Brown Sugar-Rum Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime Zest

Long time no post. This has been in my drafts for way too long. It's a great recipe we really enjoyed. 

It's been the usual crazy here in my house, hope to be posting again soon.

Brown Sugar and Rum Glazed Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime

original recipe by Bobby Flay, from the book Barbecue Addiction

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

4 sweet potatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil

Put the sweet potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil and cook until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the center of a sweet potato meets with slight resistance, about 30 minutes. Drain well and let cool. Cut each sweet potato into wedges.

Heat grill to medium.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, stir and cook until smooth. Increase the heat, add the rum, and cook until reduced by about half. Add the lime zest and juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Brush the sweet potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes. Brush with some of the rum glaze and grill for one minute longer.

Remove the sweet potatoes to a platter and brush with more of the glaze.

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Shellfish Allergies...NOT!

For fifteen long years I was allergic to shellfish. Started with a few hives, and got worse from there. That was that. But then a couple months ago I got a reaction to penicillin and decided to visit the allergist to see what was what. Scratch test for allergies. I had high hopes that maybe I wasn't allergic to shellfish any more. But my arm got red. Really red. It got itchy. Really itchy. Hives. And I was so disappointed. Then the doctor came in and was I shocked to find out that it wasn't the food arm causing the trouble. It was the environmental arm. The ragweed and pollen. That was a surprise. Passed test one for the shellfish. Then a blood test. Passed test two. Then test three, some baked clams and a lobster roll for a three hour lunch at the doctor's office. I was thrilled to find that I didn't need Benadryl for dessert! So now I have been making up for 15 long years. And it's all as good as I remember!

Not much cooking since the hurricane. Finally getting back to normal so I decided to make an old favorite in our house. Crab Cakes. Finally without the FAKE crab  :)

It was worth the wait!

Crab Cakes

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook Source: Cindy -- recipe from the Manhattan New School Cookbook  Printable Recipe 1 egg 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard pinch cayenne pepper dash Tabasco sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pound fresh or canned lump crabmeat 2 tablespoons minced cilantro 12 unsalted white soda crackers -- crumbled 1/2 stick butter 4 tablespoons peanut oil 2 lemon wedges plain bread crumbs fresh ground pepper SPICED MAYONNAISE: 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon cilantro -- finely chopped 2 tablespoons hot sauce Mix the egg in a large bowl. Add mayo, mustard, cayenne, Tabasco, salt, and pepper. Continue mixing until creamy. Add crabmeat, cilantro, and crumbled soda crackers. Toss lightly but mix thoroughly. Divide mixture into 8 portions: shape into small patties and pat with bread crumbs. Refrigerate for one hour.  For Spiced Mayo: blend together the mayonnaise, cilantro, and hot sauce until creamy. Fry crab cakes in butter and oil, turning once. Brown the cakes on each side. Serve with lemon wedges and Spiced Mayo on the side.

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Balsamic Skirt Steak

Really simple and really fantastic. That's all I have to say. My husband would be happy if I stayed a woman of such few words for a while but that's never going to happen, nope never! LOL! 

Balsamic Skirt Steak with Zucchini
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Source: Martha Stewart - Everyday Food, September 2012
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 pounds skirt steaks, pounded thin; cut into 4 pieces

olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 zucchini, cut into half-moons

salt and pepper

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

In a large skillet, on medium-high, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and zucchini, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until zucchini is browned in spots and just softened, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet. Season steak with salt and pepper and cook until browned, turn steaks over and cook to desired doneness. Transfer to a plate. 

Drain the fat from the skillet, then add the vinegar, salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring, until reduced by about half, about 2-3 minutes. Add the steak to the pan for another minute to heat through. Serve the steak along with the zucchini. Drizzle the steak with more sauce and serve.

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Simple Meals Friday with at Mexican Wildflower

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South Carolina BBQ Sauce

Was never a fan of yellow mustard so if I saw it in a recipe normally I'd pass. My favorite is a hot Dijon or a spicy brown. But I was looking for something new from our two usual go to rib sauces and I figured I'd give the yellow a try. My imaginary friend from internet space, San, had recommended this one highly and we liked it so much I made it twice in one weekend. It was so good on the baby back ribs that we decided next day to try it on skirt steaks and chicken wings. Good decision. This is a keeper. Thanks San!

