Sweet Potato Casserole

For our annual (it's becoming a yearly tradition, yay!) pre-Thanksgiving potluck, I tried out a sweet potato casserole that turned out to be a hit! This side dish is deliciously creamy with a crunchy topping. Don't be fooled, while it highlights the natural sweetness of yams and sweet potatoes, don't wait till dessert to bring out this dish!

A few tips: I used a mixture of yams and sweet potatoes in making this dish, mainly because yams are cheaper and gives the dish a gorgeous orange hue. I used 2.5 lbs Beauregard yams and 1.5 lbs sweet potato. I popped the yams and sweet potato into the oven to roast along with the turkey at whatever temperature the turkey was baking at for about an hour. When I took out the yams and sweet potato, they were soft and easily popped out of their skins. Also, I ended up using almond slices instead of pecans in the topping, because it was what I had on hand. The casserole turned out fine, but I'm sure pecans would supply even more crunchiness.

Sweet Potato Casserole (modified from Allrecipes.com)

4 lbs. yams and sweet potato
1/4 c. white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
3 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap sweet potatoes and yams in aluminum foil and roast in oven until soft (about 45 minutes).  
2. Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees. Scoop out flesh of sweet potatoes and yams and mix with white sugar, eggs, salt, 4 tbsp. butter, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Transfer mixture to a casserole dish (or equivalent 8x8 baking dish). 
3. Topping: Combine brown sugar and flour. Cut in butter until mixture is coarse. Mix in pecans. Sprinkle topping over sweet potato/yam mixture. 
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned. 

A Few of My Favorite Things...

As I bunker down in my room, kicking off my Thanksgiving break by watching my favorite movie and reading a new cookbook, I thought it might be interesting five or ten years from now to look back and see what a few of my passions were! It's most likely that these "favorites" will be superseded by then! Actually, I have a pretty poor track record in maintaining favorites, so I never liked those icebreaker questions asking about "favorite song" or "favorite movie" because I can never fully decide upon just ONE favorite! 

The List

Favorite movie right now: Tangled! Watching it right now makes me just... happy! 

Favorite song: "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry. A few other songs that are currently played on repeat on Spotify: I See the Light (Tangled), I'm Not That Girl/Defying Gravity (Wicked), The One That Got Away (Katy Perry), We Found Love (Rihanna). 

Favorite after-school snack food: Trader Joe's dried unsweetened mangoes. Or ice cream... (see below)

Favorite book: Any cookbook! Especially anything by America's Test Kitchen. 

Favorite ice cream: Tillamook's Oregon Wild Cherry.

S.A.D.

Two words: rough morning. And it's not even noon yet. Why is it that when one bad thing happens, everything else seems to go awry as well?

Midterm comes back today, and I have a sinking feeling (and I haven't even seen my score yet). I can't enjoy someone else's happiness, because (selfishly) that means I didn't do the best on this particular test. Compounding factors that turned one bad event into a bad mood: another cloudy, gray day; burnt my green onion pancake; discovered jeans were too tight this morning; brain not working as I try (distracted by my imminent midterm score) to finish a paper.

Currently feeling all alone. And where is God in my life? I had expected to do well on this specific test, because I had put God first the weekend before taking the test. In my mind, I was good- I attended the Fall Conference messages rather than skipping out like all the other students. I had felt peace after my test and thought I had done well. Why do I feel so scared to get my grade back now?

Randomly, turned to 2 Samuel 8 in my Bible this morning. It details David's triumphs and how God was with him in all this battles. Opportune reminder to me that David was someone who put the Lord first, and God rewarded him. I need that promise right now in my life.

Well, hopefully Tillamook black cherry ice cream for lunch cheers me up a little...

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

A easy and delicious main course for a big crowd or potluck! I'm sure you can also substitute Yoshida sauce for the homemade sauce if you're in a time crunch or don't have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Last time I made this, I doubled the sauce (you can't go wrong with extra sauce, right?). I froze the extra sauce in little containers; a week later I brushed some of the teriyaki sauce over salmon, baked it, and that made for a delicious and no-fuss dinner on a busy school night! I also didn't have cider vinegar (I broke the glass bottle in my garage while taking groceries out of my car- my garage smelled vinegar-y for weeks!). So, I did some research on vinegars- cider vinegar has a fruity smell/taste, so straight white diluted vinegar won't be a good substitute. Red wine vinegar diluted with equal amounts of water seemed to be the consensus on how to sub for cider vinegar, which is what I did and the sauce tasted fine. 

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

from Allrecipes.com

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. cold water

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. cider vinegar

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. ginger, minced

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

6 skinless chicken thighs 

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine cornstarch, cold water, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and ground black pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles. 
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Place chicken thighs on a lightly greasted 9x13 baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken pieces. 
4. Cover pan lightly with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Flip chicken pieces over and bake for another 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.

Chicken Fingers, Anyone?

Stumbled upon this recipe yesterday on Yahoo. It reminds me of the chicken katsu recipe that I use. A slight difference- this recipe adds another step with breading the chicken in flour first. Also, a Canadian shout-out, since the recipe originated from a Chinese (!) restaurant in Winnepeg. I can't wait to try making the dipping sauce! Honey mustard is definitely my favorite :). 

Mitzi's Chicken Fingers
SERVES 6

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE:

1½ cups mayonnaise

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp. roughly chopped dill

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. dry mustard powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE CHICKEN FINGERS:

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3"-long-by-1"-wide strips

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

1½ tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

1 cup flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups finely ground fresh breadcrumbs or panko

Canola oil, for frying

1. Make the dipping sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise with the honey, dill, mustard powder, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and stir together until smooth; set honey-dill dipping sauce aside.

