Elle's New England Kitchen

Writer's block. No idea what to say. Help.
Send cold meds. And tissues. And pity. While I'm waiting for those things, here's a really nice stew recipe--good for warming you up, and pretty, too.

Originally found on Allrecipes. Looked good, read the reviews, changed it up a little bit. There (posted by CRVGRL), it's called Brazilian Black Bean Stew. Is it really Brazilian? I don't know. And since I don't know for sure, and it's loaded with good things like sweet potatoes and black beans, Sweet Potato and Black Beab Stew it is. (See that? I didn't mean to spell "beab," but my nose is so stuffy, that must be how it sounded in my head.)

This makes a lot, so you can cut it in half if you're only cooking for a few people. Very much like chili, and not at all sweet from the potatoes and mangoes, and could definitely use more spicy heat. It's got a nice, but subtle smoky flavor from the chorizo and the ham. Good stuff.



Sweet Potato and Black Bean Stew

*serves a small crowd

1/2 pound chorizo sausage, chopped
1/3 pound cooked ham, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in small cubes
1 large red bell pepper, diced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 small hot green chile pepper, diced
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp adobo
2 (16 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 mangoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Heat a large pot over medium heat, add the chorizo and ham and cook for about 3-4 minutes.
Add the onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
Stir in the sweet potatoes, bell pepper, undrained (*see note below!) tomatoes, chile pepper, broth, and spices.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. (Be sure you've cut them small enough to cook completely in this time--bite-sized.)
Add the beans and let them heat through, just a couple of minutes.
Stir in the mango and cilantro, and season with salt.

Does that look like a poached egg on there? It's not. It's a dollop of Greek yogurt, with a sprinkle of cayenne.

I think that's my longest post title ever! It's time again for That Cookbook Thing II, and this one's a winner!

Don't forget to check out what the TCT II members did with the recipe:
Kittie at Kittens in the Kitchen
Mike at Mel's Diner
Ruth at Once Upon a Feast
Sara at I Like to Cook
Mary at The Sour Dough
Deborah at What's in My kitchen?
Shaun at Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow


So, after the Sauce au Cari which was quite bland, I decided to play around with this recipe, and I'm SO glad I did! After chatting with my Bratty friends, I settled on these changes:



1) I upped the onions from 1/2 cup to a whole onion, which was 1 1/2 cups. And I let them get nice and brown and slightly caramelized.

2) I increased the ham from 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups.

3) Increased the garlic from 1/2 clove (why just 1/2?) to 2.

4) Along with the fresh chives, I added 2 good pinches of dried tarragon, and a healthy pinch of nutmeg.

5) I didn't use Swiss cheese, but used Edam, and increased the amount from 2/3 cup to 1 cup.

6) I used half and half instead of whipping cream. Oh! I also increased the eggs from 4 to 5, and the half and half from 4 TB to 5. I even thought afterwards, that it could have used a bit more egg, so maybe I'll go with 6 next time.

Also, a couple more changes:

I baked the whole thing in the pan that I sauteed the onions and ham in, pouring the rest right over them, and popping it in the oven. I thought (hoped) there was enough oil left in the bottom to prevent sticking. There was almost enough, hehe. It stuck a little, but was still so delicious! Next time, and there will be a next time--I'll pour it all into a greased separate baking dish first.

I tried to get a couple of good photos, but it was 7:00 pm and rainy when I finished, so no good light. Plus, we were so hungry by this time, that getting a photo of an actual slice was impossible, since we were inhaling it.

I almost forgot--I'm submitting this to The Potato Ho Down! if you love potatoes--and who doesn't--be sure to check out the August round-up!



Here's the recipe, with my changes.

And they have nothing to do with each other, but I've been meaning to post them for a while now. I took a look at my last post this morning and almost fell off my chair when I realized it was posted last Wednesday! That's almost a week! Where has the time gone? I guess part of it is because my husband had a three day weekend last week. We were busy with a day trip (zoo) on Friday, and then the hours and days seemed to flow together and before you know it, it's Tuesday.

