Vegetables? Dessert? I Don't Care Which, Because It's Delish... Yam & Banana Casserole

Banana and Yam Casserole... warm & golden & perfection

Miss A and I actually made this for the first time the week before Thanksgiving, but it's a delicious vegetable/dessert for any time or any holiday.  On a chilly Saturday, I woke up and didn't hear Miss A stirring--so I turned on my TV and went straight to The Food Network and discovered some new recipes to try.  I was watching a show I'd never seen before (it turned out to be "Mexican Made Easy" with Marcela Valladolid) and this recipe was on.  I'm not quite sure how this is Mexican, but I didn't care and I knew Miss A wouldn't either.  As I was squealing my way into her room, bursting with excitement, I had already started planning how we were going to make it that day!  We both got way too excited when we found this recipe online, so I think it's a must-share.  

Plus, we had sweet potatoes last night (from Boston Market, not my favorite) and my Grandma LOVED them; she must have said it 4 times over the course of dinner how delicious they were.  Ding ding ding... that way my cue to make MY sweet potato and banana casserole to get EXTRA brownie points with Helen!  And even if I don't, I can show her FAFK and attempt to explain what a blog is; I have a feeling that she wouldn't understand it anyway.

YAM and BANANA CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, for greasing the baking dish
1 1/2 pounds yams, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1-inch thick slices*
5 ounces (about 32) sweetened round crackers (recommended: Maria Crackers),** or graham crackers
3/4 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
4 large ripe (but firm) bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise
1 (10.5-ounce) bag of mini marshmallows
*I used sweet potatoes.
**I settled for the graham crackers because I couldn't find the Maria crackers at our local Teeter, but I bet if you checked out The Fresh Market, Trader Joe's, or World Market they'd probably have them.


PREPARATION:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat the bottom of a 13"x9"x2" glass baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter.  Set the dish aside for later.

If you're using fresh yams (I used sweet potatoes): add the yams to a heavy medium pot and cover with cold water.  Bring the water to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes (the color of the yams will turn brighter).  FYI: When I made it in November, it took the sweet potatoes A LOT longer than 10 minutes (more like 18 minutes) for them to be tender, probably because they were on the big side.  You can check to see if they're done by using a fork to test them (if the fork goes in fairly easily, they're done).

After 1 layer of  bananas, yams, streusel, and marshmallows, then repeat. 

While the yams are simmering, put the crackers, almonds, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine until coarse but not fully ground.  Add 6 tablespoons butter and pulse until the mixture forms lumps slightly larger than peas.  Another FYI: I don't have a food processor and thought I could use a blender and it'd be just fine--WRONG.  It wasn't terrible, but was definitely a fail.  The almonds kept jamming the blade and the butter retained most of its shape and never mixed well.  I ended up using a spoon like a mortar and pestle to crush/blend/mix the streusel.  ANYWHO... Refrigerate the streusel topping until you're ready to use it.

My attempt at the streusel

Spread half of the bananas and yams in 1 layer in the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle with half of the streusel and half of the marshmallows. Repeat to make 1 more layer. Bake until the marshmallows are golden, about 25 minutes and SERVE WARM!

Starting layer 2...

This was utterly delicious and certainly sweet--a great dish to make if you have a sweet tooth craving, but be wary if you don't.  Look at those golden brown marshmallows... mmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

The finished deliciousness

Happy Christmas Eve from Florida!

Not Quite a White Christmas, but a Florida Christmas Will Do

I know I've been a little M.I.A. and I'm sorry... apparently the Holidays are CRAZY and stressful once you're a big girl!  


But I've left chilly NC for a warmer climate; now I'm in Naples, Florida visiting my Grandma Helen (my mom's mom).  I like to call her "Pocket Grandma" because she's so little--she's probably 4'8"ish with all the the shrinking that comes along with being a grandma!  

Christmas a few years ago - that's Helen in the middle making us look tall!

Tonight we decorated the little area outside her door this evening and went on a little Christmas lights tour for Grandma to see them.  Everything's a little more magical with Helen around, because she's so appreciative of everything since she doesn't get out much anymore.


My grandma is absolutely A-DOR-A-BLE!  I've been searching for the perfect tacky Christmas sweater for a long time and have been a little down that neither of my grandmothers ever had true tacky sweaters.  BUT today I found a tacky Christmas sweatshirt in her closet and 3 things happened: 1) she didn't even know she had it and asked if it was mine, 2) she thought it looked so darling on me, and 3) she told me I should have it, although it might be a little outdated!  Gotta love her.

