Caramel Pumpkin Mousse Pie

Post-thanksgiving recipe for great no-bake caramel pumpkin mousse pie. Very light and tasty, not too heavy in calories. Recipe has 10 servings and about 262 calories per slice. Perfect for holidays. My mother-in-law made it for the Turkey Day and it was gone in no time. I have all the ingredients and I will make it this week, so photo will be added. But trust me - this is by far THE BEST and the EASIEST pumpkin dessert I have ever had.

1 graham cracker crust
6 TBSP caramel topping
2 oz chopped pecans
1 cup 2% milk (or skim milk)
1 box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
8 oz light whipped topping

Pour 1/4 cup (4 TBSP) caramel topping into the pie crust, sprinkle with half of the amount of pecans.
In a large bowl whisk together milk, pudding mix, pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Spread mixture evenly onto the crust. Chill at least one hour.
Top with remaining whipped topping, drizzle with remaining 2 TBSP of caramel topping and sprinkle with the rest of pecans.

Makes: 10 servings, 262 calories per serving (source: Calorie Count.com)

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake from Cooking Light

First issue of my new Cooking Light subscription finally showed up in my mailbox, and I couldn't resist the cover photography of this beautiful cheesecake with red cranberry swirl. I made it within next couple of days. And I have to say the cheesecake is amazing. Very light and airy with decadent flavor. Definitely a keeper! Great for Holiday season. [It was almost gone before I had a chance to even think of photographing it.]




The cranberry sauce swirl can be replaced with any other fruit swirl, or even a chocolate. The bottom of the cheesecake can be mad with regular Nilla wafers, or graham crackers. If you don't like fruit, i would recommend making white chocolate ganache, or even milk chocolate ganache on top of it to add extra flavor. The base cheese mixture is made using 1/3-less fat cream cheese and fat free yogurt, which helps to keep calories down.

Below is the recipe to save you time for researching the internet.


Crust:
4 ounces chocolate graham crackers
[I used Nilla wafers and 2 TBSP of cocoa powder]
3 tablespoons canola oil

Cranberry Compote/Sauce:
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Chambord (raspberry liqueur)
3 tablespoons water

Cheesecake:
1 cup sugar
2 (8 oz.) packages block-style 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (4 oz.) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt [I used regular fat free yogurt, not Greek]
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs [I added 4 eggs and skipped egg whites step]
2 large egg whites

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°. Wrap outside and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan tightly with a double layer of heavy-duty foil.
Place crackers in a food processor; process until finely ground. Drizzle with oil; pulse until combined. Press mixture into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 8 minutes; cool on a rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
Place cranberries, sugar, liqueur, and water in a saucepan; boil. Cook 8 minutes or until cranberries pop and mixture is syrupy. Cool 20 minutes. Place mixture in a food processor; process 1 minute or until smooth.
Combine 1 cup sugar and cheeses in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in yogurt, vanilla, and salt. Add whole eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Place 2 egg whites in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form using clean, dry beaters. Fold beaten egg whites into cream cheese mixture. Pour filling over crust. Spoon cranberry mixture over filling; swirl together using the tip of a knife. Place springform pan in a 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan. Add hot water to pan to a depth of 2 inches. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until center of cheesecake barely moves when pan is touched.
Turn oven off. Cool cheesecake in closed oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven. Run a knife around outside edge. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours.

[Photo courtesy of Cooking Light]

Valentine's Day Sweets

I love browsing through the virtual space searching for fun articles or new recipes. Better Home and Gardens has a great collection of "Sweets for Two". And with Valentine's Day coming up I wanted to publish some of the recipes on my blog. The whole collection includes about 28 different desserts, I chose only few of them, the ones that appealed to me the most.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

This picture is from BHG website, and it's a great presentation idea for my red velvet cupcakes (recipe here ). use small chocolate heart shaped cookies and powder sugar to re-create the look. Yo can frost those with the cream cheese frosting, and sprinkle with red sugar or red sugar pearls, and stick the cookie on top. Possibilities are endless here...

