Vegetables Index: 2019 Edition

The Index is a vital part of this project.  Since I started this project with the 2006 edition, some of the blogs linked are from that edition and I'm not guaranteeing that there have been no changes at all.  You can ask, though, and I probably know the answer.  Starred items are new in the 2019 edition (or at least they weren't in the 2006 version) and ^ are recipes that have a visible change--some have a more descriptive name, some are combined, fairly minor changes.

Look for the "Index 2019" keyword to get to the newer version, "Round 1" to get the original version of the index.

**DISCLAIMER** IF THESE ARE RECIPES THAT WERE IN BOTH THE 2006 EDITION AND THE 2019 EDITION AND I MADE THEM IN ROUND 1, IT'S POSSIBLE THERE ARE MINOR DIFFERENCES.

If you found this page on Google because you were searching for a specific recipe that isn't linked, make sure to search for it. I'm usually several months behind updating the indexes.

My thoughts on the update at the bottom.

Vegetables dishes:
Number of recipes: 246
Number of recipes in the 2019 edition previously made: 54 or 22%

*Basic vegetable stir-fry
*Vegetable breakfast hash
Glazed root vegetables
Root vegetable puree
Root vegetable braise
*Battered and deep fried vegetables I: Pakora
**Battered and deep fried vegetables II: Tempura
*Battered and deep fried vegetables III: Beer-battered
Vegetables ala Grecque
Ratatouille provencale
*Vegetable Tian
^Vegetable tagine (formerly "Moroccan-style vegetable stew")
*Steamed artichokes I: whole
*Steamed artichokes II: halved or quartered
*Garlic braised artichokes I: halved
*Garlic braised artichokes II: trimmed, store-bought artichoke
*Stuffed artichokes alla Romana
*Fried artichokes I: Artichoke hearts and baby artichokes
*Fried artichokes II: Roman Jewish-style fried artichokes
Braised baby artichokes and peas
^Asparagus I (three recipes are now combined into one)
Roasted asparagus
Stir-fried asparagus
Asparagus with orange and hazelnuts
^Steamed or boiled green beans (formerly "green beans")
*Roasted green beans
^Green bean casserole II (used to be in two recipes, now combined)
^Braised green beans I: with pork and potatoes (was Green beans, potatoes, and smoked meat)
^Braised green beans II: with onions, tomatoes, and dill (was Green beans with onions, tomatoes, and dill)
*Sichuan-style dry-fried beans
*Braised lima beans
*Wanda's stewed cranberry beans
*Baghali Ghatogh (Iranian fava bean stew with eggs)
^Roman style fava beans (reworded in new edition)
*Frijoles de la olla
Tuscan beans
*Ful medames (simmered fava beans)
*Falafel: fried (these were in the sandwich chapter in the 2006 edition, I think)
*Falafel: baked
*Feijoada (Brazilian black bean stew)
Refried beans (frijoles refritos)
*Jamaican stew peas
*Baked beans: dried beans
*Baked beans II: canned beans
*Cassoulet
Red beans and rice
Black-eyed peas and greens
*Chana masala (tomato-chickpea curry)
^Simmered lentils (combined three recipes into one)
^Dal (Indian lentil stew) I
Dal (Indian lentil stew) II: Dal tadka (with fried spices)
Braised lentils with sausage
^Steamed or boiled beets (now it's steamed or simmered beets)
Baked or roasted beets
Megan's beets with goat cheese
Beets with their greens
Steamed broccoli
*Roasted broccoli
*Broccoli cakes
Broccoli cheese casserole
Garlic-braised broccoli rabe
*Roasted Brussels sprouts
^Braised Brussels sprouts with chestnuts (slight name change)
Becker brussels sprouts
*Brussels sprouts gratin
*Kinpira Gobo (Japanese braised burdock and carrots)
*Sauteed cabbage I with bacon and herbs
*Sauteed cabbage II with chiles and fried spices
^Cabbage with potatoes and ham (renamed from Cabbage, potatoes, and ham)
Stir-fried bok choy with mushrooms
*Roasted cabbage wedges with yogurt sauce
*Cabbage gratin
Braised red cabbage
*Braised sauerkraut
*Sauerkraut fritters
*Okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancakes)
Stuffed cabbage rolls I: Hearty meat-rice filling
*Stuffed cabbage rolls II: Vegetarian filling
Roasted cactus pad salad
*Simmered cardoons
Glazed carrots
Roasted carrots
*Charred carrots
*Roasted cauliflower wedges
*Roasted cauliflower with green olives and lemon
*Tandoori cauliflower
*Cauliflower with brown butter bread crumbs
^Creamy mashed cauliflower (previously Mashed cauliflower)
Scalloped cauliflower
*Aloo Gobi (curried cauliflower and potatoes)
*Gobi Manchurian (Indian-Chinese fried cauliflower))
*Stir-fried celery
Baked celery root
^Boiled chestnut (combined from two recipes to one)
*Chestnut compote
Belgian endive au gratin
*Grilled treviso with sauce gribiche
*Utica greens (spicy baked escarole)
Braised radicchio

