You say (Sweet) Potato, I say Yams! Easy Baked Yams Recipe (Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nightshade free!)

Seriously, This recipe only require yams/sweet potatoes, salt and olive oil!!!


Okay, before we get into the recipe, I have to clear something up. Is it a yam or a sweet potato?
I googled it before posting this recipe and the Huffington Post has this to say about the subject:

"Before you reach for the candied yams this Thanksgiving, there's something you need to know. They're not actually yams! All this time, many Americans have been making the mistake of calling sweet potatoes "yams." But there's actually a difference. It turns out sweet potatoes and yams are not even related. They are two different species of root vegetable with very different backgrounds and uses.

So why the confusion? The U.S. government has perpetuated the error of labeling sweet potatoes "yams." In most cases sweet potatoes are labeled with both terms, which just adds to the confusion. Since there are two types of sweet potatoes, one with creamy white flesh and one with orange, the USDA labels the orange-fleshed ones "yams" to distinguish them from the paler variety. Ok, so that sort of makes sense. But why call the orange-fleshed ones "yams" in the first place? So to understand the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, we have to dig a little deeper (tuber pun intended).

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) come in two main varieties here in the States. One has a golden skin with creamy white flesh and a crumbly texture. The other has a copper skin with an orange flesh that is sweet and soft. All sweet potato varieties generally have the same shape and size -- they are tapered at the ends and much smaller than the aforementioned yams.

Americans have been calling the orange-fleshed variety of sweet potatoes "yams" since colonial times when Africans saw familiarities in them to the tuberous variety. The USDA decided to label them as "yams" to differentiate the two varieties. Both varieties of sweet potato, including "yams" can be widely found in supermarket.

Yams (family Dioscoreaceae) are native to Africa and Asia and other tropical regions. Yams are starchy tubers that have an almost black bark-like skin and white, purple or reddish flesh and come in many varieties. The tubers can be as small as regular potatoes or grow upwards of five feet long.

The word yam comes from an African word, which means "to eat." The yam holds great importance as a foodstuff because it keeps for a long time in storage and is very valuable during the wet season, when food is scarce. For eating, yams are typically peeled, boiled and mashed or dried and ground into a powder that can be cooked into a porridge. Yams can be found in international markets, such as those that specialize in Caribbean foods."

 

Baked Sweet Potatoes/YAMS!!!

(Adapted from America's Test Kitchen - The New Best Recipe)

Note: This recipe is for the moist, orange-fleshed varieties of sweet potatoes that generally show up in supermarkets. You can cook up to 6 potatoes at one time without altering the cooking time. Buying potatoes of the same size is a good idea because it standarizes cooking time. As with regular baked potatoes, we find it best to open the baked sweet potatoes as wide as possible so that steam can quickly escape; this ensures that the flesh is fluffy rather than dense.

4 small sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs), scrubbed and lightly pricked with a fork

2 Tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

Salt

1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat the oven to  400 degrees. Rub the potatoes with the oil, then arrange them on a baking sheet as far apart as possible.

2. Bake until a knife tip slips easily into the center of a potato, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and pierce them with a fork to create a dotted X on the top of each potato. Press in at the ends of each sweet potato to push the flesh up and out. Season with salt and serve immediately.

 

 

Pan Seared Salmon (from America's Test Kitchen, The New Best Recipe)

Olive Oil, Salt, and Peppa! Whodathunkit?!!!

It's been almost a year since I broke up with butter and any other such foods  so decadently delicious. Long gone are the reduction sauces laced with vermouth or sherry, with the obligatory 1/2 stick of butter making any forkful of food melt in your mouth.  Gone too, are the luscious mounds of handmade, triple creme artisanal cheeses I used to slather all over great big chunks of freshly baked bread. They have been replaced with their more staid cousins like ghee (think butter, without its gooey, romantic side) and gluten free bread (a pitiful, ersatz version that tastes nothing like the lusty french loaves I used to devour.)

I don't think I will ever really stop grieving over lost loves, but I have learned to live without them for the time being. Olive oil, salt and pepper, believe it or not, can make alot of foods taste amazingly good.  Below is a dish I found in America's Test Kitchen, The New Best Recipe - my go to cookbook.

P.S. Don't let the instructions scare you. Just read them through and then go for it. Every time you make this dish you will get better and better at judging when the fish is done to your liking. :0)

Cooks Illustrated Pan Seared Salmon

 

Serves 4

 

Note: With the addition of the fish fillets, the pan temperature drops. Compensate for the heat loss by keeping the heat on high for 30 seconds after adding the fillets to the pan. If cooking 2 or 3 fillets instead of the full recipe of 4, use a 10 inch skillet and medium-high heat for both preheating the pan and cooking the salmon. A splatter screen helps reduce the mess of pan-searing. Serve salmon with a fresh salsa or lemon or lime wedges.

 

 

4 center-cut salmon fillets, 1 1/4 inches thick (about 6 ounces each) pinbones removed

Salt and ground black pepper

1 tsp canola or vegetable oil

 

1. Heat a 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat for 3 minutes. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper to taste.

 

2. Add the oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom. When the oil shimmers (but does not smoke), add the fillets skin-side down and cook, without moving, until the pan regains lost heat, about 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium-high; continue to cook until the skin side is well browned and the bottom half of the fillets turn opaque, 4 1/2  minutes. Turn the fillets and cook, without moving them, until they are no longer translucent on the exterior and are firm, but not hard, when gently squeezed: 3 minutes for medium-rare and 3 1/2 minutes for medium. Remove the fillets from the pan to a platter and let stand for 1 minute. Pat the fillets with paper towels to absorb excess fat, if desired. Serve immediately.