Bourbon-Brown Sugar Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins

Jeff Mauro, the Sandwich King, is one of the hosts on "The Kitchen".  They had a big game appetizer show on the other day.   The following recipe from Jeff sounds absolutely great.  I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to try it.  I wanted to post it just in case anyone was interested in doing them too. 


Ingredients

• 
4 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 16.5-ounce can baked beans with bourbon and brown sugar, such as Bush's Best Bourbon and Brown Sugar Grillin' Beans
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 scallions (white and pale green parts), sliced, dark green tops sliced and reserved for garnish
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and ribs removed, diced
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 avocado, diced
• One 10-ounce tube Mexican chorizo




Procedure

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roast the sweet potatoes on the prepared baking sheet until soft when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Let cool for 15 minutes.
• Slice each potato lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Brush the empty potato skins with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Return the skins to the baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix the sweet potato flesh with the beans, cumin, chile powder, scallions and jalapenos. Season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the skins from the oven and fill each with some of the bean mixture. Fit a baking sheet with a wire rack, transfer the filled potato skins to the rack and bake for another 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend together the sour cream, lime juice and avocado until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until brown and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain off the fat.
• Top the potato skins with warm, crispy chorizo, avocado drizzle and sliced scallion tops.

Prime Rib Another Way

We had dinner with friends last night at Lil McCarthy's house.   Among the guests was Nick Petrakis.  Nick shared his recipe for Prime Rib.  I will be using it the next time I do a Prime Rib dinner.   I'll let you know how it works.  Here is his way of doing this great meal.

Ingredients

• Prime Rib with bone cut and tied.  Nike says it does not matter what the size of the prime rib is.  The cooking directions are the same.
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Procedure

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
• Put prime rib in baking pan, bone side down.
• Put prime rib in oven and cook for 1 hour
• Turn oven off and let prime rib remain in oven for three hours (DO NOT OPEN OVEN FOR ANY REASON).
• Before serving, turn oven back on at 375 degrees (DO NOT PRE_HEAT OVEN).
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Pull out Prime rib, cut and serve.

Korean Fried Chicken

Judy Joo is the host of "Korean Food Made Easy" on the Cooking Network and is always presenting great Korean dishes.  Her recent show called "Fusion" included a recipe for Korean Fried Chicken.  The Korean's have upscaled the classic American favorite with a Korean twist.  So, here is her take on Fried Chicken.  Enjoy.

Ingredients
Pickled Radish Cubes:

• ½ Cup Rice Vinegar
• ½ Cup Water
• ½ Cup sugerfine sugar or Caster sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Kosher salt or sea Salt
• 1 Pound Daikon radish, cut into ½ inch cubes

Pre-Coating:

• 1/4 Cup cornstarch or corn flour
• 2-1/2 Teaspoons Kosher salt or sea salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
• 10 grinds Black Pepper
• 2 chicken drumsticks, 2 thighs and 4 wings with tips (bone in, skin on)
• Oil, for frying

Batter:

• 1/2 Cup cornstarch or corn flour
• 1/4 Cup fine matzo meal
• 1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons Korean chile flakes (gochugaru)
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt
• 2-1/2 Teaspoons Garlic granules
• 2-1/2 Teaspoons Onion granules
• 1/4 Teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Cup Water
• 1/3 Cup Vodka
• 2 Tablespoons Korean chile paste (gochujang)

Korean BBQ Sauce:

• 3 Tablespoons Korean chile paste (gochujang)
• 3 Tablespoons Ketchup
• 2 packed tablespoons dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon roasted Sesame Oil
• 2 Teaspoons grated Ginger (from about a 2-inch piece)
• 2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

Procedures

• Make the pickled radish cubes: Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl, whisking until the sugar and salt are dissolved.  Add the radish and toss to coat.  Leave at room temperature, covered, for 24 hours.  Then refrigerate. 
• Make the pre-coating: In a large bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients.  Add the chicken and toss well until evenly coated in all areas.  Transfer the chicken to a rack, shaking the chicken well to get rid of any eess coating.  Let rest uncovered for 1 hour. 
• Prepare oil: Pour enough oil into a 6-quart Dutch oven to reach a depth of 2 incudes.  Heat the oil over medium-high hear until a deep-dry thermometer reads 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Make the batter:  In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  Just before frying, whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  The consistency should be relatively thin and runny.  Working in two batches, dip each piece of chicken into the batter, letting excess batter drip off.  Suspend the chicken in the oil for a couple of seconds to it to setup before letting it slip completely into the oil, otherwise, the chicken will fall and stick to the bottom of the pot.  Fry the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes per batch.  Transfer to a wire rack to drain as done. 
• Make the BBQ sauce: Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until slightly thickened, 2 to 5 minutes.  Serve the chicken with the BBQ sauce, pickled radish and beer. 
• Note: The batter's dry and wet ingredients can be assembled but bnot mixed together ahead of time.  Whisk the wet and ry ingredients right before you are ready to fry the chicken, otherwise, the batter may thicken too much.  Cook the chicken in batches, cooking the drumsticks and thights together as one batch and the wings as a separate batch.  Loosen the BBQ'sauce with a little water if you want to drizzle the sauce over or glaze the chicken. 

Ginger Cranberry Sauce

This recipe was adapted from Sam Sifton's book "Thanksgiving - How to Cook It Well".  Enjoy.

Ingredients

• ½-Cup Pecans, roughly chopped.
• 1 Bag (12 oz.) Fresh or Thawed Frozen Cranberries.
• ¾-Cup Sugar.
• ¾-Cup Fresh Orange Juice.
• 1 Teas. Grated Fresh Giner.
• 1-½ Teas. Orange Zest.

Procedure

• Toast Pecans in sauté pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes or until fragment and golden brown.  Remove from heat and set aside.
• Cook Cranberries, Sugar and Orange Juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring regularly, 4 to 6 minutes or until Sugar melts and Cranberries begin to pop.
• Add Ginger and Orange Zest; cook 2 to 3 minutes and remove from heat.  Add Pecans, cover and cool to room temperature.
• Chill, covered for at least 2 hours.
• Serve

Garlic Confit Toast

This one comes from the April 2015 issue of Bon Appétit magazine.  Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh Baguette 
• 1 head fresh Garlic
• ½ cup unsalted Butter
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Teas. chopped Oregano
• 1 Teas. grated Lemon zest
• ½ Teas. crushed Red Pepper flakes

Procedure

• Extract cloves from head of garlic.
• Cook cloves of garlic in unsalted butter, in a small covered saucepan, over medium-low heat until golden brown and very soft - 15-30 minutes.
• Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool.
• Add Parmesan, Oregano, Lemon zest and Red Pepper flakes to garlic and mash to a paste.
• Season with salt to taste.
• Heat broiler.
• Slice Baguette lengthwise and crosswise to fit baking sheet.
• Broil cut sides down on a foil-lined baking sheet until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Let cool slightly, then spread on cut side with garlic paste. 
• Broil again until cheese is golden and bubbling, about 2 minutes.