Corn on the cob

Grilled or roasted corn

Elotes (Mexican grilled corn)

Sauteed corn 
Creamed corn
Corn pudding
Cheese-chili corn squares
Succotash
Fresh corn fritters

Roasted whole eggplant

*Roasted eggplant II: Halves or slices

*Miso-glazed eggplant
Fried eggplant 
Eggplant parmigiana
*Rolled stuffed eggplant
Moussaka

*Braised fennel

*Grilled fennel and tomatoes with olives and basil

Roasted garlic I: whole oven-roasted heads

*Roasted garlic II: quick pan-roasted garlic cloves

*Garlic confit

*Garlic chips

Southern-style greens
*Wilted tender greens
*Creamed Spinach
*Spinach with pine nuts and raisins
^Braised greens with garlic (formerly sauteed greens with garlic
*Gumbo z'herbes
*Spinach pakoras
*Sauteed shredded collard greens
*Palak paneer (curried spinach with fresh cheese)
Braised leeks
^Melted leeks (formerly Creamy leeks)
Leeks vinaigrette
*Leek gratin
*Grilled leeks with Romesco sauce
*Glamorgan sausages (Vegetarian leek and cheese "sausages")
Sauteed mushrooms
Creamed mushrooms
*Champignones al ajillo (garlicky Spanish-style mushrooms)
Mushroom ragout

*Roasted mushrooms

*Mushroom bacon

Grilled mushrooms

Duxelles
*Mushroom confit
*Okra and tomato stew
Fried okra
*Bhindi kurkuri (crispy Indian-style fried okra)
Sauteed onions
Caramelized onions I: Traditional
*Caramelized onions II: Quick
Creamed pearl onions
*Onion rings I: Battered
*Onion rings II: Breaded
*Crispy fried shallots
Grilled sweet onions
Oven- or fire-baked whole onions I
Oven- or fire-baked whole onions II
*Roasted shallots
^Baked onions stuffed with spinach and sausage (slightly different name)
*Korean green onion pancake
*Parsnip-cheese gratin
^Braised garden peas (formerly Green peas)
Stir-fried snow peas
Peas with prosciutto and onions
*Pea and ricotta toasts
Roasted peppers I: Broiled or grilled
*Roasted peppers II: Pan-roasted
*Roasted peppers III: Torched
Stuffed bell peppers
*Rajas con crema (creamy roasted poblano strips)
*Charred shishito or padron peppers
^Chiles rellenos (formerly Baked chiles rellenos with cheese)
*Roasted plantains
Fried plantains I: Tostones
^Fried plantains II: Pan-fried (formerly "Golden sauteed plantain slices"
Boiled potatoes (pommes anglaise)
Mashed potatoes
^Colcannon (Mashed potatoes with cabbage and scallions)
*Mashed potato casserole for a crowd
*Pan-fried mashed potato cakes
*Potatoes au gratin (scalloped potatoes)
Baked potatoes
Twice-baked potatoes
Duchess potatoes
*Roasted potatoes
*Hasselback potatoes
*Creamy smashed potatoes
Pommes Anna
*Potato kugel
Panfried or lyonnaise potatoes

