Toasty Warm Dinner for a Cold Day

When the outside temperature doesn't break 17 degrees, you know you're better off inside...with a big ol' pot of chili. Which is exactly how my evening began.

But first, I'm happy to report that we're back in the hot water business at the Hungry Spoon household. The hot water heater installation was a success, so I can now resume a regular shower schedule. I'm sure everyone around me is just as happy as I am about this.

As a result of hanging out with the plumber all day, Adam was thankfully home to whip up a batch of Thai Coconut Curry Chili. It was teasing me with its delicious spiced curry aroma when I walked in the front door from work.

This Thai Chili recipe, featured in the most recent issue of Clean Eating Magazine, barely resembles the traditional chili you're accustomed to. This baby is loaded with sweet potatoes, bulgur, coconut milk, and curry powder, among other tasty ingredients. And although I don't like hot n' spicy foods, this recipe could easily be made hot n' spicy to your liking.

Now that my belly is full o' chili, I'm off to bake some Outrageous Brownies for a few holiday packages that need be mailed tomorrow. Is anyone else's stand mixer begging for mercy from all of the holiday baking?

Do you have a favorite chili variation?

Thai Coconut Curry Chili

(adapted from a recipe in Clean Eating Magazine)

The coconut milk adds a welcome creaminess to this curried chili recipe. As with most soups, the fantastic flavor in this recipe will certainly only improve with time, so this would a great recipe to make the day before serving.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 cups low-sodium veggie broth
• 1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
• 1 cups of cubed, uncooked sweet potato
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) diced tomatoes, drained
• Ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1) In a large soup pot, combine the spices, broth, bulgur, sweet potato, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Set on high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.

2) Add beans, coconut milk, and tomatoes to the pot. Stir and cook uncovered until the chili is thick and the bulgur is tender, about 10 - 15 minutes. Add ground black pepper to taste. (We found that the chili thickened even further after allowing it to sit, removed from the heat for about 10 minutes).

Potato Pancake Power

This weekend I tried my hand at a dish that's new to me: latkes.

With Hanukah in full-swing, Cooking Light did a feature article on latkes (Jewish potato pancakes) in their latest holiday issue. Seeing as I'm not Jewish, I've never been fortunate enough to taste an authentic latke before, but Cooking Light's recipes looked incredibly enticing.

And let's face it: who doesn't love crispy potatoes?

Since I'm never one to shy away from a cooking challenge, I completely by-passed the "Classic Latke" recipe and went straight to the non-traditional feature: "Curried Butternut Squash and Potato Latkes with Apple Salsa."

The result: Pure potato bliss. I was one starch-happy woman after that dinner.

The seasonings were fantastic--curry, coriander, cilantro, and cinnamon. Talk about a party in your mouth. I subbed in sweet potatoes for regular potatoes, which I definitely recommend (a little extra vitamin A and beta carotene never hurt anyone). And the apple-lime salsa is just not optional--it adds a wonderful sweet n' tart accompaniment to your potato-packed plate.

For those of you celebrating Hanukah this week, enjoy! And thank you for bringing such wonderful latke recipes to our tables.

Curried Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Latkes with Apple-Lime Salsa

(a Cooking Light magazine recipe)

This recipe has already been marked as a favorite in our recipe notebook (Yes--On the first night we made it!). A word of caution: Our latkes had some trouble sticking together--perhaps because we used more grated potato than the recipe called for. If you experience the same difficulty, you may want to add an additional egg, or simply scramble it up into potato hash (which is what Adam ended up doing with the last batch).

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1/2 cups finely chopped apple
• 1 TBSP lime juice
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro (we were out, so we used dried; I definitely recommend using fresh!)
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• optional: If you like hot foods, you can add a finely chopped serrano chile
• 3 cups shredded, peeled butternut squash
• 3 cups shredded, peeled sweet potato
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 6 TBSP flour
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 - 3 TBSP fresh, chopped cilantro
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided

Directions:

1) Combine apple and lime juice in a bowl. Add onion, 2 TBSP cilantro, 1/8 tsp. salt (and chile if you're using). Cover and chill.

2) Combine squash, potato, and onion in a colander. Drain for 30 minutes, pressing occasionally with the back of a spoon until barely moist. Combine potato mixture with 1/2 tsp. salt, flour, curry powder, coriander, pepper, cinnamon, cilantro, and egg. Toss well.

3) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 tsp. oil to pan . Spoon 1/4 cup potato mixture into the pan and flatten slightly. Repeat to form about 5 latkes (or however many will fit in your pan). Saute 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and thoroughly cooked. Repeat until all of the potato mixture is gone. Serve with apple-lime salsa.

Dough-Wrapped Goodness

Wrap something up in a flaky, homemade dough, and I'm bound to eat it.