My new tacky sweatshirt! And yes, those are sand dollars
on the bottom, not snowflakes!  SO Florida!

The food around the Holidays are always DE-lish; we have a Christmas Eve swordfish dinner planned (one of Helen's favorites) and then dinner in the "Dining Room" (the retirement community's dining room) on Christmas Day -- and it's a buffet!  Swordfish is certainly one of my dad's specialties and I will absolutely have to share some recipes from tomorrow and photos.  My mouth is already watering thinking about the BJBC I get to make tomorrow (for all of you that don't think in acronyms 24/7 because of your job like I do, that is a Baby Jesus Birthday Cake) to celebrate the real reason for Christmas!  It is a Southern tradition, similar to the New Orleans Mardi Gras King Cake, with a little twist from us.  I'm thinking an angel food layer cake with raspberry preserve center layer and fresh whipped cream for frosting, with a few fresh raspberries on top too!

The ORIGINAL BJBC (2 years ago)

Can't wait to share all of the holiday feasts (and failures) with you!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!!

Mac Monday: Essential Study (or Work) Snacks

...or for those of you that aren't lucky enough to still be in school:

Essential Work Snacks

Sorry to disappoint you all, but I don’t have a recipe to share this week.  Since it is the end of the semester, I have been bogged down (sadly not blogged down) with quite a bit of work.  I have the pleasure of writing one paper on property tax reform and its effect on education finance in the 1970s, 2 papers on Caribbean history, a presentation about the medically under-served population in West Virginia, AND 2 tests -- I'm studying for a test on the Classical tradition in America and one on the French Revolution.   I know, it sounds like a blast... Want to help?  Because of all of this, I thought it'd be more appropriate to share some of my study snacks and tips that help make all this work a little more bearable. 

Tip #1: How to avoid the caffeine crash after a cup of coffee or energy drink.

Energy drinks and coffee are great for helping you focus when you have to stay up late for some last minute studying or to finish up a paper. However, most people feel like they only have short bursts of energy and focus; they eventually have a caffeine/sugar crash and lose their energy.  This is because of the high amounts of sugar and caffeine in energy drinks and coffee.  Your body has to work hard to digest these materials, which contributes to the crash you feel a few hours after drinking them.  Digesting sugar and caffeine dehydrates your body and make you tired and sleepy.  If you drink a couple glasses of water (I set my sights on finishing an entire Nalgene bottle) after finishing your coffee or energy drink, you will stay awake and focused much longer and avoid getting the jitters.  The only negative side effect is that you might need to run to the bathroom more often than you would like!

Tip #2: Healthy snacks will keep you going.

Personally, I love to snack while studying.  Potato chips, or some chips and salsa are an awesome snack to have while studying.  However if you plan on studying for several hours at a time, snacking on these can rack up quite the calorie count.  I discovered that carrot chips and sliced cucumbers are a much healthier snack and they help to keep you hydrated (which helps with the dehydration from the energy drinks and coffee).  Another nice bonus is that these snacks are not greasy so you won’t get your keyboard or notes dirty while studying. 

Tip #3: The right music makes all the difference.

I know this study tip has nothing to do with this blog but it is something that I have found to be key to successful studying.  If you study in a library or your dorm/apartment then you will almost always have some random background noise to annoy you.  Throughout the semester you should make one playlist for when you study and only listen to that playlist.  Make it songs that you don’t usually listen to and it is helpful if they don’t have works, or the words are in a language you don’t know.  This helps so that you don’t sing along.  Every time you study throughout the semester you should only listen to that playlist.  This way you train your brain to focus when you hear that playlist. If you always start with the same song, when you hear that song you will snap into a focused state and hit the ground running when you study.  I personally like to start off with Andrea Bocelli’s Con te Partio (one of my sister's FAVORITES too) and follow it up with Andrés Segovia’s classical guitar. 

I hope most of you are at the point in life where you no longer need to deal with the stress of finals and can use these tips for work.  But if you're like me and stuck in the misery of finals week, these tips should make it a little bit more bearable.  I’ll be back next week with a fun and tasty recipe for you to try out.  And if you're really crunched for time and desperate, wear a Camelback while you study.