Hash brown potatoes

^Latkes (Potato pancakes)
*Potatoes rosti
Souffleed or puffed potatoes
French fries I: Double-fried
French fries II: Cold start
French fries III: Shoestring
*Jojos (fried potato wedges)
Oven "French-fried" potatoes
^Radishes with green onion (formerly "Red radishes with scallions")
*Peas and radishes with miso butter
Salsify with herbs
Sauteed summer squash
Summer squash casserole
*Baked stuffed zucchini
*Louisiana-style chayote
*Zucchini fans
Baked or roasted winter squash I: Whole
Baked or roasted winter squash II: Large pieces (formerly "Baked winter squash II")
Baked or roasted winter squash III: Slices and small chunks
Mashed winter squash
Baked butternut squash stuffed with sausage and apples
*Pumpkin curry
Squash blossoms stuffed with cheese and herbs
*Sunchokes in garlic butter
*Crispy roasted sunchokes
Mashed sweet potatoes
*Sweet potato pudding
Twice-baked sweet potatoes I
Candied sweet potatoes
^Sweet potatoes fries (formerly Deep-fried sweet potatoes)
Sweet potato and peanut stew
Poi
Stewed tomatoes or tomatoes Creole
Fried green tomatoes
Tomatoes provencale
Broiled tomatoes
Slow-roasted tomatoes
Scalloped tomatoes
Hot stuffed tomatoes
*Braised turnips with leeks and bacon
Yuca with citrus and garlic
*Mapo dofu (Sichuan-style tofu)
*Tofu scramble
*Agedashi tofu
*Crispy panfried tofo
*Baked marinated tofu
*Sambal goreng tempeh
*Seasoned tempeh crumbles
*Caramelized tamarind tempeh
^Meatless dinner loaf (formerly "Tex-mex style dinner loaf")
*Seitan
*Kung pao seitan
*Pecan and cheddar "sausage" patties


Uncored artichokes
Artichoke hearts I
Artichoke hearts II
Stuffed artichokes
Green beans with an addition
Green bean casserole I
Stir-fried yard-long beans
Lima beans I
Lima beans II
Lima beans and mushrooms
Stir-fried bean sprouts
Boiled beans
Vegetarian chili
Caribbean red bean stew with pork
Baked beans
Baked beans with bacon
Mashed fava beans
Brazilian black beans
Curried chickpeas with vegetables
Oven-roasted chickpeas --moved to Appetizers 
Sweet-and-sour (Harvard) beets
Beets in sour cream
Breadfruit I
Breadfruit II
Breadfruit III
Deep-fried broccoli
Broccoli stir-fry
Sauteed cabbage
Burdock
Cabbage
Creamed cabbage
Stir-fried napa cabbage and carrots
Sauerkraut
Cardoons
Carrots
Carrot puree
Carrots vichy
Braised carrots
Steamed cauliflower
Cauliflower and potato curry
Celery
Steamed celery root
Mashed celery root
Boiled chayote
Louisiana-style chayote
Souffleed corn pudding
Dee's corn and tomato salad--moved to Salads chapter
Cooked cucumbers
Baked eggplant slices
Eggplant relish (caponata)--moved to Appetizer chapter
Roasted fennel
Boiled spinach
Creamed spinach I
Creamed spinach II
Wilted spinach
Panned or Sicilian spinach
Saag paneer
Kale and potato gratin
Beet greens
Sauteed milkweed pods
Kohlrabi I
Kohlrabi II
Braised lettuce
Stir-fried lotus root
Becker portobello pizzas
Deep-fried mushrooms
Broiled stuffed mushroom caps
Becker duxelles
Stewed okra
Steamed onions
Scalloped onions with cheese
French-fried onion rings
Deep-fried parsley
Oven-braised parsnips
French parsnips
Glazed parsnips
Parsnip puree
Puree of peas
Peas and carrots
Peas and mushrooms
Green peppers and onions
Bell peppers stuffed with rice
Plantains I
Plantains II
Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)
Boiled new potatoes
Riced potatoes (potato snow)
Leftover potato cakes
Chantilly potatoes
Creamed potatoes
Scalloped potatoes I
Scalloped potatoes II
Au gratin potatoes
Browned or franconia potatoes
Pan-broiled grated potatoes
Never-fail french fries
Shoestring potatoes
Potato croquettes
Leftover German-fried potatoes
Leftover potatoes o'brien
Leftover au gratin potatoes
Boiled rutabaga
Rutabaga puree
Steamed summer squash
Stuffed baked summer squash
Deep-fried zucchini
Mashed winter squash I
Mashed winter squash II
Baked acorn squash with pear and apple
Boiled sweet potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes and apples
Taro cakes
Tomatoes creole
Cooked turnips
Braised turnips
Turnip puree
Stir-fried water chestnuts
Tofu or soybean curd
Tofu burgers
Tofu salad
Moo shu tempeh
Szechuan-style "hacked" tempeh
Seitan
Root vegetable and seitan stew

