More Adventures with Sweet Potatoes

In making the cupcakes I discovered that I just didn't need to buy 5 sweet potatoes.  Nonetheless, I had 4 more sweet potatoes and no idea what to do with them.  So I went on a search for sweet potato recipes and was torn between sweet potato fries and soup.  With the mass quantity of sweet potatoes I had, it was a better idea to make soup.

None of the recipes I found really had what I wanted so used two recipes for inspiration (Simply Recipes and Cook.com ) and winged it. The following is the tasty results.

Sweet Potato Bacon Leek Soup

 

Ingredients

4 medium Sweet Potatoes

4 cloves of Garlic

2 Tbsp Olive

4 slices of Bacon

2 Tbsp unsalted Butter

1 Onion chopped

1 medium Leek (white and pale green)

4 chopped Celery Stalks

1 Bay Leaf

1 ½ cups of dry White Wine

3-4 cups of Chicken Broth (Vegetable Broth also works)

1 ½ cup half and half

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour Cream

3-4 chopped Green Onions

The Step-By-Step

1. Pre Heat the oven to 400. Cut sweet potatoes in to ½ in cubes (or like French fries). Rough chop 3 garlic cloves. Place on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil to coat. Salt and pepper to taste. Put in oven for 10-15mins.  Roughly half way through baking mix the potatoes and garlic around on the baking sheet. Pull out potatoes when they are soft to touch but not cooked through yet.

2. While the Potatoes are baking, in a large heavy saucepan cook bacon on medium high.  Remove bacon to a side plate.  Add butter to the bacon grease. 

3. Add 1 minced Garlic clove, Onion, Leek, Celery and bay leaf.  Cook For 5-10 mins, until onions are opaque. Stir occasionally.

4. Add the White wine, Chicken broth, and roasted Potatoes and Garlic. Simmer for 10-20min until potatoes are VERY tender.

5. For the next step I used a standing blender and added the mixture in 1/3s to make sure that everything was blended.

6. Pour back into large pot (I used the same saucepan that I cooked in) and mix in the half and half.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

7. Pour in serving dish and garnish with chopped up bacon, green onions and a small dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Sweet Potato Extravaganza

 With Thanksgiving on the horizon I thought it would be a good idea to over come my dislike for sweet potatoes.  For years I have passed up sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner and even those lovable sweet potato fries!  What better way to start this process then by adding it to one of may favorites... a cupcake! One of my students sent me this link for some awesome looking cupcakes and I went for it.  I went to the store and for the first time ever purchase sweet potatoes! I bought 5 of them.....

I followed "How Sweet It Is" recipe for Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting.  I doubled the recipe to make 24 cupcakes but I always find myself with excess frosting so I stayed true to the original recipe.  These cupcakes are delicious and all of my staff appreciate them greatly!

Sweet Potato Pie Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes


graham crust
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon sugar
cupcakes
1 1/3 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 ounces cooked, mashed sweet potato
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with liners. In a small bowl, mix melted butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs until moist, then press about 1/2-1 tablespoon of crumbs into the bottom of each liner.
2. In a large bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until combined and no lumps remain. Add in vanilla extract and butter, then whisk in sweet potato. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, then add in milk and stir until combined and smooth. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter on top of each graham cracker crust. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until cupcakes are set and spring back at the touch. 3. Let cool completely before frosting.

Marshmallow Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
3 cups of powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk, if needed

Beat butter in the bowl of electric mixer until creamy. Add in fluff and beat for 2-3 minutes, then add in vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, add in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Once all the sugar has been added, beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes. If mixture if too runny, add a bit more sugar. If it’s too thick, add a bit of milk one teaspoon at a time. Frost cupcakes and drizzle with caramel sauce and crushed cinnamon pecans.