Until then cook what you love, love what you eat, and good luck with finals.  

Twinnies PAR-TAY: Perfect Party Appetizers

The birthday twins plus some other Davidson soccer girls - all reunite to celebrate!

So we had a little party last weekend for my two favorite twinnies, Miss A and Miss L!  It being their 24th birthday, we decided to go all out!  We had every type of liquor needed for any drink we could possibly want (including Woo Woos... which were A-Mazing!), plenty of cheese and appetizers to entertain our 25 guests!

We got three cheeses for a cheese plate, including our favorite English cheese, Sturminster, which is cheddar-like with chive in it---delicious!!  We also got a yummy aged blue cheese from Wisconsin and a goat cheese that we dressed-up with a little cranberry and pomegranate chutney (by Stonewall Kitchen). Everything was wonderful!  We had Carr's cracked black pepper crackers and some whole grain crackers too (I like the Carr's better).  

The best thing we did for this party was make little tiny signs on toothpicks so our guests could know what cheese their trying--plus it was an adorable personal touch!

In addition to our cheese plate, Miss L herself made a baked brie amazingness--and it's just about the easiest thing to make!  It's a wedge of brie cheese, a jar of tomatillo sauce and paprika on top (we did it in a seasonal mitten shape)!  It's simple and somehow irresistible!  One of our friends practically ate the whole thing himself it was so delicious!

To balance out our cheese feast, we made a crudité (which is simply a french appetizer of raw vegetables with a vinaigrette or other dressing to dip into).  We simply got a Hidden Valley Ranch powder mix (in the salad dressing aisle) that's especially for mixing with sour cream for veggie dip.  The veggies are also great with a Greek tzatziki dip (we had both options).  Crudités are also great because they can bring some much needed color to an otherwise bland appetizer display.

And our final appetizer offered for finger food is one of my absolute favorite recipes that I learned while catering with Missy Fink, Inc. throughout high school and into early college.  Missy is just about the coolest boss and friend I could ever have and she's a darn good cook too!  I asked for her famous shrimp and cilantro recipes and recreated it to the best of my ability.  It wasn't as perfect as it would have been if Missy had made it, but they were all eaten by the end of the party! 

Shrimp can be understandably daunting, but this recipe is really easy (notice a theme for our appetizer selections?).  I bought 2 bags of frozen shrimp, but I chose the pre-cooked, tail-off, and de-veined kind to simplify the process even more.  These puppies were simply skewered with short wooden skewers and placed on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil.  Drizzle them (fairly generously) with a good olive oil, and add freshly ground salt and pepper.  Put them in the oven (pre-heated to 350 degrees) for 6 minutes (or until pink) and voile!  Done and done!  There's a great cilantro salad dressing dip you can get at Trader Joe's that I simply spruced up with some extra sour cream (on Missy's recommendation of course) and a simple, yet ready-to-impress appetizer was ready!

Our final display was festive with a Christmas tree on the table and Christmas lights wrapped around the base of it.  Nearly all of the food was eaten (thankfully), so I guess we did something right!

Parties are my favorite excuse to find new recipes and foods to share with friends and this party was no different.  Don't get overwhelmed with thinking anything impressive will be hard to prepare -- I did all of this (with a little help from my girls) in just over 1 hour!

Happy Sunday!  I'm flying to NYC for work on Tuesday, so I have a feeling my week's schedule is going to be quite disrupted.  I do get to see my mom on her birthday though (yay), so no matter how much I'm slacking with posts, I'll still be a happy camper this week!

Excited for Mac Monday tomorrow...

Hooray for Mac Monday: Irish Beef Stew (a Mac original!)

A few weeks back I was looking for a good beef stew recipe to do for Mac Monday, but none
of the recipes I found online really piqued any interest.  While home for thanksgiving, I talked
to two of my uncles, both of whom you could call "culinary experts."  They gave me the basic
rundown on how to make beef stew, but they reminded me that the great part about beef stews
is that there is not one right way to make it; you can make it differently every time and it will
still turn out great!

The crazy McCormick's... somehow all great cooks!

So I took their advice and gave beef stew a shot.  The following recipe is what resulted and I think it turned out pretty good.  However, considering I have been eating beef stew since Friday with no end in sight, I can safely say that I did make a little bit too much.  I looked at the recipe on the back of the canned beef broth for some basic ideas on how long each step of the cooking should take, but then I just improvised the rest of the way.