I hate that the summer seems to be flying by. And what do you see in every store? Summer stuff on clearance, and big displays of back to school stuff. God, I used to hate that when I was a kid. It always gave me a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Summer went fast enough, and to see retailers pushing it in our faces made me so mad, hehe. I always feel badly when my kids have gotten down to their last one or two weeks of summer, and you can just see it in their eyes. It's looming ahead and they know it. Poor kids, hehe.

Anyway, the recipes. One is for Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread. It's the one I always make, and my kids love it--it's really moist and nice and chocolatey. But I call it "Chocolate Bread" for the benefit of my two youngest kids. They don't know they're eating a healthy dose of a green vegetable, but I do. My two older kids are sworn to secrecy. They don't mind that it's in there--they love the bread! This one was found in the Food Network Kitchens book. They add cinnamon and cloves, but I prefer it without. And so do the kids, in fact. So I've gotten rid of them. Tossed 'em to the curb. (The spices, not the kids.) This also makes two loaves. I love recipes like that, especially with a big family. We can make one loaf disappear just by looking at it. And it also freezes well, so you can put one away for later, too. Also, I think you could substitute plain yogurt for some of the fat in this and it would be great. I'm going to try that this week, and I'll let you all know how it goes. If you want to add the spices (1/2 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of cloves), sift them into the dry ingredients.



This one is posted for Ben at What's Cooking? for his I Love Baking bi-weekly blog event. Send him your baked goodies!




Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
adapted From Food Network Kitchens
Makes 2 loaves

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (NOT dutch process)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups zucchini, unpeeled and shredded
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (they call for finely chopped, but I like to leave some larger chunks, too)



1 Heat oven to 350°.
2 Butter and flour 2 loaf pans.
3 Whisk the flour with the cocoa and baking soda in a medium size bowl.
4 Beat butter and sugar in a medium bowl with a mixer on med high until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
5 While you're mixing, drizzle in the oil, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6 Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk.
7 Mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.
8 (Like this--flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, flour) Scrape the sides of the bowl when needed.
9 Fold in the zucchini and chocolate.
10 Divide batter into the 2 pans.
11 Bake until tester comes out clean, about 55 minutes.
12 (be careful, the tester may look chocolatey from the chocolate in the bread--don't over bake) Cool in pans on rack before removing and slicing.





The next recipe is so simple, you don't even need a recipe. Its from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks. If you're not reading that blog, you should be! Amazing food, gorgeous photos, wonderful writing--it's got it all. The recipe is for Lori's Skillet Smashed Potatoes.

You take small potatoes, boil them for a bit, then drain and smash them with the bottom of a glass or a custard cup, and then cook them in a skillet until they're all crunchy and golden brown. A sprinkle of coarse salt and whatever else you like, and you're done. (Herbes de Provence is so good on these...) (hahaha! Spell checker thinks I should change "Herbes" to "Herbies!" Doesn't sound very sophisticated that way, does it?)

They are SO freaking delicious. Like candy. It's hard for me to leave them alone before we even sit down to eat. "What? No, really, we only had ten potatoes to start with! Uh-huh. It looked like more? Way more? Well, what do you know, I'm doing the cooking!"

Go check out the recipe at Heidi's blog and please, please try these. You won't be sorry!

Prepare for Potato Porn...

After being boiled and smashed.

And shown here, with a grilled steak...

Bonus recipe!!!

This couldn't be simpler. Get these in the oven, after less than 5 minutes of prep, then get to work on your chicken and it should all be done at about the same time.

Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

1 lb fingerling potatoes
olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
herbes de provence (optional, and you could also use your favorite herb blend instead)

Heat oven to 425°.
Wash potatoes. Dry on paper towels and put them on a baking sheet.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Add garlic to the potatoes, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs if you're using them. Toss to coat, really getting the garlic mixed in well.
Cook for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!