South Carolina BBQ Sauce

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Source: from San, original recipe posted by Ruthanna on Gardenweb

Printable Recipe

2/3 cup yellow prepared mustard
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons chili powder (medium heat)
2 teaspoons black pepper
5 to 6 drops Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon butter

Combine all ingredients except the soy sauce and butter in saucepan. Be careful as the sauce will smell very pungent. Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce and butter.

Use as a basting sauce for barbequed meat or as a condiment alongside grilled pork, beef or chicken. Also good on pulled pork sandwiches. 

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Asian Glazed Grilled Salmon with Broccoli Slaw

Slowly we're eating more and more fish. Not often, but way more than never. I saw this glaze over at Karen's Back Road Journal and it looked so good, I had to try. Together with the broccoli slaw it was one fantastic dinner. We really enjoyed it. Miss Picky had chicken with the glaze.

The fish stuck a little to the grill so next time I think I will take a cue from Judy at a Tasty Thought and get one of those grill pans for the grill.

Asian Glazed Grilled Salmon
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Source: http://backroadjournal.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/asian-glazed-salmon/
Printable Recipe

1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons peanut oil (I used olive oil)
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce.
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Heat the sesame oil and the garlic over medium heat and sauté for about a minute but do not let the garlic burn. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for two to three minutes to combine flavors. Remove the glaze from the heat and set aside.

Place the salmon skin side down on a hot grill, for about five minutes or more depending on the thickness of the fish. Use a fish spatula to carefully turn the fish to cook the other side, another 5 minutes or more, depending how you like your fish cooked. Remove skin, drizzle with glaze and serve with Broccoli Slaw and lime wedges.

Broccoli Slaw With Pad Thai Dressing
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Source: http://backroadjournal.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/asian-glazed-salmon/

Printable Recipe

Dressing:

5 tablespoons bottled Thai peanut sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon peanut oil in a bowl

salt and pepper, to taste 

Whisk ingredients well.

1 bag broccoli slaw

1/4 cup chopped peanuts (I used salted cocktail peanuts)

cilantro (optional)

green onions, sliced (optional)

Empty a bag of broccoli slaw into a bowl. Add most of the peanuts, reserve some for garnish. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes for the flavors to mix. Remove from fridge and toss with the reserved chopped peanuts. Garnish with chopped cilantro and sliced green onions, if desired.

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Pommes Frites

The problem with looking at cookbooks is everything looks so good. So when I saw some pictures for Pommes Frittes and didn't have to deep or double fry I was all for it.  We've been trying to eat healthier. No cookies for breakfast. Even added fish sometimes. Healthy is good but sometimes you just need a good batch of salty French fries. And this one was quick.And in my kitchen a bit dangerous.

Read the directions first, yeah I know, me and directions? This is frying. Hot oil. Really hot oil. I was following the directions. Got out my trusty cast iron skillet. Put the heat to medium-high to get the oil to 325 degrees, gated the dogs out of the kitchen. We were good to go. Sort of.

One big mistake! These were made on a julienne slicer. And very moist. Keyword with frying is dry. The potatoes need to be dry and the julienne slicer clumped them together and I didn't dry them well enough. Major clump. Caused a pretty big oil spill that scared me out of my wits. I won't show you what the dish towel looked like. Or discuss the smoke alarms. But after I got it all cleaned up and tried again they did end up tasting great. And our early dinner ending up being sometime after 8:30pm. And no one said a thing. They must be used to me by now.

It was served with a spicy mayo and a roasted chicken.

The mistake...

 But practice makes somewhat perfect and the last few batches came out good. I went back to slicing with a knife, they weren't as moist so there was no oil spilling over. And I dried them really well. Can't stress that enough.

 

Dry the potatoes very well and all will be right in the potato world.

Pommes Frites

adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook

Source: A Bird in The Oven by Mindy Fox

Printable Recipe

8 Russet Potatoes, washed, peeled, thoroughly dried and cut into 1/4-inch sticks

vegetable oil, for frying, leaving plenty of room from the top of the skillet

salt and pepper, to taste

Spicy Mayo:

Mix together some mayonnaise and

Sriricha, to taste, add more less depending how you like it.

In a deep skillet, heat the oil to 325 degrees F. Use a deep-fat thermometer to check the temperature. Carefully, in small batches, fry the potatoes to a deep golden brown. Carefully remove the potatoes from skillet using a slotted spoon and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Let the oil get back to temperature in between batches. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

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 Beth at Beth Fish Reads for her fun Weekend Cooking Party. Every weekend. It's open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share! Go on over and see some fun posts.
 

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