Roasted and glazed sweet potatoes
Apparently, my craving for sick-girl comfort food extends to the point where I will make it my damn self if that’s the option available. A run out to the closest store (an expensive European-style market with a fantastic butcher) to net gingerale and milk also resulted in a bright bunch of fresh spinach, slices of white mushroom, and two thick pink pork rib chops.
Everything I made was quick-prep with long oven time; slowcooking is both a recent interest and a necessity.
The pork was ok, a variation of a recipe I haven’t made in some time. This version used apples and apple juice in place of the soy and ginger. Reduced the garlic a bit, and studded the chops with cloves when marinating.
They were good — not totally tender, but not dry either. When paired with the apples and onions, each bite was totally respectable.
Paired with a side spinach salad (with crumbled eggs, mushrooms and hot bacon dressing), it was passable. However, from the produce department a pair of sweet potatoes had beckoned, so I decided to try something new with them:
2 sweet potatoes, on the small side, peeled and cubed
1 T vegetable oil
2 t ground cinnamon
pinch ground clove
pinch salt
non-stick cooking spray
2 T brown sugar
1 T honey
2 t butter
3 t balsamic vinegar
Tossed the potato cubes with a bit of vegetable oil and a couple teaspoons of cinnamon. Added a sprinkle of clove, a pinch of salt, and then put them into a glass dish coated with non-stick spray.
Roast in a 325-degree oven for about 45 minutes.
At 45 minutes (or when potato has begun to brown and crisp), sprinkle them with the brown sugar, honey, butter, and balsamic vinegar. Gave them a brief stir, and stick them back in the oven (reduced a bit, 300-degrees, so the sugar doesn’t blacken) for another 15-30 minutes.
Those were fucking awesome.
February 2nd, 2006 at 11:29 pm
I trust you, but balsamic vinegar on sweet potatoes? That sounds… I dunno. That’s crazy.
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:08 pm
I know, I know–it sounds SO WEIRD. But it was SO GOOD.
Think of it like a sweet vinagrette. You put both sugar and balsamic in that. And it’s good!