Cheesy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Show of hands -- how many of you have eaten hasselback potatoes?

Another show of hands -- how many of you have actually made them? Am I alone in saying that I almost never do?

I feel like hasselbacks are one of those dishes (at least for me) that I love, but that I never bother to make myself. But all of that changed when I discovered hasselback sweet potatoes.

Now, in their original and simplest form, hasselback potatoes are usually drizzled with melted butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and topped with bread crumbs. The rich butter absorbs into the potato during roasting, resulting in a soft, creamy interior and a crispy outside.

So, I guess it's the idea of baked potato meets oven fries that really attracts me. I love how the potato gets a bit crisp on the outside, but it's meltingly tender on the inside. And I love how easy they are to eat.

And, of course, when you add cheese I'm ALL OVER IT.

You could choose any number of cheeses for this dish. Cheddar would be great, especially if you decided to add a sprinkling of bacon. And I could even make the case for Mozzarella or Provolone, maybe with a slight change in the seasonings.

However, smooth nutty Gouda cheese has an affinity for the sugary qualities of the sweet potato, and it melts like a dream, making it the perfect stuffing for these buttery paprika and garlic-infused potatoes. If you like smoked cheeses, try using smoked Gouda for an extra burst of flavor.

I love sitting down with one of these and making it a meal. But, they're also perfect for serving alongside your next roast.
Recipe: Cheesy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

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An Homage to Milwaukee's Honey Pie Cafe: Salted Honey Pie

Ever since we made that Cherries & Cream Slab Pie this summer for the Go Bold with Butter blog, I've been a little obsessed with pie making.

One of the things I've been obsessed about is the crust. I've never been good at crust... in fact, one failed attempt where the dough got so tough it was useless made me think I'd never tackle it again.

But, then I heard Julia Child's words ringing in my ear. 

“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”
  
And I thought about the Julie/Julia Challenge we did back in 2009 where we learned to debone a duck.

And I decided to try again. Boy am I glad I did.

These days, when I can find the time, I'm a regular pie-making fiend.  Which brings me to the next recipe.

There’s a little restaurant here in Milwaukee called Honeypie Café that serves up some of the best pie in the city. I actually wrote an article about them a while back, tracing some of the adventures that co-owner Val Lucks has had while seeking out some of the best pies in the nation for inspiration.

Thanks to all of Val's travels and research, Honeypie has at least 50 flavors of pie in their repertoire, with probably six to eight showing up daily on the menu.

One of our favorites, among their offerings, is their namesake Honeypie which blows us away every time we eat it. It’s sweet and salty and rich, with a smooth custard base and a delicious flaky crust.

Of course, as good as it is, it doesn't show up on the Honeypie menu nearly often enough for my taste. So, I decided to take a whirl at making my own.

This version, an homage to their pie, is really a variation on chess pie, a southern style custard pie which makes use of cornmeal as a thickening and textural agent, as well as vinegar to round out the flavor and prevent the sweetness from becoming cloying. 

The flaky crust owes its flavor and texture to the magic of real butter (Val prefers shortening, but I'm not sure if I agree). And a bit of sea salt added to the finished pie offers up a pleasant crunch, as well as giving the pie an irresistible sweet-salty flavor.

Get the recipe: Salted Honey Pie

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Homemade Mocha Fudge Pie Pops

Today I found out that the popsicle was invented by an eleven-year-old boy.

It was 1905. And, as the story goes, young Frank Epperson accidentally left a container of powdered soda mix out on the porch with its stir stick. It just so happened that -- on that fateful night in San Francisco -- temperatures reached record lows. So, when he awoke the next morning, he discovered that the mixture had frozen to the stir stick, creating an icy fruit-flavored treat. 

He called it the Epsicle.

Epsicle. Popsicle. It's brilliant -- whatever you want to call it.

Personally, I've always had an affection for the fudgsicle. They are my singular favorite summer frozen treat memory. And, even as an adult, I get an annual craving for their smooth fudgy frozen deliciousness.

Unfortunately, a few years back I made the mistake of looking at the ingredients on the back of the box of commercial fudgesicles? Ugh. Not cool. 

So, ever since then, I've been playing around with recipes that mimic the deliciousness of my favorite frozen treat. And this time, I think I've outdone myself a bit.

This particular rendition contains layers of frozen chocolate mocha cream along with a buttery chocolate cookie crumb “crust.” 

