"One Potato, Two Potato...."

Everything old is new again.

(At least that’s what I keep sayin’ to the mirror!)

My maternal grandmother, a world-class baker and pincher of ears, used to make a version of this Sweet Potato Crisp years ago. I thought it was weird. Sweet potatoes were for Thanksgiving! With a pile of marshmallows and swimming in syrup! So I ran out the door when it came out of the oven because there was NO WAY I was going to eat SWEET POTATOES like that! I was an 8 year old with very specific ideas about how food was supposed to be. Bologna sandwiches ONLY with chocolate milk! Fish sticks on the LEFT side of the plate, not touching anything else! Fried eggs, cooked so long you could bounce them off the pink Formica! I was a picky little brat, and it’s a wonder I’m not deaf or even have any ears at all after all the pinching they endured when I was a kid.

I have an old wooden box full of old family recipes, mostly from my grandmother (my Mom mainly just tried to make sure we all didn’t die of rickets and wasn’t too concerned about recipes...she approached cooking much like a zoo keeper approaches feeding the monkeys) that I rummage around in from time to time. Every time I make the chocolate chip cookie recipe, the lasagna, the chipped beef and gravy, I am amazed how quickly I am transported back to my Grandma’s tiny kitchen and how she never gave up trying to teach me to cook and bake.

(This is not quite what it looked like....)


“Now, listen to me…and quit fidgeting! This is how you dissolve yeast! Stop eating your braid! Look at this dough, now, isn’t it just lovely….what did I tell you about crossing your eyes?? Do you want them to stay that way?? In order for bread to rise, it has to…if you don’t stop cutting the cat’s fur, I’m telling your Mother, the poor soul. Why did she marry your father anyway???”

(No, my father wasn't Paul Newman, but that pose looks awfully familiar...)

Thank goodness I grew up (everybody quit laughing!) and figured out that food and the process of baking and cooking is a marvelous, enjoyable creative thing. Thank goodness some of my grandmother’s wisdom somehow penetrated my preoccupation of trying to teach her parakeets to talk. Thank goodness she knew that some day I would want her recipe for Sweet Potato Crisp.

There has been some tinkering with the recipe (the addition of candied ginger, etc.), but mostly it’s hers. The sauce is mine – yes, thank you very much, it is fabulous isn't it? Try not to slurp it all up before you get a chance to pour it over the crisp, ok?

Sweet Potato and Candied Ginger Crisp with Coconut Caramel Sauce
Serves 6 (or just me with a big spoon)

For Crisp:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup oats
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
5 cups peeled and thinly sliced North Carolina Sweet Potatoes
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger

For Sauce
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

To prepare Crisp:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position rack to middle of oven.
2. Combine the flour, oats, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, and 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Using the large holes of a cheese grater, grate the chilled butter into the bowl. Using your fingertips, lightly mix until butter and dry ingredients start to come together, being careful not to over mix.
3. In another large bowl, toss the sweet potato slices with the lemon juice, the chopped ginger, and the remaining cinnamon
4. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a non-stick 8” X 8” baking pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes.
5. Bake, uncovered in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until topping is bubbly and brown and sweet potatoes are fork tender.

To prepare Sauce:
1. While crisp is baking, place the sugar into a heavy medium-sized saucepan. Heat, over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted and golden brown. Slowly add the coconut milk, stirring vigorously. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

To serve,
Scoop warm crisp into bowl and spoon warm sauce over top

"Focaccia"

When I am feeling under the weather, (which I am, can’t you hear me whining from here????) I want to make bread. There’s something about the softness of the flour, the warmth of the kitchen, the smell of baking…it’s so comforting. Even kneading helps! Of course, I’m spreading all my germs all over everything, but maybe the baking killed them. Who knows? Anyway, I also hooked up my Bose speakers (finally) to the stereo and I recommend kneading bread to “GusGus”.
I’m just sayin’….you should CHECK OUT THESE GUYS!

I haven’t made my Focaccia in a while – I used to make it every week when all the kids were home. The little savages would eat all of it in about an hour. It’s extremely easy and like all bread recipes, lets you attend to other important things while the dough is rising or resting. I mean, I did, like, 10 Sudoku puzzles!

Additions to the dough are up to you. I almost always add sautéed garlic and chopped chives. The toppings - you can go crazy….since there are 4 breads to a batch, you can do something a little different on each one. Today one had rosemary and sea salt, one had sliced tomatoes and finely grated Pecorino Romano, one had just the cheese, and one had thinly sliced shallots. Be sure to use a fruity olive oil for the brushing…makes a big difference. And I always sprinkle my breads with sea salt after baking. But I’m a salt freak. If I could have a salt lick in my living room, I would. Moo.

Focaccia

Makes 4 flat rounds

1 tablespoon dry yeast
4 cups warm water (we’re talking baby bottle warm)
3 tablespoons olive oil
About 6 cups bread flour OR 2 cups whole wheat flour and 3 cups bread flour
1 ½ tablespoons coarse kosher salt
GOOD extra virgin olive oil for brushing Focaccia

1. Fill a large mixing bowl with hot water. Let stand for a few minutes, then pour off water. Add the 4 cups warm water to bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the olive oil
3. Add half (3 cups ) of the flour and stir until it is all incorporated. Add salt and any additions you wish (see notes below).
4. Beat the batter (at this point, it’s like a thick pancake batter) until dough is elastic and grabs the spoon when you lift it. Stir in more flour to make a soft dough and mix until mixing becomes difficult.
5. Cover bowl with damp towel or plastic wrap and place in warm spot – let rise until doubled.
6. Sprinkle dough with handful of flour, enough to remove the stickiness on the surface.
Punch down dough, deflating it. Pour dough out of bowl onto a well floured surface. It will be pretty sticky, so cover your hands with flour and use a light tough. Cut (I use a dough scraper to do this) into 4 pieces. Knead each piece until dough is homogenous, adding more flour as necessary to keep surface dry and not so sticky. Maintain a soft dough and avoid the temptation to add more flour. Dust each piece lightly with flour, and set aside for about 15 minutes, to allow the dough to relax.
7. Preheat your oven now, to 400 degrees. Prepare 2 baking sheets by generously oiling them with olive oil. When ready, place 2 pieces of dough onto each baking sheet, pat and gently stretch each piece of dough into a disk, about 1 inch thick. Brush generously with olive oil. Let rise until puffy, 15-30 minutes.
8. If you have chosen to do so, sprinkle dough with toppings. Then dimple the dough with your fingertips. Brush tops with olive oil again. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until browned (check the bottoms too!) If baking both sheets in same oven, switch positions halfway through baking.



9. After breads are removed from oven, brush once again with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if desired.

*If you are adding garlic or onion into the dough, sauté first in the olive oil, let cool, then add when oil is to be stirred in. Other additions could be finely minced fresh rosemary or sage, freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, or pieces of dried tomato in oil.
* For toppings, sprinkle dough before you bake with one or more of the following…very thinly sliced onions or shallots, crumbed sage or rosemary leaves, finely minced garlic, Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, thinly sliced, seeded tomatoes.

The picture below is one I took of a huge hawk sitting on my tree, outside my upstairs bedroom window yesterday. He was bedraggled and wet from the storm. I went outside to talk to him, but he didn't have much to say. He was pretty miserable, I think. So I got him a hot dog and put it below the tree. I think he liked it. Isn't he beautiful??