A very easy side dish – and a great way to use up an over-the-hill banana, if you happen to have one in your kitchen.

Different cultures use different ingredients in their cuisine. In the Caribbean, obviously, they grow tons of bananas, even some different varieties of them, so it’s kind of logical that they would combine sweet potatoes with bananas to make a side dish.

This rendition of them came from a cooking class my cyber-friend Nance went to, back about 20 years ago in the Chicago area. Some people might think any dish like this should only be served near Thanksgiving (it does have some recipe-similarity with a sweet potato casserole, although this surely has no marshmallows on top, nor does it contain pecans). I served it with a juicy grilled steak. It was so darned easy – I baked the sweet potatoes (the orange fleshed type) in my handy-dandy Breville toaster oven (love that thing!) for about 40 minutes. I let them cool for 10-15 minutes as they were hot as the dickens. In a bowl that had somewhat of a flat bottom I mashed them up with the banana that I’d cut into coin-chunks. I added butter, nutmeg and cinnamon. The recipe indicated adding brown sugar, but on tasting this, I decided they were already super-sweet already, probably because of the very-much over-the-hill banana. I added a little salt and it was done.

Since we weren’t eating that very second, I put them in the casserole dish you see above and put them in the toaster oven at 250°F. The only thing I discovered was that if these sit awhile – like the 15 minutes mine did – they almost get firm, so in the recipe below I’ve added in one little hint to add some milk to them if you’re going to try to keep them at all before serving. Thanks for the recipe, Nance.

What’s GOOD: how easy these were to make. And very, very tasty with the banana. I used 2 large sweet potatoes and 1 small banana, and you definitely could taste the banana. If you reduced slightly the banana proportion, you might not be able to pick out the banana flavor. You do need a ripe banana, or it would not mash well. I scaled down the spices a little bit too – I thought just a little bit was plenty for us, and it tasted delicious. I’ll definitely make this again.

What’s NOT: nothing really, unless you don’t have the ripe banana on hand.

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Hen-of-the-wood(s) mushrooms don’t grow everywhere – this one and the others pictured here were grown in Massachusetts. They’re delicious if you didn’t know . . .

We  have a very dear friend, Joe Casali, who comes to stay with us regularly when he’s calling on customers in our area. He’s great fun to have around, and I usually cook a nice dinner when he’s here. Joe enjoys good food (and he and Dave are always chit-chatting about wine, which is an important part of every evening meal, but particularly so when Joe is here). This time he brought a gorgeous bottle of 1995 Markham Cabernet and a package of his mushrooms, and there’s quite a story here. My DH and Joe go sailing together often on our boat in San Diego, sometimes with Joe’s wife Yvette too  (I don’t go because I get seasick). Joe and Dave were once in business together, decades ago, and they roomed together back in the late 1970s for awhile. Both were jolly bachelors at the time.

Joe is Italian. Very Italian. He grew up in Massachusetts. His grandparents came over from the old country in the early 1900s and settled in Springfield, Mass., in the Italian district there, then later to East Longmeadow. Growing up in the 1950s Joe watched his grandmother Paulina and his mother Viola as they cooked food from their region in Italy – Emilia-Romagna. The family was from Piacenza (actually the town of Morfasso, in the mountains nearby) where the town is mostly made up of Casalis and Rigolis. It was at his Grandmother Paulina’s knee that he learned all about the mushrooms. Hen-of-the-wood is a Grifola frondosa polypore mushroom if you’re interested in the etymology. Over time in Joe’s family the mushroom name got kind of scrambled, and they call them grafoni.

Sometimes, apparently, in the East, in October, you can buy these mushrooms at Whole Foods. The last time Joe knew, they were charging $40/pound for them. See why they’re prized? – except that most people don’t know that much about them.

Hen-of-the-woods mushrooms are both revered and reviled (the latter only because some don’t know what a delicacy they really are and because some view them as eyesores in their pristine yards). If you go online and do a search for the mushrooms and click on images, you’ll find hundreds of pictures of them in all their delicate glory, nestled on or at the base of big trees, mostly oaks.  Joe doesn’t know if these mushrooms also grow in the region of his family in Italy, but for

sure these immigrants learned to use them in Massachusetts. For years Joe has been flying to Mass. every September or October, to harvest hundreds and hundreds of pounds of these amazing mushrooms. Joe borrows a friend’s car and heads out to hunt mushrooms. Joe has an Excel spreadsheet that he’s developed over the years of locations of these mushrooms (because they grow in the same place year after year – he showed it to me awhile back – he has notes about taking this footpath, go 50 feet to this tree, cross the stream, turn left, etc.). He’s made friends with a few people within a 20-30 mile radius of his family home there and they leave the mushrooms intact waiting for Joe’s trip to harvest. Most of them are in forests and glades, or a vacant lot studded with trees. Joe’s dad knew the locations of these mushrooms and over the years Joe has found more and more of them.

