Reflections on the Sweet Potato

ok so I'm on a food kick again today... big surprise there. Most of us envision sweet potatoes as things that are topped in marshmallows & sauce at Thanksgiving. Thanks to a lot of good press and low carb diets, many restaurants are now offering sweet potato fries and baked ones as side dishes. In general, these are generall the orange fleshy ones, also known as yams (they come in a variety of colors ranging from yellow to purple).

Yes the rumors are true, this starch vegetable is really good for you. Check it out:
Sweet potato contain unique root storage proteins that have been observed to have significant antioxidant capacities. Sweet Potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C and manganese, and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron.

Growing up, my favorite sweet potatoes were the white ones. Their flesh is a pale yellow in color and given proper ripening time, they are amazingly sweet on their own, no butter or other toppings needed on these babies.  My mom just gave me a large number of these from her garden that she recently harvested. I wanted to make sure they didn't go to waste so I was thinking of creative ways to use them. Here are some of what I'm doing with my super sweet stash:
-glazed sweet potato wedges
-sweet potato & chicken curry 
-sweet potato bisque soup
-sweet potato pie
 -curry chicken pot pie casserole (recipe below)

Need some recipe ideas? I highly recommend doing ingredient searches on the following websites
-www.myrecipes.com  -here you'll find recipes from cooking light, southern living, Sunset and a number of other magazines
-www.epicurious.com  -a large number of recipes from bon appetit & gourmet among other foodie magazine favorites
-www.foodnetwork.com  - my go to source to find Alton Brown, Mario Batali &  Michael Chiarello recipes, (when I can't find it in their cookbooks)  and some tips form other celebrity chefs


Michelle's Hurry Curry Chicken Pot Pie Casserole- A great way to use up leftover bits
1 cup diced celery                                              1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced sweet potatoes                                1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup frozen corn                                                1 cup frozen carrots
2 tsp curry powder                                             1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup milk (preferably organic & not skim)       2 cups cooked chicken
3 Tbsp flour                                                        2 Tbsp butter
1 puff pastry sheet                                                 olive oil

Sweat the onions & celery in a bit of olive oil.  Move the mixture to the outside edges of the pan. In the center of the pan, melt the butter  and add the flour & curry to make a roux. Combine with a whisk until smooth. 

Toss the remaining vegetables in olive oil & roast on a sheet pan in the oven for about 10 minutes.  In a microwave safe bowl, heat the milk & stock together until the liquid is almost boiling.  Add the liquid to the saute pan mix. Boil for 1 minute.

Add the vegetables to the saute pan, followed by the chicken meat. Combine all together.  Season with salt & pepper.   Mixture will be thick. 

Place mix in a foil lined, stoneware casserole. Roll out the puff pastry. Puncture pastry with a fork multiple times. Then cut shapes out of the dough. Lay the shapes on the top of the casserole mixture.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Let rest at least 10 minutes before serving.  Serves 4 generous servings.