Thoughts on changes:  Mostly, makes sense.  A lot of them were worked into the introduction.  Only a few of the cut recipes were really good although the milkweed recipe blog is one of my favorites.

Thanksgiving 2012 Post 1: Brussels sprouts with chestnuts (p. 261), Root vegetable puree (p. 245), and Creamed cabbage (p. 263)

So, I realize I've been the worst blogger ever and I greatly apologize!  I will catch up on old blog posts (I'm over a year behind--honestly, I haven't even blogged about Thanksgiving 2011 but I will!).  I thought I would post new posts while sprinkling in the old posts.  And I'm going to schedule these to post in a row, even if I write them all in the same day, so check back.

As most of you know, I'm running out of "normal" Thanksgiving foods to cook because I've already made them.  So I've taken to only making the side dishes, the stuffing, and the bread out of TJOC.  This years I made three vegetable side dishes.

Brussels sprouts (and yep, there is an s at the end of Brussels) are something most people are sure they hate, even if they've never eaten one.  They really aren't as bad as people think--they are cabbagey but not as strong and are absolutely amazing with butter and a little garlic and salt. So, strangely, it wasn't the Brussels sprouts that were my problem with Brussels sprouts with chestnuts (p. 261), it was the chestnuts.  I had never eaten a chestnut before and had no idea if I was going to like them or not.

The recipe was simple.  I melted butter and added 4 halved shallots (that seemed strange to me--I mean, you usually chop or slice them but only halving them?  And if you are going to half them, don't you think you'd use more?) and peeled chestnuts (I used the vacuum packaged ones, I didn't want to go through the trouble of peeling fresh chestnuts).

 

 I added the Brussels sprouts, chicken broth, a bay leaf, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper and cooked it all for about 15 minutes: 


So it turns out I don't like chestnuts, nor did anybody else at this Thanksgiving dinner. They were mealy and tasteless and an expensive waste.  Does anyone out there like chestnuts?  What are they supposed to taste like?  The Brussels sprouts were absolutely delicious though so I would make this recipe again without the chestnuts.

I've meant to make Root vegetable puree (p. 245) for quite  awhile.  I knew it would be a winner because it's essentially mashed potatoes with other stuff and I love mashed potatoes.  I mean, who doesn't love mashed potatoes?  And every time I make them I wonder why I don't make them more often because they are so easy.

So this recipe was also easy.  I boiled potatoes, added carrots to boil, and waited until they were super tender. 



When they were fork tender, I mashed them with a potato masher and mixed in cream, butter, salt, and pepper:

Delicious! Make sure you add LOTS of salt though, it really needed it.  This was creamy, delicious, heated up wonderfully the next day, and was beloved by all.  The best part was that the carrots made it seem more healthy than regular mashed potatoes and gave a little more flavor.  I really recommend this!  You can also use any other root veggie and I suspect that parsnips would give it a nice little peppery flavor.