Joe’s father was a member of an an Italian club – a club that actually still has a clubhouse. Can you tell there is a strong Italian population there? Joe is allowed to use the kitchen (he’s a member in good standing, though he only goes there once a year) to fix his mushrooms. Joe hardly sleeps during this several day period – he harvests a trunk full of them, goes to the clubhouse and starts cooking and cooks late into the night. Then the next day he goes out for more and repeats. He has a freezer there, too, that is used for his mushroom harvest. When he’s done he packs the frozen plastic containers in dry ice in a couple of big ice chests and flies home with his mushroom haul to California. One year he prepared 61 quart containers of cooked mushrooms.

There’s Joe with the 17-pounder. He ever so carefully cleans and slices them. The center is also used completely. He cooks them in individual batches. Joe has kindly given me the recipe he uses.

The other night he brought one container from his last harvest – it’s enough to feed about 8 people. Dinner was steak, sweet potatoes, these mushrooms, green salad, and some of that wonderful Dario’s Olive Oil Cake for dessert.

The sauce – well, it’s simple enough to make. Joe carefully cleans, trims and cuts the mushrooms into jillions of pieces. He sautés garlic and onions, then adds all the mushrooms, then canned Roma tomatoes with a little bit of juice. It’s seasoned with lots of fresh basil (that he quick dry roasts in the oven) added in just at the end of cooking. The mushrooms aren’t swimming in sauce – the minimal amount of canned tomatoes are there just to flavor them. They’re packed up in containers almost dry, but not quite. Above you can see there is some liquid – but very, very little. You reheat them over very low heat and serve as a side dish. Thank you, Joe, for sharing the story and the recipe. I hope your mother and grandmother would be proud!

What’s GOOD: harvesting your own food of any kind is cool. I can’t take credit for any of that. Joe did all the work. The mushrooms are very tasty – chewy, but not overly so. The sauce is not overwhelming at all – what is there is flavoring only. It’s all about the mushrooms, for sure.
What’s NOT: well, since we don’t live in an area to get these, too bad for us! We’ll have to rely on our friend Joe to bring us one of his precious stock.

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Everybody’s talking about Brussels sprouts lately. And I couldn’t be happier. I don’t know how many recipes I have here already, but there’s always room for more. This one’s a good addition, and would make a really nice side if you’re having guests.

The recipe came from Marie Rayner’s food blog (The English Kitchen). I lightened up her recipe just a tad. I used bacon instead of pancetta and I used just a little bit of cream rather than nearly a cup. Then, it happened that I only had fresh wheat bread, so my bread crumbs came from that, but they were just fine – it was just a little harder to tell when the crumbs were toasty brown, that’s all, because they were already brown in color. Minor problem really!

First the Brussels sprouts were cooked in lightly salted water, cooled, halved. Then I cooked a slice of thick bacon (cut up into tiny pieces) and later a small bunch of sliced almonds were browned in the bacon fat too. Then the Brussels sprouts were added in, to soak up the little tiny bit of bacon grease there was in the pan (if you use regular bacon you’ll want to pour off most of the fat). Then they’re poured into a flat gratin dish (I used a 9 inch ceramic pie plate, which was the perfect size for a pound of Brussels). The bread crumbs are browned in the same cooking pan with a little bit of butter until they’re lightly toasted. Cream is poured over the Brussels sprouts, then the crumbs are mixed with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and that’s sprinkled over the top of the Brussels sprouts. Bake for 18 minutes. That’s all there is to it. Easy peasy.

We had the remainder of our dinner all ready to go, so as soon as the Brussels sprouts came out of the oven, we were ready to plate everything. The cream (which I’d poured mostly on top of the cut sides of the Brussels sprouts) was almost completely absorbed into the Brussels sprouts – it was barely moist on the bottom of the dish. Thank you, Marie, for such a great recipe!

What’s GOOD: everything about these are good. The crunchy bread crumbs and cheese? Oh yum. The tender Brussels sprouts are so very tasty. The almonds also add a nice little crunch. A great recipe I’ll be making again.
What’s NOT: Well, it does take a bit more prep time than just simmering Brussels sprouts, of course, but it was well worth the effort. When we have a fairly plain protein for our dinner, I like to do something a bit more elaborate for the side dish.