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cakes

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam

Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache

• 12 medium strawberries
• 3 ounces bittersweet and/or milk chocolate curls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour or line with paper bake cups twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups; set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat. Let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar and cocoa powder until combined. Add egg and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, beat lightly just until combined. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to chocolate mixture, beating by hand after each addition. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Using a knife, loosen the edges; carefully remove cupcakes. Cool completely on a wire rack. If cupcakes don't have paper liners, trim a thin slice from top of each cupcake so they will sit flat. Turn bottom side up. Place cupcakes 2 inches apart on wire rack set over waxed paper. (For cupcakes in liners, peel liners down but do not remove.) Spread 1 teaspoon of the strawberry jam over each cupcake. Prepare Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache. (below) Spoon ganache over cupcakes, making sure to coat all sides. Place a strawberry on top of each cake. Drizzle each strawberry lightly with ganache, letting the strawberry show through. Top cupcakes with chocolate curls.

Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache: In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (do not stir). Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Whisk in 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking until ganache is smooth. Makes: 12 cupcakes.

To Bake Ahead: Prepare as directed through step 4. Place cooled cupcakes in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw cupcakes, if frozen. Continue as directed in step 5.

Cherry Baby Cakes

• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2/3 cup cherry marmalade or cherry preserves, large pieces snipped if necessary
• 30 maraschino cherries with stems, drained
• 1 recipe Powdered Sugar Icing*

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Line thirty 1 3/4-inch muffin cups with miniature paper bake cups;* set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Spoon 1 scant teaspoon of batter into each muffin cup. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cherry marmalade and top with 1/2 teaspoon additional batter. Bake cupcakes about 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

Pat cherries dry with clean paper toweling. Frost each cupcake with about 1/2 teaspoon icing. Dip half of each cherry into remaining icing; place on top of baby cakes. Makes about 30 small cakes.

*Test Kitchen Tip: If you don't have 1 3/4-inch muffin cups, line sixteen 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups. Prepare batter as directed. Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each prepared muffin cup. Add 1 teaspoon of marmalade and another tablespoon of batter. (You will only use about 1/3 cup marmalade.) Bake about 15 minutes or until tooth

pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Frost with Powdered Sugar Icing. Add a cherry as directed above. (You will only need 16 cherries.)

*Powdered Sugar Icing: In a small bowl combine 2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk. Stir in additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing reaches drizzling consistency. Makes about 30.

Tiny Raspberry Cheesecake Tarts

• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut up
• 1/2 teaspoon shortening
• 1 2.1-ounce package baked miniature phyllo dough shells (fifteen 1-1/2-inch shells)
• 1 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons dairy sour cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons raspberry liqueur or milk
• 15 fresh raspberries (optional)
• Fresh mint leaves (optional)

In a small saucepan, stir the cut-up chocolate and shortening over low heat until melted. Remove pan from heat. Using a clean small paintbrush, brush the inside (bottom and sides) of each phyllo shell evenly with the melted chocolate mixture. Return each shell to plastic tray included in package. Chill phyllo shells in refrigerator about 20 minutes or until chocolate is set. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the cream cheese, sour cream, and powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in liqueur or milk. Transfer mixture to a small resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Snip off a corner of the bag. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into each shell. Cover tarts loosely; chill 2 to 4 hours. If desired, garnish each tart with a fresh raspberry and mint leaves. Makes 15 tarts.

{My comment: You can also use store bought phyllo dough and bake your own shells, just cut the circles from the dough and bake them according to directions in small muffin pan. I am sure the pastry dough would work fine here, also.}

Apricots Cakes for Two

• 1 16-ounce package pound cake mix
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup apricot brandy, raspberry liqueur, apricot nectar, or raspberry juice blend
• 2 eggs
• 1 recipe Apricot Butter Frosting
• Edible flower petals or whole edible flowers (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and lightly flour a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, water, brandy or nectar, and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds; beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Spread batter in the prepared pan. Bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Remove pan to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely. Transfer cake to large cutting board. Using a 2- to 2 1/2-inch round cutter, cut cake into 12 rounds. (Cut remaining cake scraps into cubes and serve with fruit, ice cream, or yogurt.) For each cake, spread 1 tablespoon of the frosting on top of one cake round. Top with a second cake round. Spread a thin coating of frosting* on the sides of the cake to seal in any crumbs. Let cakes stand, uncovered, 1 hour or until crumb coat is set.

To frost cake, carefully pick up each cake and add a thicker coating of frosting around the sides. Place cake on serving plate and frost top. Top each cake with edible flower petals or whole edible flowers, if desired. Makes 6 cakes (2 servings per cake).

