Squash and Sweet Potato Recipes

[OakLeaf]

well, of the butternut squash we had for Thanksgiving, some of it went into ravioli, some of it went into pie, the rest is going to be a savory soufflé tonight...

I would've baked a smaller squash but it was starting to dry out and needed to get used.

[Melalvai]

Just this morning I was looking for a warm drink alternative to hot cocoa: something with a similar consistency but without chocolate or sugar or caffeine. I've been drinking a lot of smoothies since I gave up coke & sugar a few days ago, but my throat was sore this morning and I *really* wanted hot cocoa! Anyway, I came across a sweet potato smoothie. It sounded a lot like soup.

I made a sweet potato pie one year, instead of pumpkin. It was good.

There's a recipe in the Moosewood Cookbook. Slice the sweet potatoes and cook them, and steam some broccoli, and mix them together. There's some kind of sauce that goes over it, I remember it has lemon in it. It is absolutely delicious.

I got a food processor recently for the first time. I've been making hash browns regularly. I tried it with sweet potatoes, and that was also delicious. They tend to be so much bigger than potatoes, that I think next time I'll cut it in half, because last time it crowded the pan, and I learned the trick to making hash browns is don't crowd the pan.

[azfiddle]

Here's a recipe that my husband invented, and has improved over the years. Brandy may be substituted for whisky....

2-3 med-large sweet potatoes
3/4 cup plain yogurt, peeled, cut into chunks or slices.
1 tart green apple
2 T. brown sugar
? whisky or brandy- enough to "melt" the brown sugar (guessing another couple of Tablespoons
About 1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces.

Microwave sweet potatoes, then mash them and stir the yogurt.
Arrange apple pieces on the bottom of baking or casserole dish.

Mix brown sugar with enough brandy or whiskey to "melt" the brown sugar. Mix in about 1/2 cup pecan pieces or halves. Soak for 15 minutes.

Spoon or pour the sweet potato & yogurt mixture over the apples, then spread the brown-sugar / pecan mixture over the top.

Cover and bake in an oven or heat in a microwave

[Melalvai]

I just tried out a sweet potato smoothie. I looked at a few recipes and then created my own simpler version with no sweetener.
1 small sweet potato, baked
1/8 tsp nutmeg
milk, to desired consistency

I scooped the sweet potato out of its skin, put all that in the blender. I re-heated it over low heat on the stove, but if I'd done it straight out of the oven instead of letting it cool, and added the cold milk, I might have had a drink of just the right temperature.

I'm eating it right now. It's very good. The sweet potato flavor is a little strong, but I don't think more nutmeg would help.

[IFjane]

I, too, tend to just enjoy both my squash & sweet potatoes unadulterated and baked. However, I saw this recipe for sweet potato wedges and HAD to try it. It was wonderful! I have done it several times - it's like having steak fries, only better! Enjoy:

Cut 1 large peeled sweet potato lengthwise into 10 wedges. Combine potato wedges, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (I use garlic powder & sea salt - just a tiny bit of salt), and 1/4 teaspoon paprika; toss to coat.

Arrange wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake @ 500 degrees for 16 - 20 minutes or until done, turning after 9 minutes.

[snapdragen]

One of my family favorites. I use candied pecans from Trader Joe's. To make thise super easy, I sometimes get the bagged sweet potato cubes or butternut squash cubes.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

4 teaspoons unsalted butter
4 pounds sweet potatoes or yams
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
8 ounces pecan pieces

Heat oven to 350° F. Place the butter on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to oven until melted.

Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Add with the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Roast, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes.

Makes 8 servings
(from Real Simple Magazine)

[OakLeaf]

My soufflé came out pretty good.

Standard four-egg soufflé - about a cup of minced combined shallots and onions sautéed and incorporated into the béchamel, about three cups of squash purée, around half a cup of grated baby Swiss cheese in the mixture, plus grated Parmesan to dust the pan and on top. Seasoned with a bit of nutmeg.

It had only been, oh, about 35 years since I'd made a soufflé, so I was surprised at how easy it was, and how it actually doesn't use a ton of eggs (what I hadn't thought about was that the last time I made one, I was cooking for my family of 5).

Definitely going into the regular rotation.