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The other day I spotted a bunch of multi-colored carrots. Don’t they call them rainbow carrots? Anyway, I grabbed them right up without knowing what I’d do with them.

When I got down to making them my cousin took over in the kitchen and I supervised. I had a skin cancer removed from my leg a couple of weeks ago and I’m supposed to be keeping my leg up as much as possible. It’s going to take awhile for it to heal – it’s a big hole, in a very awkward place on my leg (just above the ankle) and my DH has to treat and bandage it every 3 days.

Anyway, I had the recipe in hand and just gave my cousin instruction and kitchen knowledge along the way. He’s an interested cook – meaning he likes to know the why about most everything you do in the kitchen. He’s an engineer (retired now) but he mentors high school kids in robotic programs, which is a huge part of his life. Anyway, as an engineer, he’s very analytical.

The recipe came from Southern Living – I get an email from them periodically – with recipes to consider (of course, they want me to subscribe again) – from the March 2013 issue. I really love the flavor of roasted carrots. Who knew they could be so sweet and succulent when they’re oven roasted. I think my mother only cooked carrots in a stew. That was it or near a rump roast. Only since the roast-vegetable-craze hit a few years ago have I done it with all kinds of veggies, and I love them. Brussels sprouts; onions; broccoli; cauliflower; asparagus.

Two things we didn’t have to complete this – avocado and pepitas. We eliminated the avocado and substituted pine nuts. The carrots are massaged with olive oil and honey, placed on a baking sheet (we used a Silpat) and roasted for 20-30 minutes until they’re just fork tender. The vinaigrette is composed of red wine vinegar, cumin, salt, pepper, shallot and oil. Just before serving it’s drizzled over the carrots and the salad is finished with Feta and pine nuts.

What’s GOOD: I loved the taste of the carrots. What we used was a barrel-aged vinegar for the dressing, and I think it was too strong. I’d use a milder one if I made this again. I liked the Feta cheese, but it doesn’t need much (there is too much on the photo above). If you did add the avocado, I think this could be a meal in itself! I won’t call this a wow salad, but it was very good.
What’s NOT: for me, nothing. I liked this very pretty salad. My cousin didn’t care for it much, but he thinks now he doesn’t like cooked carrots. If that’s you, then you won’t like this either!

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Plain and simple, I just love green beans. In my book, they’re good merely steamed or simmered in water and glossed with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper. Probably my favorite recipe for green beans is the garlic green beans. But most recently I learned how to use an almost dry frying method. They are just so simple too. This recipe today, though, is more complex – not difficult, but will take some time if you have it to spare.

As a matter of fact, you’ll find a whole bunch of green bean recipes here on my blog and there IS one very similar to this version, but it’s not quite the same. This one has Dijon in it, and that addition does give these beans a different flavor profile. As is usually the case – and what you really want to have happen – you can’t exactly taste the Dijon – if you have a good palate, you probably will taste it, but most people might not. It just adds lots of flavor to these beans.

What you will need, though, are a whole bunch of shallots. Do you ever see shallots on sale? No? Me either! But they keep for several weeks – I leave them sitting in a little bowl on my kitchen counter – we buy 3-4 at a time and usually I will use them up before they dry up. But in this recipe, one or two shallots won’t cut it – you need 12 shallots for 2 pounds of green beans. So you might need to plan ahead for this recipe . . .

The other flavor profile here is butter. Lots of it. When we tasted this at the cooking class with Phillis Carey, I didn’t pay attention to how much butter is in it. Maybe the title should be Buttered Green Beans with Dijon and Shallots. Phillis never steers away from using butter – her motto is that you don’t eat that many green beans so you don’t end up eating that much butter. Half of the butter is used to caramelize the shallots, and you’ll not even see that butter because it mostly fries away. The other chunk of butter goes in the beans themselves toward the end. In any case, these are delicious! The beans are simmered in water and drained before they’re completely cooked through (so they can still cook a few more minutes and not be over done). The shallots take awhile – at least 15 minutes probably, to get to that caramelized state of dark brown (but not burned, obviously). Then you pan sauté the beans and butter until the beans are completely cooked and serve and serve with the warm shallots on top.

You can make this dish ahead – completely. That part’s really nice, especially if you’re entertaining. I’d make them an hour or so ahead and set the pan aside. Just reheat before you’re ready to serve and reheat the shallots too.