My mom used to make fried pies when I was growing up--a dessert that hails straight from the hills of Appalachia. She would wrap simple pastry around a filling of applesauce and apple butter, and brown those little pies in a skillet. Holy deliciousness, were they ever good!

Whether it's pie, calzones, or a round of brie en croute, dough-wrapped food is just plain tasty, isn't it?

Tonight I tried my hand at a pastry-wrapped pocket that's new to me: empanadas. I first spied a recipe for Sweet Potato & Black Bean Empanadas in this month's issue of Cooking Light. Since I'm already a fanatic about the sweet potato and black bean combo (remember this summer's pocket recipe?), I knew that encasing these guys together in a tender, flaky dough would surely make my taste buds sing with glory.

And sing they did!

While the filling in tonight's recipe is dairy free, I'm already dreaming about how some sharp cheddar cheese could vamp these little pockets to the next level.

What's your favorite way to fill a pocket o' pastry?

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Empanadas

(recipe adapted from a Cooking Light magazine recipe)

I ate (and loved!) my empanada plain, Adam enjoyed his with a little salsa and sour cream on the side. As noted above, I imagine some grated sharp cheddar cheese would be a wonderful addition to the filling.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/4 cold water
• 1 TBSP vinegar
• 1 large egg
• dash of olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. cumin
• generous sprinkling of black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 can (15 oz.) of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• Optional: 1 finely chopped poblano chili (we did not use this because I don't like hot chilis, but if you do like hot food, by all means go wild!)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

2) Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and chili powder and saute for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine sweet potatoes, black beans, onion mixture, and cilantro in a large bowl.

3) To prepare dough: Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. In separate, small bowl, whisk together oil, water, vinegar, and egg. Gradually add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Knead lightly until smooth. Divide into 8 balls.

4) To prepare empanadas: Use a rolling pin to roll one of the balls of dough on a lightly floured surface (roll into a 5 inch circle). Place about 3 TBSP of the sweet potato mixture on the dough circle. Fold dough over the filling, and use a fork to seal the edges (optional, you can lightly moisten the edges of the dough with egg white to seal them together before using the fork). Cut three diagonal slits across the top of each empanada.

5) Bake empanadas at 400 degrees for about 16 minutes, or until lightly browned.

B-Sprouts: Re-Mixed from the 1980's Version

Did anyone else have less-than-desirable experiences with brussel sprouts as a child?

Although my mom truly rocks at most everything she creates in the kitchen, I have to admit that brussel spouts just weren't her strong point. Those mini cabbage heads were boiled in water and served straight from the pot just as they were. Needless to say it wasn't the most popular side dish at the dinner table.

When I brought this topic up with a few of my friends though, I found that perhaps the unpalatable brussel sprout issue wasn't mom, but rather it was the prevailing method of cooking B-sprouts at the time. My girlfriends indicated they had the similar sprout experiences when they were growing up.

Moms: We don't blame you. You were victims of the time period. Let's move forward though: It's time to redeem yourselves.

I've found in recent years that I LOVE roasted brussel sprouts. Seasoned just right and slightly crispy on the outside, they're a wonderfully seasonal dish this time of year. While they're delightful on their own (as we had them for dinner tonight), they also make a great add-in to a meal-sized salad.

Tonight we tossed in a chopped sweet potato when we roasted our brussel spouts (leftover from Tuesday's soup). After the veggies roasted, Adam made a homemade Honey Mustard Garlic dressing to drizzle over the top. Bonus: The dressing is almost completely fat-free (and you'd never know it from the taste). It was definitely as good as it sounds--incredibly scrumptious!

Today, re-discover your love for brussel sprouts. Mom: This one's for you :)

Have you discovered a love for a food that you didn't like as a child?

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Honey Mustard Garlic Dressing

(vinaigrette recipe from Moosewood Restaurant's Low-Fat Favorites)

Divine. That's all there is to say about this recipe. Simply divine.

Veggie Ingredients:

• 1 pound of brussel sprouts, halved
• Optional: 3 (very) small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• a little drizzle of olive oil
• a little salt and pepper

Honey Mustard Garlic Dressing:

• 4 - 5 cloves of garlic, minced and sauteed in a tiny bit of olive oil (just to soften the bite of the raw garlic)
• 2 TBSP Dijon mustard
• 2 TBSP honey
• 3 TBSP cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees and coat a baking pan with cooking spray.

2) Drizzle just a little olive oil over the brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes. Toss to coat, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place veggies on baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, or until nicely browned and tender (stir the veggies after 20 minutes).

3) To prepare the dressing, whisk together the ingredients in a small bowl.

4) Drizzle a little dressing over individual servings of veggies.