My mother was in charge of the turkey this year.  She gave me a timeline of how long the turkey would take to cook.  Several of these dishes (the rolls [post forthcoming], the cabbage, the root veggie puree, the gravy, and the Creamed cabbage (p. 263)) needed to be done in the last hour and a half or so.  All of a sudden, way before expected, the turkey was done.  So I had to pound out all of these dishes while the turkey was sitting.  It was extremely stressful but I got it done!

Creamed cabbage isn't that popular anymore but, the few times I've had it, I've liked it.  The recipe was simple.  I boiled milk in a pan and added shredded cabbage.  TJOC recommends the cabbage is finely shredded, which it wasn't when I made the recipe, because I couldn't get it shredded finely.  If I was at home it wouldn't have been a problem (hooray for the salad shooter!) but I was at mom's house so I just did my best.

After a couple of minutes I dropped it into a white sauce and seasoned it with horseradish, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Caraway was sprinkled on top:



I expected this dish to be unpopular and it was but it was really good!  Because I was hurrying (or maybe because the cabbage wasn't actually shredded finely enough) it was pretty crisp still but I think that made it even better.  It wasn't particularly creamy, which is exactly the way I like it, and the caraway gave it a nice German flavor.

There will only be 3 blog posts for the 2012 Thanksgiving festivities but there was actually quite a bit of food.  We seem to have settled on a menu of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, 2 types of cranberries, 2 types of stuffing, green bean casserole, the 3 veggie dishes, and rolls.  And that's for about 6 people!

What did everybody else enjoy?  Do you keep it traditional?

Asparagus I (p. 249)

I make asparagus all the time. Even so, I haven't made most of the TJOC asparagus recipes (I usually just steam it). I decided to go ahead and make Asparagus I (p. 249).

I steamed the asparagus, like I normally do:



I always just snap off the ends. Josh always snaps off far more than I do (and my mom seems to throw away most of the asparagus!)--where do you guys consider the ends? Do you cut or snap?



I melted butter in a saucepan and added breadcrumbs. I cooked it for about a minute:



I sprinkled the breadcrumbs over the asparagus:



Believe it or not I loved it! The breadcrumbs were delicious on the asparagus! This is definitely an extremely easy way to improve an already delicious veggie. The breadcrumbs were pretty much delicious on everything they were sprinkled on.

Story time! Growing up I absolutely hated asparagus. HATED it. This was very unfortunate for my mother because asparagus was her favorite vegetable but I would not eat it. Somehow in the following years my tastes must have changed because when I tried it again at about 21 or so, I love it, and have loved it ever since. Have you ever had a food that you hated as a child but love as an adult?

Sauteed milkweed pods (p. 279)

Every now and then TJOC surprises me (usually in a bad way). Sometimes it's a weird ingredient, sometimes it's a bizarre cooking method, sometimes it's an strange piece of equipment. I honestly didn't know how I was ever going to make Sauteed milkweed pods (p. 279). I don't think milkweed pods are available in any grocery store (even the most esoteric of them) and the only recipes for them online appeared to be on survivalist websites. My main experience with milkweed pods was walking around with my childhood bestie Jennifer, pulling them off of our elementary school fence, and opening the pods so they spewed out their milky guts (I think we are probably responsible for a giant milkweed problem on our elementary school fence lines).

Rachel had taken it as her personal mission to help me figure this recipe out. She had spotted milkweeds while biking to work one day so she knew it was "milkweed season". When I got to Iowa, she "harvested" some milkweed pods off of random fences (sorry if we stole your milkweeds, Ames residents!). While reading up on milkweeds, I noticed that they are apparently jam packed with latex, to which I'm seriously allergic, so it's a really good thing I read the Wikipedia page and abstained!

The young milkweeds (they look like alien vegetables):



I boiled the pods for about five minutes (they made strange noises, so if they do that for you, don't be concerned)(what kind of weird noise? Sort of like a tire deflating).

In a skillet I heated some olive oil and added minced garlic, cooking until fragrant.



I added the milkweed pods, used a little salt and pepper, and cooked it all for a few more minutes. I added grated Parmesan:



Nobody really wanted to try this recipe but I kept pointing out that most things are good when cooked in olive oil and then seasoned with garlic and Parmesan, so the recipe was giving the milkweed pods the best chance they could have.