Apricot Butter Frosting: In a very large mixing bowl beat 3/4 cup softened butter until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups sifted powdered sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in 1/3 cup apricot nectar or raspberry juice blend. Gradually beat in 7 cups sifted powdered sugar. Beat in enough additional apricot nectar to reach spreading consistency. Tint frosting a pale peach or pink color.

*Test Kitchen Tip: For the thin coating of frosting, transfer 3/4 cup of the prepared frosting to a small bowl. Stir in enough apricot nectar or raspberry juice blend (about 1 tablespoon) to make frosting of glazing consistency.

{The recipes and pictures are from Better Homes and Gardens website}

Polish Christmas Eve

I would like to take a moment and explain how important Christmas Eve is for Poles, it's the evening of awaiting for Christ to be born. And it's almost more important that the actual Christmas Day. It's a wonderful night of love and miracles (like they say). Growing up we always waited for that day to come, Christmas time is such a wonderful time in a year. And it's not about the presents and gifts - it's about being together with the people you love.



Like I mentioned Polish Christmas Eve has a sort of spiritual meaning for Poles. We believe that this is the night of miracles. We believe that the Spirits of our loved ones that passed away are with us. Another, kind of funny now, thing we believe is that animals are able to speak human voice. I remember when I was little, we would always pay special attention to our cat or dog, no one wanted to miss them speaking...

The day begins like any other day, we have breakfast, and after that everybody just goes to their stuff. My mom and grandma would be in the kitchen making the dishes for our Christmas Eve Supper/Dinner. My dad would bring the tree, and we would start decorating. Yes, we decorated the tree on Christmas Eve. it made it special. So much more special than any other day.

The old fashion tradition is saying that you should sit down to the table once the first star appears on the sky. I remember me and my sister always trying to spot the first star... but we never ate so early, we were usually ready around 6 o'clock. The star symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem that leas Three Wiseman to Baby Jesus.

The table is usually set with a white table cloth and in the center we place a little stack of hay on the the plate and a Holy Wafer on it - that symbolizes Jesus being born in manger on hay. We always have one extra place setting for an unexpected guest or a stranger passing by and not having anybody to spend the Christmas Eve with. We sit down to the table and say a prayer, usually remembering our loved ones that are no longer with us. We share the Holy Wafer among us, saying a wishes to the ones next to you. The Wafer is a thin bread, like Communion, only bigger and it's showing nativity scenes. Sharing the Wafer is a symbolic act of love and friendship, and it's done in a sort of soleman way.

The Christmas Eve dinner is a big fest! There is usually 11 or 12 dishes being served that night. And there is no set menu, it vary from the different regions in Poland.
The dishes that we always had on our table include red borsh with little tiny mushroom pierogi, mashed potatoes, fish - usually carp, sour kraut with wild dried mushrooms, red cabbage salad, pickled herrings with onions, green tomato salad... there is so much more, but those are the dishes I remember the most. The best part of the dinner was the drink - it was a dried fruit compote, simmered for few hours, the taste of dried, smoked fruit was unbelievable. I wish I could make it now - but where would I find those great dried/smoked fruit made in oldfashined smokers...

After the dinner, we would all hang out, watch a Christmas movie, and than the time would come to go to the midnight mass. That was a really great experience that I miss a lot living here. We would bundeled up, and walk about 20 minutes to church. Everybody was going the same direction - kids with their parents, teenagers, elderly... I remember one Christmas Eve it snowed so much right before we left the house, with all the christmas lights and fresh, untouched snow it seemed like such a magical night. It was so beautiful and bright. Everybody was out - going to midnight mass... it didn't matter that it was so late... it was just so awesome...

Sometimes I miss that. I miss Christmas Eve being so special!

********************************

We are going to my parents house tomorrow to celebrate the Christmas Eve. I am making few dishes here at home - right now on my stove I have the sour kraut simmering with dried mushrooms, and tomorrow I am making dill mashed potatoes to serve with the breded tilapia. We opted for tilapia as oppose to carp - it's just not the same out here...

So you have a great Christmas Eve, and beautifull Christmas!