What’s GOOD: what’s to not like about green beans and butter or green beans and toasty caramelized shallots? Nothing that I can think of. These are delicious – I almost dare you to not eat seconds. Would be good for a company meal. I like the part about being able to make them ahead of time – just reheat the 2 pans before serving.
What’s NOT: nothing, really. Just the time to caramelize the shallots, I suppose – that does take awhile – be careful not to burn them!

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It’s fun being a teacher in the kitchen. All of our 3 children know how to cook, and during their growing-up years they helped in the kitchen. For a year or so during the teens, each kid had to cook a meal for everyone once a week. Skip forward 25 years, and now our various grandchildren are visiting from time and time. I’ve spent patient hours in the kitchen with each of them, helping them to master a recipe or two. Mostly it’s seemed to be cookies, because that’s what they wanted to make. Fine with me. This time, it was our oldest grandson’s [girl] friend Mary’s turn. She’s never cooked, so with coaching from me, she made dinner!

Logan had asked for salmon. I chose a recipe I’ve been wanting to make anyway, and with a couple of exceptions, I had all the ingredients. I had lemons, not limes, and I didn’t have any fresh dill. But this recipe was delicious enough as is – but yes, next time I try it I’ll buy limes and dill.

There’s Mary listening to me explain about something. I talked to her about Sichuan pepper, what a “pinch” was, and how to drizzle. Also how to use a mortar and pestle, grate fresh ginger, chop and sauté mushrooms in butter, make rice (she’d done that before). She was a very good student – I demonstrated some of the things and she quickly tried it and did it all very well.

We used a rice cooker, did the mushrooms separately, and combined them at the end. The salmon was prepped with some fresh ginger spread on each piece, salt, the Sichuan pepper, red peppercorns, a bit of oil, then they were baked in foil packets – about 10+ minutes. Mary made a green salad – I already had some of my Molasses Honey Vinaigrette in the refrigerator, so Mary just had to chop up the salad.

It was a lovely dinner. Mary did a superb job of getting everything done and the dinner came together well. And the salmon? It was really, really good. I think we all liked the crunch of the red peppercorns, and the amount of heat from the Sichuan pepper was just right.  The little crunch from fleur de sel on top was an added, nice crunch. As I mentioned, with Mary’s help, we made a rice cooker batch of basmati rice with mushrooms that was fabulous. I’ve included it in the recipe below. It was so good I made the rice again some days later for an Indian chicken dinner, which I’ll write up in a few days.

What’s GOOD: the salmon was cooked perfectly (almost under-done, but it was cooked through) and we all liked the seasonings a lot. The foil packet made it so simple with an easy clean-up. I’d definitely make this again, and it’s nice enough to make for guests too. The little drizzle of cream on the salmon at the end (just before serving) gave it a little lusciousness, although almost once poured you couldn’t see it – it was only a teaspoon per serving. I’d definitely make this again. I don’t guarantee the flavors if you use anything but the red peppercorns. Black ones would be oh-too strong, for sure.

What’s NOT: nothing at all.

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It’s so nice to find a new recipe for broccoli. I like the veggie to begin with, but it’s especially helpful when you find some new way to make it that is particularly delicious.

Recently I was with a group of women friends and we were discussing eating more vegetarian dinners, and how we’re eating more vegetables. One gal said she had a cookbook that is just her favorite for veggies. Once she said the name someone else said oh yes, she had that one too. I’d never heard of it, so I went online then and there, as I was sitting in this friend’s home (from my iPhone) and ordered a used copy from amazon. Love that amazon ap! The book, by Susie Middleton, is Fast, Fresh & Green. The book has lots of lovely photos, and my cursory look through the book had me thinking I’d try several recipes soon.

Two nights later, with broccoli to fix, I leafed through and found this recipe. I had pancetta (I buy the 4-ounce plastic boxes of the chopped pancetta at Trader Joe’s and simply stick it in the freezer), garlic and fresh thyme. The recipe suggests slices of pancetta, but I thought the little minced pieces worked just fine.

