God Bless the USA

If you have not been to Vegas, these are the Fountains at the Bellagio. They play music with a water show of the fountains. It is truly spectacular. Make time to see it if you get the chance to go there.

Life on a Train

Cooking

I love to cook. I know....everyone says that, but I truly do. It is like therapy for me. Some people like digging in their garden, pulling weeds, some like yoga, or computing. But there is nothing I would rather be doing than cooking.

It gives me great satisfaction to cook for my family and get accolades for my efforts. They are rarely home to eat these days but when they are I treasure the moments.

So weekends I usually cook up a lot of stuff....so that we have food during the busy week ahead. I have tried some recipies that are really amazing this weekend (and some that were just ok) and so I decided to post them on my blog. Now I realize there are about a ba-zillion food/cooking/recipe/diet related blogs and websites out there...but I figured what the hay....no one looks at mine. So what's the harm. And at least I'll have a place to go back and refresh my memory on what I did with a particular recipe. So if by chance you do happen upon my blog and find one of these recipes...then good for you. Because, I have tried them in my very own kitchen and with my very own hard-to-please teenagers and young adult children. And the recipes posted will have been a hit or will say if they are at least edible.

So Here goes:

SWEET POTATO PANCAKES WITH SPICED PECANS AND PEACH BUTTER

This is, without a doubt,one of the best recipies I've ever tried. With or without the spiced pecans or the peach butter (although, I highly recommend the peach butter, yummo!) the pancakes are delicious. You can eat them with just plain maple syrup, or alone with nothing at all. Yes! They are just that good. They take a little work but the extra effort is worth it, cause they are light and fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth-delicious. I made up a whole batch and froze them. We'll see how they freeze. This recipe gets high marks in my book. You should try it.

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups buttermilk (I used more to thin the batter out some)
3 large eggs (room temperature)
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 large sweet potato baked and mashed
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Spiced Pecans
Peach Butter

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In small bowl separate the eggs, reserving the whites to fold in later. In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, the 3 egg yolks, and melted butter. Whisk in the cooled mashed sweet potato & the honey. Add dry ingredients to buttermilk mixture and mix well. With a mixer beat egg whites until white peaks form, about 2 min. Then gently fold egg whites into the pancake batter. Let batter stand for 1 hour. (Or you can make it a day ahead of time and cook the next morning). Laddle the batter onto med hot griddle and cook till golden on each side serve immediately with peach butter and spiced pecans.

PEACH BUTTER
1/2 cup peaches diced
1/2 lb butter softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
Pinch sea salt
In medium combine ingredients and mix well until smooth. Cover and refridgerate until ready to serve.

SPICED PECANS
1 cup Pecans, chopped
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon honey
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
Heat a Skillet ove medium heat. Add all ingredients and cook until the pecans are lightly brown caramelized, about 8-10 min. Remove from heat, cool, store in airtight container.