Few of us want to make a complicated lasagna for solo dining -- by day six, you'll never want to see lasagna again! In this series, AOL Food staffer Sarah LeTrent taste-tests simple recipes suitable for a "table for one."
When we think of peanuts, we think Virginia, ballgames and a top hat-wearing, cane-holding, monocled mascot. However, peanuts are also a staple in West African cooking and used prominently in many dishes. One such typical meal is a hearty stew made with tomatoes, sweet potatoes and peanuts.
This vegetarian version of the soup relies on the saltiness and creaminess of peanut butter -- the pantry staple and venerated American spread that is an often unsung hero in meals that don't include jelly or two slices of bread.
Presenting a new (and more acceptable) way to eat peanut butter by the spoonful.
Sweet potato pie is a Southern food superstar, immortalized in song, celebrated in literature and beloved by American food authority President Barack Obama, who confidently called the filling his favorite while on the campaign trail. And then there's sweet potato cake.
Sweet potato cake is so thoroughly obscure that René Simon, spokesman for the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, claims he's never tried it: "I've lived in South Louisiana all my life, and I don't think I've ever had sweet potato cake," Simon tells Slashfood.
According to him, the Pelican State's sweet potato scene is all pie, all the time. "Here, America means mom and sweet potato pie," Simon says.
As fall gets underway, do you know the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? The subject of much confusion, the orange-colored tuber that is often referred to as a "yam" is in fact, a sweet potato.
Sweet potatoes, long touted for their nutritional attributes, are soon to make a cameo in the fast food world.
To keep up with the mushrooming demand for sweet potato fries -- a snack which about a decade ago was primarily available from eateries that stocked their condiment caddies with liquid aminos and stuffed their Reubens with tempeh -- ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston has announced plans to build the world's first large-scale facility dedicated to sweet potato processing. According to a release, the Louisiana plant will allow Lamb Weston to meet the sweet potato fry needs of the nation's "largest quick-service restaurant chains."
"Sweet potatoes are a strategic priority for ConAgra foods," CEO Gary Rodkin says in the announcement.
René Simon, director of the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, isn't bothered that the deep-fryer has helped turn the spotlight on his state's signature Beauregard sweet taters (which, weirdly, many Louisiana farmers call "yams," a misnomer that entered the Pelican State's vocabulary at the behest of a 1950s marketing exec).
"This is the South," he laughs, telling Slashfood: "Don't we fry everything?"
The contest asked bloggers to come up with recipes that used sweet potatoes in new ways to encourage home cooks to get them on the table after the Thanksgiving dinner season.
Get the cheesecake recipe, see the winner and learn the difference between a sweet potato and a Southern yam after the jump.
Say what you will, nothing works better with a sweet potato than savory spices. Forget that sweet stuff. Taste it with garlic in a soup, make a twice-baked potato with some garlic, hot peppers, smokey paprika, and other spices, or use it as a vessel for stew.
It takes a little time to prep, but it's so delicious and worth it. Simply take a raw, large sweet potato, and hollow out the center to make a bowl. The beauty of a sweet potato is that as much as you roast it, the flesh just gets more and more malleable while the skin stays firm. So, while you want to make a bowl, don't make it too hollow, leave some flesh for eating.
Once prepared, spray with some oil, season, and bake while you prepare the stew to go inside (I made a quick beef stew with leftover ingredients). Basically, cook the heck out of it, and even pop it under the broiler for a little while. When it's out, scoop out a little more flesh if you weren't able to get enough while raw, and then fill with your stew and eat. And this is where some leftover flesh comes in handy -- as you scoop out the stew, scrape the walls to get some great creamy flesh. The skin will stay in tact, and your stew will be all the tastier -- even if you put sweet potato in your stew.
When a friend of mine recently asked me to help throw her a baby shower, I had many questionable suggestions-- like making it race-car rather than baby themed (accepted) to making a baby-shaped red-velvet cake with gooey red filling, except the diaper part, which would have brown icing filling (rejected).
But one of the things she was most excited about was my suggestion that I make a meatcake. That is, a cake made of meat, an idea I had found (like so many nutty ideas) on the interwebs. I took the concept, but created my own recipes--two, since a non-red-meat eater needed turkey. It may sound peculiar but the result was delicious and even rather spectacular. If you want to try it yourself....
I have been contributing to Thanksgiving dinners since I was a child, doing everything from polishing the silver to serving the cocktails to making all the side dishes to inventing new deserts. However, this year will be the first that I'll be hosting and, admittedly, the thought fills me with dread.
I've thrown many a party and cooked many a feast in my time but the idea of making a whole turkey in a temperamental oven is, simply, frightening. Thus far, I've dealt with my problem in my usual way--avoiding it by becoming absorbed in everything that surrounds it. In this case, the side dishes. By dint of my location (Las Vegas) and the thrift shop acquisition of a pertinent Sunset cookbook, we are having a southwestern Thanksgiving this year.
This is a pretty traditional sweet potato recipe that I got from my friend Linda Arnold shortly before the first Thanksgiving that I cooked. It uses relatively small amounts of sugar and can be adjusted to fit almost any size gathering.
Take unpeeled sweet potatoes, of any quantity, and drop them into boiling water. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes, or until they can be easily and smoothly pierced with a fork. Let the sweet potatoes cool until you can comfortably handle them, then peel and mash. Preheat oven to 375°.
For every two cups of mashed sweet potato (about five medium potatoes), add:
5 Tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons brown sugar Lemon juice to taste
Beat with a fork, whisk, or hand mixer until very light. Place in a deep oven-safe dish, arrange large marshmallows on top (if desired), and heat through in oven. Be careful, as the marshmallows can easily burn. Serve immediately.
I know, I know, this a classic brunch item, nothing too creative there. But it's sooo good, it's worth a second look. There are lots of things you can do to jazz it up, too. For instance, use blue potatoes or even use sweet potatoes. Either would be a great choice. Also, try this recipe from Food Network. It looks like it'll turn out nicely, with some great flavors. Play around with fresh herbs, as they are great for adding color and big new flavors.
I know there are eggs in the picture, but you should regard those as optional, especially if you're going to have quiche!
To quote Tom Cruise on The Today Show, "Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt..."
Matt Wilson over at Cracked.com gives his list of the Best and Worst Thanksgiving Food. I made a prediction before I even read the piece that turkey, stuffing, and pie would be in the "best" category, while green bean casseroles and yams would be in the "worst." Well, I was partly right. He actually lists turkey in the "worst" category!
Whaaaaa?
He gives big props to pie, corn on the cob, and yams though. He doesn't like the cranberry sauce in a can, and it makes me wonder if he even knows you don't have to have it in can, you can actually make fresh stuff yourself!
Matt, seriously, how can you not like turkey? Are you a Communist? (Funny part about the family awkwardness though.)
So what are your favorite ane least favorite Thanksgiving Day foods?
When a friend of mine recently asked me to help throw her a baby shower, I had many 
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