This dish was so EASY! I cut off the woody stalks of the broccoli (or it’s fine to use the pre-packaged already cut florets), then cut the broccoli into 3-inch or so lengths with some of the florets on each one. I added oil to a large pan (larger than you might think you need – the broccoli needs contact with the bottom of the pan – it will cook faster if you use a really, really wide pan). First you add the pancetta and let it shrink up some (harder to tell with the minced pancetta), then over low heat you add the garlic halves and let them sizzle just a tiny bit to get golden. If they start to brown, the flame is too high – you’re just wanting to mellow the garlic, not burn it! Then you add the broccoli and fresh thyme sprigs and stir periodically to brown the broccoli. For 4 servings, I used a 10-inch deep sided pan (about 5” high) and it was difficult getting all that broccoli to brown so it took lots and lots of stirring to keep shifting the position of the broccoli. Next time I’ll use a much larger pan (well, a 12-inch). I have a new pan in my repertoire: a 12-inch nonstick by Swiss Diamond, pictured at left (photo from their website). It’s not available at Amazon (the 12-inch specifically). I ordered it from Great News, the cookware store in San Diego that I visit frequently. I just LOVE this new pan. I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned in recent weeks that I’m no longer buying anything from ScanPan because they (apparently) aren’t standing behind their warranty. Great News has stopped carrying the brand, period. They recommended the Swiss Diamond.  The difference between ScanPan and Swiss Diamond is that with the Swiss you do have to use nonstick utensils. With ScanPan you did not. Over several years I’d had to replace a ScanPan smaller frying pan because we just couldn’t get it clean. After a few weeks of use, no matter how much we scrubbed it (with nylon scrubbies) a buildup of fat or stuff would accumulate. Looked awful.

Anyway, next time I’ll use that 12-inch pan even for a smaller portion. The broccoli stems are “the problem,” if you can say there IS a problem. If you use much of the stem portion, do cut the stem in half rather than leaving it whole – it’ll never cook through. The recipe indicates the stems will still be slightly firm, and that’s fine – ours were just that – but if you don’t like anything firm, I suggest you slit the end of each cut stem (they’ll fan out and curl, but they’ll be cooked through).

What’s GOOD: how easy it was – all in one pan – even suitable for guests – the flavors are subtle, but the broccoli has a lovely bright taste. Altogether a good side; I’ll definitely make it again.
What’s NOT: you do have to keep stirring it now and then, but not constantly. You do not want the broccoli to burn, just brown. Getting the stems cooked through can be problematic, especially if you don’t like broccoli that has any crunch to it.

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Oh my goodness . . . where  have you been all my life . . . German style mashed potatoes? You’re going to become a regular – at those special times when we have mashed potatoes, that is. These were really easy enough to make and we could hardly stop eating them.

We were having some sausages (Nuremburger and Bratwurst) for dinner, the delicious ones I buy at a German deli, Tip Top Meats, in Carlsbad (north of San Diego). I had one Russet potato I’d bought several weeks ago – it was almost over the hill. That’s how often I use potatoes. Anyway, I let my mind run wild as to what to do with it. I searched for some kind of more healthy fried potato. They’re not one of my favorite things, though. When we go out to breakfast I never eat fried potatoes or hashed browns, or even country fried potatoes. They’re just not my thing. So I looked further and I noticed a German style mashed potato recipe (at A Taste of Home). Sure enough, I had all the ingredients.

The potato was cut up into chunks (I chose to leave the skin on) and simmered them for 10-12 minutes until the potato was cooked through. I drained them, returned them to the same pot and set them aside. Meanwhile, I defrosted one slice of thick-sliced bacon from the freezer, chopped it up into little chunks and set it to rendering on the stove. Then I added  half a chopped up red onion (any onion will do – I just happened to have a half of a red onion in the refrigerator). The bacon had virtually no fat in it, so I had to add a tetch of oil to keep the mixture from burning. Then I added a chopped up (cored, unpeeled) apple. I had a honey crisp apple, but you could probably  use any type – this one didn’t disintegrate at all – I liked that part, so you’d want to use a crisp type or a Granny Smith. If you used a Pippin, you might want to add sugar. I let it sauté for about 10 minutes over low heat. Then I added about 1-2 teaspoons of white vinegar, salt and pepper. The recipe indicated adding sugar, but I tasted it and didn’t think it was needed.

The recipe had you roughly mash the potatoes, so I used my hand-masher some – not thoroughly, as I like to still taste some little chunks – then I scraped in the apple, bacon and onion and stirred it up. The Russet was quite dry by then so I did need to add some milk to smooth it out. I added a little salt and pepper and it was done. Oh my. Yes. I’m glad I left the pan in the kitchen (I always serve our plates in the kitchen so we aren’t tempted to have seconds) so I have enough for another dinner.

