A Tart for Thanksgiving

Canadian Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  What I wouldn't give to head back to my youth for my mom's Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings and the beautifully decorated table, extended family gathered together, eating off the fancy china and everything.  Not that it couldn't happen now - it's just harder to get everyone together.  For one, it's a bit of a boat ride to head back for one dinner.  Not that time travel is any more of a possibility.

In looking for something to make with sweet potatoes other than the traditional sweetened version from my mom's recipe files or this more American version with marshmallows (don't knock it 'fore you try it!) I came across this recipe for a galette made with sweet potatoes, caramelised onions and goat's cheese.  And the star ingredient - balsamic vinegar.  The onions were caramelised with a little sugar and vinegar which I felt gave the dish a deeper flavour and the whole thing was absolutely delicious.

 

OK.  Not the whoooole thing.  And it had nothing to do with the recipe.  Having followed the recipe for the filling exactly, which turned out perfectly, I went severely wrong when I lacked some of the ingredients to make the pastry and decided to wing it.  Winging pastry results in, well, not so good results.  When making this again I will follow the recipe to the letter buy a puff pastry base. 

If I knew how to put a big red cross over this image I would.  No no no - don't wing pastry.

I did discover, however, that balsamic vinegar gives boring, old sauteed spinach a bit of a kick when I splashed a little in the pan thinking the side might complement the tart.  It really did.  So a minor disaster with pastry turned into victory dance for spinach.  And not just the metaphorical kind - I might have actually danced a little.

I think individual versions of this tart on a puff pastry base would make a great starter to Thanksgiving dinner.  Might be on the menu this weekend!  With a side dish of balsamic spinach.  If you're celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend, what's on your menu? 

Weird & Wonderful Wednesday

Will this be a weekly feature?  Maybe.  But probably not.  I didn't even post once last week so that tells ya a lot.  Will it be weird, yet wonderful?  I think so.  Is it Wednesday - for most of the world, it is.

I wrote about these fantastic roasted potatoes a couple of weeks ago and had some leftover which inspired my wacky creation.  However, in the interest of food safety, I must be clear that these posts (though I would like to be more up to date) are not in real time.  I ate the potatoes the day after making them, not a week and a half later.  Though I'm sure a few days old wouldn't hurt.  As my mom used to tell me when I frantically called her with food age questions, "Is it green (and shouldn't be)?  Does it smell bad? Then I'm sure it's fine."  Those are definitely words to live by when cleaning out the fridge for weird and wonderful leftover meals.

Here's what I made:

I quickly fried up the potatoes and reheated some spaghetti sauce and then layered everything together (a little sideways so the potatoes didn't get soggy from the sauce) : potatoes, spinach, sauce and crumbled goat's cheese on top.  It was delicious.  I'm not sure I'd purposely set out to make this from scratch but the next time I have these items in my fridge I will give it another go.  All things I love in one bowl (not the spinach - that was for a bit of greenery - I don't dislike it but I wouldn't say I loooooove it).

Tell me - what's your weird and wonderful creation?  It doesn't have to be made on a Wednesday (this wasn't).  Something you thought might be hit or miss but was a straight up hit from the start...

Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry

Maybe it's because we've eaten them at Thanksgiving every October since I was small - though not my first Thanksgiving - that year my Grandma fed me spoonfuls of cranberry sauce - but I've always known what a sweet potato looks like.  A few of the younger folks at my local grocery store are still unsure as I have been asked several times "what is this?" as they put it through the checkout.  I'm a little worried that this could be the most exotic vegetable some of our young people have seen - or not seen as the case may be.

My friend Gail was over a couple of weeks ago and I whipped up a quick curry for us to enjoy.  I love a good takeaway but sometimes I just fancy something a little fresher and a little less greasy, this was it.  Very simple and quick, you can have your Friday night treat and not feel guilty about it.

 Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry 

Serves 4

2 large sweet potatoes

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 red chilli

2 cups of fresh spinach

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon each cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander

1/4 cup of water or stock

Cut the sweet potato into cubes and steam it in the microwave (can also be boiled) until a knife slides easily into the vegetable.  Mix the spices together in a small dish.  Fry the finely chopped onions in a little oil.  Once softened, add the garlic, chilli and then the spices and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Add a can of chopped tomatoes and the cooked sweet potato.  Add a little water or stock to ensure the potatoes are covered and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce thickens up.  Stir in the spinach in the last minute or so of cooking.  Serve over brown rice (or basmati if you're fancy) with a big glass of wine and let the weekend begin!

*Add a can of chickpeas for extra protein (to the curry not the wine)