Yogurt - Cranberry Coffeecake

This is a great recipe for a festive holiday coffeecake. Looks amazing, and tastes great. Wonderful for holiday brunch. This recipe makes one 9 x 13 baking pan. You could divide into smaller pieces, wrap in in cellophane and voila!... nice gift for Christmas morning ...




Topping:
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
big pinch of salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I think any all purpose flour will do)

Batter:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) plain or flavored yogurt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Filling:
1 can of whole-berry cranberry sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.

To make the topping: In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Add the flour, beating until even crumbs form. Scoop the mixture into a smaller bowl, and set it aside.

To make the batter: In the bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl and again beating until smooth. Beat in the yogurt, extracts, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. The mixture will be fairly stiff. If too stiff add more yogurt. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Dollop the cranberry sauce on top, breaking it up with a fork first, if necessary. Make swirls with knife. Sprinkle the topping over the top.

To bake the coffeecake: Bake coffeecake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove it from oven, and cool for 30 minutes before serving (or serve it hot from the oven, if you don't mind it crumbling a bit!) Yield: 2 dozen 2-inch squares.

{Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour Website}

My Thanksgiving Dinner - Adventures of aTurducken

{my table setting}

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

I was so busy yesterday cooking my dinner, I had no time to even turn the computer on. It started pretty early, I opened my "turkey breast" package in the morning just to find out, that there was much more there than just a turkey breast - it was a whole turkey without wings and legs... yes, I had to wrestle the bird to get him off the bones. and that's never fun.
The other surprise was the duck. I don't make duck to often, actually I don't even remember last time when I made a duck. So I just bought 2 duck breasts, and didn't think anything of it. I know duck is fatty. But this one had about 1/2 inch layer of fat and about 1/4 inch layer of the breast meat, it was little too much fat... I had to pull the fat of the meat and make sure that the breast holds its shape. It worked. But between the turkey wrestling and duck de-fatting it took me about an hour, which I didn't count for...

And it's all because I decided to make my own version of a turducken! (I hope I spelled it right)... Instead of making the "whole" turkey stuffed with the whole duck, stuffed with the whole chicken - I wanted to make just the turkey breast stuffed with duck breast, stuffed with chicken breast.
And in the end everything worked out fine, but the stresfull morning got me little worry about the whole dinner. I even sent my husband to the grocery store to buy a rotisserie chicken, just in case if... he called me from the store, the chickens they had looked like they've been on the grill little too long, dried out and burned... he didn't get any... so the turducken just had to come out right! And it did. It was a very successful turkey dinner!

The plan was to season the layers, and to spread a herb butter inside and outside of the turkey. Butter always makes the bird taste so much better, gives it a layer of a moisture protection. The turkey was moist, and tender, with a crunchy layer on the outside. I don't have too many photos of the execution of the dish - my hands were covered with butter and all kinds of other stuff. Here is the picture of the final product - you can see the outer layer of the turkey, and the darker meat inside is the duck, the skinny lighter is the chicken... not bad, hmm?




Here is the recipe for my version of a Turducken:

1 double (boneless) turkey breast, keep the skin
1 double duck breast (boneless, and skinless, keep the skin)
1 single chicken breast (boneless and skinless)
makes 2 separate turducken "roulads"

Seasoning mix: sea salt, black pepper, pinch of cayenne pepper, poultry seasoning, garlic powder (I didn't measure, just use your judgment)

The herb butter: 1,5 stick of unsalted butter room temp, bunch of thyme, sage and chives; chop the herbs and mix with butter.

Butterfly each turkey breast to flatten it out, season it, and spread a layer of the herb butter. In the middle lay the duck breast, my duck was pretty thin, so I didn't have to cut it, but make sure the duck is not too thick, you need to have room to close the turkey and make sure that it doesn't fall apart. Use one duck breast, season it, add a thin layer of the butter and arrange the last layer - chicken. season it, and try to either roll it or bring the turkey sides up, use kitchen twine to tie it all together. Once assembled lift the turkey skin gently with your fingers to add the butter under the skin. It really helps to keep the turkey moist. Season the outside of it.
I melted the duck skin on the low heat, and put some of it on the bottom of the pan, and put the turkey in it, added few garlic cloves and onion. 375 degrees, until done, until your meat thermometer shows 180 degrees. I based the turkey every once on a while with the juices from the bottom of the pan. Make sure to rest it for 10 - 15 minutes before you start cutting it!