What’s GOOD: well, having never had potatoes and apples before in any combination, it was a really lovely taste combination. It was a beautiful match with the sausage. I put out a couple of jars of different kinds of mustard and that was our dinner along with some sliced tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese drizzled with white balsamic vinegar and some Tuscan olive oil. And sprinkled with fresh basil we still have growing in the garden. We both ate in near silence – because it all tasted so darned good. Absolutely I’ll be making this again and again. I’d think kids would love this since it has a bit of sweetness from the apples.
What’s NOT: nothing that I can think of – it does take a little extra time to make, but if you ever do sausages on the grill or any kind of sausage as a dinner entrée, you’ll be really happy to have this variation on fried potatoes or straight mashed.

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Do you forget about preparing celery root? Surely I do – and I like celeriac. I just never think to buy it. Does it help to know that celery root is actually a very healthy food? Low in calories and certainly a lot lower in carbs than potatoes.

Probably the deterrent is the nuisance of preparing it. Or maybe we look at it as such an ugly veggie, we just don’t bother? Well, fix that, by making this dish the next time you need some creamy carb. Depending on how gnarly it is, you can try using a vegetable peeler. If it’s particularly root-y, I’d recommend using a knife. Do remove all of the little dark brown crevices, though – they don’t look pretty in the finished dish. Plunge the cut cubes into cold water as it turns brown quickly. 

Cut everything up and put it into cold water to cover and just let it sit until you’re ready to cook it. That will keep both veggies from turning brown. Allow yourself about 30 minutes total – to bring the pot to a boil, then simmering. Mashing and seasoning takes no time at all.

It doesn’t take long to cook it – usually about 15 minutes. Hence you cut the potatoes into slightly smaller pieces so they’ll all be done at about the same time. Once done, you drain it, mash it by hand (providing you like a rustic mash – I do), then add butter and milk. You can put the celery root in a food processor (not the potato, however – it becomes glue-y). Season it with salt and pepper, then toss in the arugula. Of course, if you’re not an arugula fan, just leave it out. Garnish with Italian parsley. Makes a great bed for a meat dish. Next recipe up will be a chicken breast that goes really well with this.

What’s GOOD: well, the taste is first and foremost. The combo of celery root and potato is really nice. Mellow. Nutty almost. The texture, of course, is just like mashed potatoes, but using the combo is healthier. Fewer carbs for sure. I like the arugula addition. Do remember that celery root is really good for us!
What’s NOT: not much of anything, other than getting over the appearance of the celery root.

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What do you think about them apples sweet potatoes? Ever seen purple sweet potatoes? Me neither! Did you know that purple foods are high in antioxidants? Yup!

The folks at Frieda’s send me new products now and then, and when they asked if I’d like to try this new purple sweet potato, I said sure! A few days later they arrived on my doorstep, and it just happened I was making a roasted turkey breast for dinner. Perfect!

Here’s what the purple sweet potatoes look like whole, unpeeled.

From the outside, they don’t look too different from an ordinary red/orange sweet potato. But gosh, once you cut into it, you sure know it’s different. Below is a photo of the peeled and halved potato.

The little white ring (right) inside, is a fluid that leaks from the potato – perhaps the starch? I don’t know. It made no difference in the cooked potato.

With a turkey breast on the menu, I wanted mashed potatoes, so I merely chopped them up (after peeling) into 1 1 /2 inch pieces, approximately, cooked them in simmering water until they were done, mashed with a hand masher, added some milk, butter, salt, pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Perfect!

We had guests for dinner, and I must say, everyone was a little apprehensive about them, but once you put them in your mouth you have no idea they’re purple. Certainly made fun conversation at the table. Our daughter Sara was visiting that night and I had her take home the leftovers to her teenagers. Hmmm. They wouldn’t even try it. They thought Grandma was playing a trick, that I’d doctored them up with purple food coloring. She assured them I wasn’t, but they still wouldn’t taste them! We ate all but a few bites, though, and thought they tasted great. The color is a little odd, I must say, but yes, I’d buy them again. They were fun and tasty too.

Here’s what Frieda’s has to say about this potato:

[Stokes’s is a] special new sweet potato variety with purple skin and bold purple flesh that intensifies when cooked. Aside from its unique bold color, The Stokes Purple® differs from other sweet potatoes and yams in its flavor and mouth feel, offering a favorably dryer, denser and richer taste that is not cloyingly sweet. The Stokes Purple® Sweet Potato is grown in California and is non-GMO.

If you’re interested in finding these critters, here’s a link to Frieda’s resource page for them. You might call the store listed to make sure they DO have them. If your family is into doing something fun, this might be the ticket to surprise at your Thanksgiving meal!

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