2. Make the chicken fingers: In a medium bowl, toss together chicken, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and mustard; set aside. Place flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow dishes; set aside. Pour oil to a depth of 2″ into a 6-qt. Dutch oven; heat over medium-high heat until deep-fry thermometer reads 325°. Working in batches, coat chicken in flour, shake off excess, and dip in eggs; coat in breadcrumbs. Fry chicken until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining chicken. Serve with dipping sauce.

My Favorite Season is Autumn

Autumn is lovely. As fun and sunny as summer may be, autumn brings back scarves and boots, bright pumpkins, falling red and yellow leaves. Also, some of my favorite foods are back: pumpkin pie, warm soups and stews, and hot pot! More serious and studious, fall marks the fresh start of a new school year. I especially adore walking on campus on a crisp autumn day with blue skies overhead while bundled up in cold weather gear.

This past week, I was inspired to bake a homemade apple pie. Paired with teriyaki chicken and coconut curry, I was prepared with feed (and nurture) a few friends that I had invited over for dinner. This apple pie recipe was actually picked up from a baking class I had taken during undergrad (via the Experimental College). Taught by a local baker, I was introduced to a simple no-fuss apple pie that did not require cinnamon (I am not a fan of overpowering cinnamon apple pies) and peeling apples. His logic made perfect sense- why overpower an apple pie with strong cinnamon flavoring and why lose the beauty of colorful apple peels? The other differences were the use of potato starch (less gooey than the typical store-bought apple pies) and dried cranberries (adds more color and complements the apples).

Making a homemade crust takes more time, but it makes a difference! Homemade crust is flakier, richer, chewier than store-bought ones. If you have a food processor (on my wish list!), make your own crust by all means! Just toss all the ingredients into the food processor, give it a whirl, and you'll have perfect pie crust.


Butter Crust (in comparison to a crust made with lard as the fat of choice)

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c. ice water, or more if necessary
1 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add pieces of butter, then process (either in a food processor or by hand using a pastry knife) until mixture is crumbly. Add ice water, and then process until dough just holds together without being wet or sticky. (Test by squeezing dough, if it holds together it is done.) If dough is too dry and crumbly, add more ice water. 
2. Turn 1/2 of dough mixture onto a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold ends of plastic wrap over dough, forming dough into a flat disk. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Repeat with other half of dough mixture. 
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 disk of dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch and 2 inches wider than pie plate. Fold rolled out pastry into quarters, pick up and place in pie dish, unfold pastry, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim edge with scissors, so it is even. Crimp, if desired.
4. Roll out second disk of dough in the same way as the first, and use as the top layer in a double layer pie.

Homemade Apple Pie

5 c. sliced fresh apples, cored and leaving skins on

1 tsp. lemon zest

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. potato starch

1/2 c. craisins, rehydrated in microwave with 1/4 c. rum (or brandy or water) for 35 seconds

1 egg, beaten with 1/4 c. water (egg wash)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare pie crusts. Mix apples, lemon zest, sugar, potato starch, and rehydrated craisins together. Fill prepared pie dish. 
3. Cover apple mixture with top crust, trim excess dough from edges, seal edge (with water if necessary) and flute edge of pie crust. Add slits to top crust. Brush egg wash on edges of pie and top crust. 
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned. 

To Honduras and Alaska and Back!

I suppose my vacation(s) ended this afternoon as I finally sat down in front of my computer and tackled the mountains of emails from the past 2 or so weeks. It's pretty sad when the majority of my emails are from Groupon and Livingsocial- I guess it's time to dial down the number of emails I receive from them everyday...

The last month has been a blur, constantly on-the-go! I guess I should recap my entire month of September. In a sentence: after working full-time the last 2 months, it was finally vacation time!

1. Our college group headed off to camping at Deception Pass for a few amazing days (yes, shockingly, no one was hurt even with Billy around!). As much as I want to hate on camping (ew... living in the woods?!), I had fun and didn't (quite) want to come back!
2. The moment I got back from camping, the realization hit- I was heading out-of-the-country in a few short days. Yes, at the age of 23, I was finally (kinda) traveling by myself! Yet, I had one last hurdle to jump through before my medical mission trip to Honduras- work presentation. Luckily, my neurons were firing on all cylinders, and I super-charged through preparing for my presentation (hmm, I barely remember the topic now... oh yes- New Treatments for Hepatitis C). Presentation done? Check! Off to Honduras!
3. My trip to Honduras (not technically a "vacation" since our brigade went to Honduras with a purpose) blew away all my expectations and trepidation. I was a little nervous, going on a trip to a foreign country for the first time with a group of pharmacy students that I didn't really know (most were a year below me). However, I had a wonderful time! The people in my brigade were awesome, the Honduran people were amazing, and the week flew by! Expect a separate blogpost on Honduras... coming soon *fingers crossed*.
4. Then it was home in Seattle for a short stay. Short, but enough time to meet up with some old high school friends that I haven't seen in years! It brought me waaay back to high school days. It was relaxing to discover that even though I haven't seen them recently, it was so easy to chat and have a good time.
5. Then to wrap it all up, the fam and I went on an Alaskan cruise for 7 days. Good food, good entertainment, aaaand lots of rain. Oh well, I'm from Seattle- I'm used to it!

Not wanting to brag... but I had an unbelievably amazing wonderful fantastic summer! Even before the month of September, with all the hangouts and BBQs and game nights, I can perhaps say THIS was the best summer of my life!

Okay, enough with the words. I know everyone just wants to see the pictures! Here are a few of my favorites :)

First day in Honduras, right before
the tropical thunderstorm hit!

Anybody recognize the country? :)

Hello from Alaska! 

Ice sculptures!

Me with Sam the Seal!

Walking the pier in Victoria, BC