welcome to elaney!

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 lb. fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
• 14 oz can artichoke hearts
• 7 oz jar roasted red peppers rinsed
• 4 scallions chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 oz prosciutto, trimmed and julienned
• tomato vinaigrette
• arugula for garnish

Chop sun-dried tomatoes. Cook tortellini in boiling water then drain and rinse under cold water. In a large bowl, combine sun-dried tomatoes, tortellini, artichokes, red peppers, scallions, tomatoes, basil and proscuitto. Add vinaigrette and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Mound tortellini salad on arugula.

In our efamily, everyone has an assigned dish that they are given at a young-ish age.  Well, let’s rephrase.  elaney, emum, and eaunts all have 1 relatively easy dish, and egrandmum has about 12 really complicated dishes that inevitably someone moans about if she tries to move one out of the rotation (eg, anon:  ”why aren’t you making the oyster casserole this year?!? it’s my favorite!!”  egrandmum:  ”funny you’ve never mentioned that before, and the CDC deemed them risky and emum freaked out…” anon:  ”whaaaaaa”).  So while egrandmum is slingin Crisco in the kitchen, this is what we are making:

elaney’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled cubed, and boiled until tender
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heated milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Drain potatoes and mash while warm.  Add sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, salt, and eggs and cream well.  Mix topping and spread over top.  Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot and browned.  Serves 6 to 8.

In honor of the Pilgrims (and how difficult it probably was to make Thanksgiving dinner without Publix), we are having an all recipe week.  Check out this great Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, compliments of Joy the Baker.  Oh, btw.  While looking for the recipe, we discovered some commentary on “How to Impress a Boy by Baking.” Favorites, don’t mind if we do.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola or corn oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.  Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.  Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

The universe wants us to share this dip with you.  What had happened was:  a few months ago, we had this dip at a party and loved it.  Hadn’t thought about it since.  Then randomly decided to make it for a cookout last Saturday and intended to email the chef (who we don’t even know that well) for the recipe.  Then, coincidentally on Saturday morning, Reader g-love mentioned that she had been going through our cookbooks to find some dip that some different girl from Columbus (who neither of us know) made.  Lo and behold, it’s the same dip.  Then if that wasn’t random enough, Darby of Fly Through Our Window posted it Sunday, so we decided, there is someone out there that just needs this recipe (tweaked a little, per elaney):

Feta Black Bean Dip
Serves 10
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 {15 oz} cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 {15 oz} cans of Shoepeg corn, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 {4 oz} block feta cheese, crumbled

Whisk sugar, vinegar and oil in a large bowl. Add the black beans, corn, scallions, cilantro, and feta and mix well. Chill until serving time. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.

We love recipes that aren’t that hard and make us look legit.  Try homemade ravioli!

Sweet Potato Ravioli

• 1 1/2 pounds red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
• 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 48 square wonton wrappers
• 2 large egg whites, beaten until foamy

Brown Butter Sauce

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

Chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Even if you are still sporting hippie long hair, there comes a time in every young woman’s life when you have to bring a little more to the table at Thanksgiving by bringing a little more to the table.  A few years ago – we were given our Roberts woman lifetime assignment.  And…it’s pretty easy.  And will impress even the most discerning of Southern eGrandmums.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled cubed, and boiled until tender
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup heated milk
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Preparation: