please meet my new food crush: Sweet Potato Scones.

Don’t scones make you feel classy?! I’ve always associated them with High Tea…and wearing fancy white gloves, and maybe, even being snooty enough to point my pinky straight in the air as I sip tea.  I know, I know, I think this might just be my Jane Austen obsession coming into play, but whatever.

I think it’s this very association that makes everyone  so intimidated by scones, that they’d rather opt for half-stale ones at the chain coffee shop (I’m not naming names but you know who I’m talking about) than make them.  But seriously, I have a secret: These were super simple.  So no reason to fret.

Sure, these might look like normal looking scones; the typical square shape, thickness and the light golden brown color might lead you to believe they’re just a standard scone you might find anywhere.  But what you might not see, at first glance, are the specs of orange…do you see them? Do you?  Well if you don’t, then just have faith that they’re there, because it’s those specs that make these scones magical.  They have every taste of fall that you’d ever want:  a hint of nutmeg, a dash of cinnamon and the flavor of comfort that you’ll only find in a sweet potato.

The trick with scones is that the butter must be cold and stay chilled until they reach the oven. It’s the chilled butter that makes them puff up and look so cute, this means that you must work quickly.  There, that wasn’t so bad, right?  Again, the trick to cute little scones: cold butter.  If you master that down, you’re set.  So go get your fancy white gloves on and lets eat some freakin’ scones.

Sweet Potato Scones

Recipe by Rebecca Rather in the book The Pastry Queen Christmas

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3 orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (about 3/4lb.)
4 cups of all-purpose flour
½ cup of sugar
1 ½ tablespoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon sized slices
½ cup of heavy whipping cream
½ cup of buttermilk

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Lightly grease a baking sheet. Prick the sweet potatoes a few times with a fork and bake them on a prepared baking sheet until tendered for 30-40 minutes.  Remove from oven and let them cool to touch, about 10 minutes.  Cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out flesh and place in a medium mixing bowl, and lightly mash with a fork.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate until cool, at least 20 minutes. (Warm potatoes will melt the cold butter, keeping the scones from attaining their optimum lightness and tenderness.)

Increase the oven temperature to 425F.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Use your hands or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture until the dough is crumbly and contains lumps the size of small peas. Add the cooled sweet potatoes and 1/4 cup of the cream and lightly stir into the flour mixture.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of cream and the buttermilk and stir until just mixed. Do not overwork the dough.

Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface.  Lightly coat your hands with flour and form the dough into a 3/4 inch-thick rectangle.  Cut the dough into 6 squares (I cut a lot more). Bake on an un-greased baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are a light golden brown.  Transfer to wire rack for cooling.