It's a little fancier -- and a bit more delicious -- than your traditional fudge pop, which means it's the perfect dessert for summer gatherings. But, we won’t tell if you sneak one in as a late afternoon snack.

Get the recipe: Mocha Fudge Pie Pops

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Gooey Lemon Butter Cake

 I actually have more of a salt-tooth than a sweet tooth, so it’s a rare occasion when you can entice me to get overly excited about a sweet treat.

But, I'll give it ALL up when it comes to butter cake.

Peef and I tasted our first St. Louis style butter cake at the Flying Monkey Patisserie in the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.  The crisp sugary top, rich cream cheese and butter filling, and chewy cakey bottom won us over, and we knew we needed to recreate it at home.

So, I went on a hunt for recipes.

Guess what I found?  Lots and lots of recipes using boxed cake mix and other short-cut ingredients.  So, I decided to take on the recipe myself.

Turns out that keys to a great butter cake include room temperature ingredients, an electric mixer, and ... you guessed it... real butter.

Although there are many varieties of butter cake, including vanilla and chocolate, I decided to take advantage  of the seasonality of lemons for this version. I'm a big fan of lemony desserts. And  I feel like the natural tartness of the lemon really helps to balance out the sweetness of this otherwise sinful and addictive dessert.

Gooey Lemon Butter Cake
This recipe is also featured over at Go Bold with Butter

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Roasted Chicken with Dill-Garlic Butter

  We stand in awe of dill.

 What other herb inspires home cooks to stand in excruciatingly hot kitchens on 100 degree days just so they can look forward to biting into crisp, delicious pickles eight weeks later?

On the other hand, we lament that this delicious fernlike herb is highly under-utilized in most kitchens.
Sure, dill is great for making pickles. But, it’s also indispensable for pairing with cheeses, adding to breads, enhancing the flavor of vegetables, and complementing the briney notes in feta cheese or seafood.

 In this case, it really shines when matched with butter, garlic, and lemon to create an amazing roasted chicken.

It takes just a few basic techniques to produce a beautiful dill-scented bird with crisp, salty skin, moist breast meat, and dense, meaty dark meat. First, rubbing the exterior of the bird with seasoned butter assists in ensuring a beautiful brown crisp skin.

Slipping some of the butter under the skin of the breast helps to keep it moist and adds flavor to the otherwise mild meat. And finally, adding lemon quarters and extra dill to the cavity seasons the pan juices as they flow from the bird into the roasting pan.

This chicken is scrumptious served alongside fresh green beans and mashed potatoes for a weeknight dinner. But, leftovers make phenomenal chicken salad, so consider roasting two birds while you're at it... just to be on the safe side :)

Roasted chicken with Dill-Garlic Butter

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Buttery Lemon Thyme Biscuits

Is there anything more delicious than a homemade biscuit?

 Not according to Paul, whose eyes glaze over whenever I announce that we’ll be having a weekend breakfast of biscuits and gravy. And who blames him? After all, biscuits have been a staple at the family table for centuries – and for very good reason.

Been working on a lot of biscuits in the kitchen lately to develop the perfect recipe for the Go Bold With Butter blog we've been writing for.  

In the process, we developed a simple, modified technique that won’t require you to roll out the dough or haul out your biscuit cutters. They’re chock-full of flavor, thanks to the addition of lemon zest and a bit of fresh thyme.

And they’re just about foolproof -- buttermilk, along with real butter, in the dough creates a tender flaky biscuit that won’t disappoint.

These lemon and thyme-infused treats are delicious with a bit of lemon marmalade, as shown int he picture.  But, they also make a great dinner biscuit... I'm envisioning these being perfect next to a delicious slice of roasted chicken with garlicky green beans on the side.

Plus, they freeze well, so don’t be afraid to make the entire batch even if you can’t eat them all in one sitting!

Just writing about these makes me wish it was the weekend again... such a great breakfast.

Lemon Thyme Biscuits

If you thing these look good, check out the Buttery Basil Biscuits we developed for the Butter Blog using yogurt instead of buttermilk!

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Grilled Sweet Corn with Orange Harissa Butter

 Traditionally used as a flavoring for couscous and a rub for meats, harissa is most commonly found in Tunisia and the Saharan desert region where its flavor is prized for adding oomph to stews.


