Christmas Delight: Yams with Crispy Skins and Brown-Butter Vinaigrette

We made this dish out here in Seattle as part of Christmas dinner and it was amazing - the kind of amazing that requires you to take a moment to experience each bite and a minute or so of recovery afterwards. You bake and then cut the sweet potatoes into discs and drizzle them with a butter-shallot vinaigrette which is out of this world, which, when combined with the fried sweet potato skins, will send your taste buds out into the outer atmosphere. Below is the recipe, originally from Bon Apetit. It makes 6 servings. Would be a great meal for new years meals as well.

Ingredients

· 4 slender medium garnet yams or other yams (red-skinned sweet potatoes; about 5 pounds total), rinsed, dried

· ½ Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

· 1 small shallot, peeled

· 1 small garlic clove, peeled

· 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for seasoning

· 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

· 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar

For The Crispy Skins

· Vegetable oil (for frying)

1. Cook the Sweet Potatos. Preheat oven to 400°F. Pierce each yam in several places with fork. Place directly on oven rack and roast until just tender, 40 to 50 minutes, depending on size of yams.

Transfer roasted yams to work surface. Using scissors, cut off ends of each yam, then cut skin on 1 long side and peel off in 1 piece, being careful not to break warm yams. Let yams cool to room temperature. Tear or cut skins into long ribbons, about 1 inch wide. Cover yams with aluminum foil to keep moist.

2. Prepare the Vinaigrette. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter browns (milk solids will turn deep golden brown), stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully pour butter, including all brown milk solids, into small bowl.

Blend shallot, garlic, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt in processor until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Add Dijon mustard, then red wine vinegar. With motor running, gradually drizzle in butter (including browned milk solids). Season vinaigrette to taste with pepper and additional salt. Vinaigrette can be made 1 hour ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Blend again 5 seconds before using.

3. Fry the Skins. Pour enough vegetable oil into large deep skillet to reach depth of 1 inch. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of skillet and heat oil to 350°F. Add yam skins in batches (oil will bubble up) and fry until skins are crisp and brown, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, carefully transfer yam skins to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle skins with coarse salt and pepper.

4. Put it all Together. Cut yams crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds. Arrange rounds, slightly overlapping, in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish or other ovenproof dish. Rewarm yams in 350°F oven 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Spoon vinaigrette over potatoes. Scatter crisp skins over and serve.

Call for Christmas Menu's Recipe's

Hi Everyone,

What did people cook, eat, drink for these days!

I will be posting mine as well

Howie

Fishhouse Punch Important Documents

These are some of the original family documentation of the fishhouse punch recipe. Regan (sic) should be Reagan.

Enjoy!

Toasted Farro with Kale, Currants and Pine Nuts

Recipe from Suzanne Goin who has restaurant in LA

Hands-on Time: 25 minutes; Total Time: 40 minutes

3 tablespoons currants
1½ cups farro
1 pound cleaned kale (preferably cavolo nero), center ribs removed
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 sprig rosemary
1 dried mild chili (preferably chile de árbol), thinly sliced
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

What to Do:

1. Bring a generously salted pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, place currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let currants soak for 10 minutes, or until plumped. Drain and set aside.

2. Once the water has come to a boil, blanch the kale for 1-2 minutes. Transfer kale to a colander (do not throw out the pot of hot water) and toss to dry. Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop the kale.

3. Bring the water back to a boil and stir in the farro. Cook for 12 minutes, or until tender. Drain well and spread on a baking sheet to cool.

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Kale

4. While the farro cooks, heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, thyme, rosemary, chili and ½ teaspoon of salt and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the onion softens and starts to color. Stir in chopped kale and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until kale is tender. Transfer to a serving dish and discard rosemary sprig.

5. Wipe the pan clean and set it back over medium-high heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the cooked farro, ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan; the grains will crisp and develop a golden sheen.

6. Return the kale to the sauté pan. Cook, stirring the greens and grains together, for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in currants, toasted pine nuts and parsley. Transfer to a serving dish.

7. Wipe the pan clean and set it back over medium heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and reduce to a scant tablespoon. Stir the reduced balsamic into the farro dish. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Enjoy without guilt.

Fish House Punch

Hi All,

Well we survived Thanksgiving. Now interested in plans for Christmas, etc. Menu's, libations, books reading or read, music played.

Ran across the Fish House Punch recipe that Dada ( shall we switch that to Dad now, following Westport conversations on the topic). Also saw this today in the Wall Street Journal with it's own recipe. Dad(a)'s that he got from Dr. Loyal Davis (who was the father of Nancy Regan) is as follows: 2 quarts Jamaican Rum, 1 quart Cognac, 1 quart lemon juice, 2 quarts water, 1 wine glass peach brandy, 3/4 pounds sugar. Mix, and put in large punch bowl with one large block of ice frozen earlier.

There is a new wonderful book on punches, by David Wondrich, who has been writing about the classical cocktail, etc.

recipe. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704584804575644831909254358.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

recipe, please.

Debbie: Which chocolate pecan pie recipe did you use, and how did it turn out?

Robin

Question on Art Beauty and Horror

On Jane's facebook there is a quote someone sent about beauty always being related to horror:

Rilke: Beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror.

What do people think of this. She is in discussion about this, but she said why is the tingle of beauty with a fine meal, poem, etc. associated with horror. Someone quoted Edmund Burke "On the sublime":The passion caused by the great and sublime in nature..is Astonishment; and astonishment is the state of the soul, in which all it's motions are suspended, with some degree of horror. In this case the mind is so entirely filled with its object, that is cannot entertain any other."