Hey, everybody. Pardon the shameless self promotion, but I'm a blogger, so you can't expect much less from me.
As many of you know—if you read the side bar or have paid attention to any of my food-related posts—I wrote a cookbook. And it comes out today. It's full of wonderful one-dish meals that are easy on the tastebuds and your wallet.
I'll tell you what I say in the introduction: this is a book for people who love to eat. It is not a book for people who like to make elaborate culinary presentations or impress dinner guests with knowledge of exotic vegetables or cuts of meat. This book is about taking ingredients that you know, that you love, that you can find, and baking those ingredients into one dish you can share with friends over an expensive bottle of wine or live off of for a week when you’re waiting for your next paycheck. And I'm not going to lie: the recipes are damn good.
If you doubt my culinary abilities (which you have every right to, but should not when it comes to casseroles), the book is full of recipes from friends, family and even a few celebrity chefs, including Bobby Flay, Paula Deen and Donatella Arpaia. The foreword is by Julie Powell—my friend and the author of Julie & Julia—who tells the story of how I stalked her.
If you're still not convinced, check out all the good press I've gotten so far. And then buy my book!
Pretty please? With cheese on top?
If you're still not convinced, here's one of my favorite recipes, Sweet Potato Not Pie.
Sweet Potato Not Pie
File Under: Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Not So Bad for You
This dish always goes before anything else I'm serving and will show up anyone's candied sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. Also, if you like to drink while you cook, this recipe is nearly fool proof. Just don’t forget to cover it when it goes in the oven or you’ll end up with black sweet potatoes on top and raw ones on bottom. I've made it a million different times, never actually measuring the olive oil. Sometimes there's a little extra in the bottom of the dish. Sometimes not.
VARIATION: Add a ½ lb of cooked sweet sausage, cut or crumbled. If you do this, use significantly less olive oil when creating the layers.
Serves 5-6 as a side dish
Ingredients
1 large white onion, chopped
5-6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
6-8 oz fresh goat cheese
1 green, habanera or jalapeño pepper, depending on how much spice you like
salt
approx 3/4 cup olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Cover the bottom of a 2-qt casserole dish with a layer of sweet potatoes. Add a layer of onions, peppers, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with a tbsp of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Repeat layers until you reach the top of your dish (try to finish with sweet potatoes and just a drizzle of olive oil), saving at least 1 oz. of goat cheese for the end.
Cover and bake at 400º for an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half or until a fork goes through the entire dish easily. Remove from the oven and cover with the remainder of goat cheese. Bake, uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
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Okay, now will you buy my book?
(Note: Though I keep linking to Amazon, I highly encourage you to buy my book from your local, indepdendent bookstore.)
[Casserole Crazy]