Ingredients:
Serves: 8-12
2 lbs of beef, chopped into 1 inch cubes
4 potatoes
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped onions
6 cloves of garlic, crushed and pealed
4 cans of beef broth
2 12 oz. bottle of Guinness draught
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Parsley
Vegetable oil


Preparation:
In a really big pot, most likely the biggest one you have, (sorry I don’t know how big exactly
mine is because it is one I inherited from the people who lived in my apartment before me) cover
the bottom with a thin coating of vegetable oil and place it over medium heat.  
Then add the crushed garlic.  While the garlic begins to cook, place the meat into a large mixing bowl. 
Add a few generous pinches of salt, pepper, thyme and parsley and stir until they are evenly spread out on the beef.
Add the beef to the pot and stir frequently until the meat is browned on all sides, about 20 minutes. 
There should be little bits of beef starting to stick to the pot before you add the liquids. 
Once the beef is browned add 1 bottle of Guinness and then the beef broth. 
Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for 90 minutes. 
Add some additional thyme if you are feeling adventurous. 
After the 90 minutes of simmering, stir in the potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. 
Add in the 2nd bottle of Guinness. 
Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. 
Let the stew boil for about 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through (the potatoes are the key). 
Add any additional salt and pepper to the broth based upon your personal taste, but remember it is always better to under season rather than over season. 
You can always season your individual serving to your taste. Now comes the best part, serve and enjoy!

A little grainy, but you can still tell it's delicious!

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is an easy way to have a nice warm and hearty meal in the winter
time. Remember, cook what you love, and love what you eat.

Guess what I'm drinking tonight...

So we're having a little festive PAR-TAY tonight for Miss A and Miss L and guess what the signature drink is...

WOO WOOs!

Did You Know... A 101 Lesson on Random Food Facts

Here are a few random, yet fascinating facts about food.  Many are bizarre, some are gross, but ALL are strangely fascinating...


DID YOU KNOW
...that milk chocolate was invented by Daniel Peter, who sold the concept to his neighbor Henri Nestlé?


...TIP is the acronym for "To Insure Promptness"?


...there are more than 10,000 varieties of tomatoes and botanically speaking, a tomato is a fruit?


...the can opener was invented 48 years(!) after cans were introduced?



...carrots have ZERO fat?


...France exports 140 million bottles of champagne each year, but keep 180 million bottles for themselves?


...an onion, apple, and potato all have the SAME TASTE?  The differences in flavor are caused by their smell!


...Americans eat 2x as much meat as Europeans (about 110lb per capita)?


...China uses about 45 BILLION chopsticks each year?  That's about 25 million trees worth of chopsticks!


...Pepsi-Cola was invented by Caleb Bradham in 1890 as "Brad's Drink" as a digestive aid and energy booster?  8 years later, it was renamed Pepsi-Cola.


...watermelons, lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots are composed of over 90% water?  (That's 97% for watermelons and lettuce, 95% tomatoes, and 90% for carrots.)



...tea was supposedly discovered in 2737 BC(!) by a Chinese emperor?  Apparently some tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water.


...to make 2.2 pounds of honey, bees have to travel a distance equal to 4 times around the earth to visit about 4 million flowers?  (Thanks goodness for LOTS of bees!)


...in 1994 an artist from Chicago sent David Letterman a statue of Madonna, made of 180lb of ham?


...about 1 BILLION snails are served each year in restaurants?  I know it's considered a delicacy when served as "Escargot," but I can't help it... EEW!




And finally, a few things you probably didn't know about caffeine and coffee.


Did you know that... coffee is the seed of a cherry from a tree?  (The tree genus Coffea produces the cherry, hence the term coffee... logical.)

An Indonesian coffea tree with cherries
(the beans are inside!)

...that 1 cup of coffee has about 115mg of caffeine, but a caffeinated soda typically has between 23-36mg of caffeine?  1oz of chocolate has about 20mg and tea about 40mg.


So the best early morning stimulant... err, pick-me-up, is coffee!  And if you're drinking a soda for the caffeine boost, you might as well eat a chocolate bar!




Happy Random Fact Friday (with a little bit of Thursday mixed in for a 101 lesson!)


Today I get to celebrate Miss A's and her twin sister Miss L's birthday... party food recommendations & recipes, yummy drink ideas, and mouth-watering baked goods to come!!