For the first course we had the lovely, creamy butternut squash soup.
And the turducken was served with:

• Monterrey Jack-Garlic Mashed Potatoes,
• Mushroom Sherry Gravy,with turkey drippings
• Vegetable Madly - Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower,
• Honey Glazed Carrots,
• Stuffing,
• Dinner Rolls,
• Baked Onions with Parmesan Cheese, recipe by Italian Cook from Chicago, click here for the recipe
  

Wine of the evening was Barefoot Zinfandel - very affordable wine, pretty good for the price. Zinfandel is not usually paired with chicken or turkey, but I really like the flavor, it's pretty smooth and silky, so it went well with all the mushrooms I had in stuffing, and the mushroom gravy for the turkey. So in the end it all tasted pretty good.

Wild Rice, Cranberry & Walnut Stuffing

What a week! I am still fighting the cold, it got me pretty bad, I've been pretty sick, and not able to do much at all. Thanksgiving in 3 days and I am still finalizing the menu. I am so unprepared this year. Normally I know at least few weeks in advance what I will be making. I thought it was going to get less busy after the wedding, but for some reason, it's still going pretty fast.

I found this recipe on Whole Foods website, and I haven't made it before, but I bought it from the store, and it's pretty good. I am thinking about making something similar to stuff my cornish hens for Thanksgiving. I decided to make turkey and cornish hens, I want to keep it traditional but also at the same time add something different, it's going to be a surprise. They all expect just a turkey...



Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
7 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups uncooked wild rice or wild rice mix
2 cups uncooked basmati rice
2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped thyme
1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped
Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add broth and salt and bring to a boil. Stir in wild rice, cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes.

Stir in basmati rice, cover and simmer until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes longer. Stir in cranberries, parsley, thyme, and walnuts, cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Season with pepper and additional salt to taste.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Transfer rice mixture to dish and bake until light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potatos

Last night I really wanted something with sweet potatoes, and I am not talking about marshmallows mashed sweet potatoes loaded with brown sugar and coconut... I say roasted! So I went to the produce market (my favorite in the city - Stanley's) and got some butternut squash and few sweet potatoes. I cubed them, sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt, placed on the baking sheet and to 400 degrees oven for 45 minutes.


It was sooooo yummy! I couldn't stop eating. The potatoes had a hint of sweetness, and the squash was just nice, soft inside and crunchy on the outside.
I even got Tim to have some. He actually thought it was just sweet potatoes, and after finish eating I told him what he really ate... ha ha ... I was surprised, he said he liked it... so, now we have a new side dish that he likes.... that means I can actually make it more often.



One thing I have to say - the squash is really hard, and it was very difficult to peel it. It is much harder than the sweet potato. I would suggest it to buy it already cut/cubed. I know Costco sells it, I saw it there. It will save you some time and it's safer... Oh, and I added one purple potato for some color... made it look more interesting...



This could be a nice, fall side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. Different take on the traditional sweet potatoes. And by the way, I am sorry to say that (no offense, please) - but I've been living in this country for over 8 years, and still can't get over the fact that sweet potatoes are mashed with bunch of brown sugar, coconut, and baked with marshmallows.... it's just so unappetizing! blehhh... is it a side dish or a dessert? I'm not sure, it's a potato but it's sweetened to its maximum.... I would rather eat an extra slice of apple pie or a huge piece of butter cream coconut cake... and it would taste 100 times better....
Sorry for all those who love this mushy mush... :)

Thanksgiving Decor

I will be making Thanksgiving this year, as always. It will be a dinner for 8 adults, I guess it's not that big of a deal. Right? Only 8 people... I've been researching table decor, this year I finally have my China, and matching silverware, and all the other nice things you need to set the table for 12. So I am very excited to use it for the first time. My plates are plain white, so they should go with about everything.

This picture is from Martha Stewart's website, and I love the centerpiece. It looks so nice and rustic, breaks away from the traditional centerpieces with pumpkins, squash and berries... it looks rich and different. I would have to use a smaller basket, maybe round, since my table is round... and place few votive candles to make it warmer and cozy.... I really like that idea...



This is another picture from the same website - very clean and elegant with the hint of fall colors, the wrapper on the votive glass holders reminds me of a corn husk... I like it...