Lo happened upon her first taste of this delicious condiment during a trip to Tunisia, where the locals ate the peppery paste spread simply atop slices of crusty fresh French bread. 


It took her years to stumble upon one of the best flavor pairings ever -- harissa and orange (see our Orange and harissa roasted chicken recipe). But, once she discovered it, we couldn't get enough.

The sweet acidity of orange juice marries incredibly with the smoky, rich flavor of the harissa, and even (dare we say?) tames its sharp heat into something quite manageable.

During the winter, this flavor combination is a delicious flavoring for crisp, comforting roasted chicken.  It's also a great combination to complement simple vegetables. But, we love it equally as much captured in a delicious compound butter that’s perfect for summer grilling.


Try the butter over a flaky filet of grilled fish.
Experiment with it as a delicious finish for your next steak.
Spread leftover butter on bread for a different take on ordinary grilled cheese.

Or do as this delicious recipe suggests and spread a generous pat of that smoky, citrusy butter atop a cob of succulently sweet grilled summer corn. You won’t be sorry.

Grilled Sweet Corn with Orange Harissa Butter

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Sweet and Spicy Butter Roasted Chickpeas

 Ah, the summer road trip!

What's better than hopping in the car with a friend or two and heading off into the wild abyss? Going somewhere, anywhere, nowhere... with the radio blaring and the wind whipping through your hair.

Weekend road trips have become our savior in the past couple of years. We haven't had a lot of money for a "real" vacation. So, packing up for a day or three and heading out to find our own adventures has been the new normal. Interestingly enough, no matter how often we do it, I always find my brain hearkening back to the days of our youth -- back in college -- when road-tripping was the ultimate act of freedom.

When we're on the road, we often find ourselves falling back on crunchy treats like pretzels and crackers to stave off hunger and ensure that we won’t break down and head straight for the greasy goodness of the fast food drive-through window (which, honestly, doesn't have all that much allure -- but sometimes it's the only thing you can find for miles when you're out in the middle of nowhere).

But, even those seemingly healthy snacks aren’t always the best. They’re full of carbs and provide very little protein – which means they don’t have much staying power.

So, what is a hungry traveler to do?  Roast up some chickpeas, of course. 

If you haven’t yet tried roasted chickpeas, you’re in for a treat. These ultra-crunchy nibbles are healthy, easy, and addictive... maybe a little bit TOO addictive.

This particular combination of five-spice powder and honey gives them a flavor that comes out a bit like a cross between honey-roasted beer nuts and honey nut Cheerios. Best of all, they make awesome road trip food. They taste great, travel well, and provide a serious hit of protein precisely when you need it most.

Sweet and Spicy Butter Roasted Chickpeas

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Dad Food: Coffee Rubbed Ribeye with Chipotle Butter

 Lo’s dad is a purist when it comes to steak.  He prefers his ribeyes seasoned plainly – just a bit of salt, pepper, and a dash of garlic—and grilled to a perfectly medium rare.  


The method relies upon impeccably fresh, quality ingredients and a careful hand when grilling.  And it yields a perfectly delicious result.

So, while it’s true that good steaks do not need much in the way of embellishment, we’ve found that quality steaks are also every bit as delicious when they've been gussied up a bit.  


And so, yes -- we are fans of the simple mushroom pan sauce, the classic Bearnaise, and even the occasional dousing of steak sauce.


But, when we really want to do it up right, we actually look to a really simple trick - compound butter.   Traditionally referred to as Maître d'Hôtel butter, compound butter was first seen in restaurants, and probably mistaken for a far more complex flavoring than it really is... and, believe it or not, it's a trick that's also likely to work on your own dinner guests. 


In this case, a simple butter made from chipotle peppers and their adobo sauce complements a sweet, yet slightly bitter, coffee rub that blooms in the presence of the smoky jalapeno flavor.  


You've got a ton of flavor all in one place, and as an added bonus, the seasoned butter guarantees you a piece of beef that just melts in your mouth... even if you happen to overcook your steak a little bit.  

We’re fairly sure this recipe will win over even the fussiest of dads. And it's perfect for your 4th of July celebration... or any grill-fest you happen to be hosting this summer.


Coffee Rubbed Ribeye with Chipotle Butter


And, since the butter freezes well, why not make a double batch? Pop one in the refrigerator and one in the freezer for later.

Get more delicious compound butter recipes over at Basic Compound Butter Recipe | Leite's Culinaria 

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