Rachel said that they were surprisingly good! She said they sort of tasted like zucchini and she would eat them again. My mom, who was seriously skeptical, even said the one she ate was good. So if you have milkweeds climbing up your fences, eat them! But make sure they are still young and tender.

Now I just have to find the rest of the strange stuff I need...

Root vegetable braise (p. 246) and Beer, cheese, and scallion bread (p. 629)

I think a lot of people probably pass right by Root vegetable braise (p. 246) because of...well...because of the root vegetables. They aren't your normal, everyday root veggies, like potatoes or carrots.

These root vegetables: Turnips, rutabaga, and celery root:



are just not as popular as potatoes and carrots. I decided to post a before and after shot because I figure not everyone even knows what they look like. Turnips and rutabaga can easily be peeled with a normal veggie peeler. Celery root is more of a pain. I just chop at it with a knife. The naked veggies:



I heated olive oil, butter, a bay leaf, and thyme in a stock pot (I was supposed to use a sprig of thyme but I didn't have any):



I added diced onions and cooked until they started to brown. I then added four large mushrooms (creminis, if you are interested) and some garlic:



It was all cooked for a few minutes and I added wine. After the wine had boiled down to a syrup, I added turnips, rutabaga, celery root, a little flour, and some salt, along with some chicken stock:



I simmered it all until tender:



I added a little Dijon mustard and heavy cream (TJOC's two favorite ingredients):



This is a great introduction to underutilized root vegetables. It was delicious and flavorful, although I would add a little more flour in the future, because I think it needed to be thicker. I think the braise would be great on couscous. It's mentioned that you could also add sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes), artichoke hearts, fennel, or salsify, so it's a great use for that stuff in your CSA box that you have no idea how to use.

On a whim, I decided to make Beer, cheese, and scallion bread (p. 629).

I mixed together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt:



I added in light beer (Miller High Life, if you were wondering, the Champagne of beers):



I stirred in finely diced Monterey Jack, sliced scallions, and caraway seeds and poured it in to a loaf pan:



It was popped in the oven:



I'll admit, I was doomed to not like this recipe. I don't like whole grain bread so those oats were going to be a problem. I particularly don't like whole wheat. And this bread was plenty whole-grainy, so for those of you who like that, this bread will probably be a winner. It also had a heavy, heavy, heavy beer taste that I didn't particularly love either. On top of all that, it seemed sort of salty to me.

Random facts:

• Beer bread is based on the idea that both beer and bread have a common element in yeast (Wikipedia)
• Miller High Life is considered the "Champagne of beers" because of the high carbonation level (like champagne!) (Wikipedia)
• Miller High Life has been around since 1903
• Celery root is also called Celeriac (On Food and Cooking, p. 309)
• The rutabaga results from a cross between turnips and cabbage (OFaC, p. 316)

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Bday1: Japanese steakhouse ginger dressing (p. 575), Carrot puree (p. 266), and Mustard glaze (p. 583)

I decided to make a big meal for Josh's birthday, so there will be three posts in total.

When planning the meal, Josh and I both love ham, so that was an easy choice for the protein. It also seemed like a nice salad and some sort of vegetable, some sort of carbohydrate, and a cake would be a great idea.

I have been incredibly intrigued by Japanese steakhouse ginger dressing (p. 575) in TJOC for a long time. I love Japanese steakhouses. I've eaten at at least a dozen of them, in both Japan and the US (oddly different and the same). My favorite American teppenyaki joints are Ohana Steakhouse in Des Moines (I LOVE their scallop sauce) and Sapporo Steakhouse in Daytona Beach, Florida. I've eaten at those two many, many, many times and they never disappoint.

I combined celery, carrots, peanut oil, rice wine vinegar, ginger, onion, sugar, soy sauce, catsup, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce in my beautiful Vita-Mix blender:



Final product:



On some lettuce:



This dressing was EXACTLY like the ginger dressing at most of the Japanese steakhouses that I've been to in the US. In fact, it was a dead ringer. The dressing was good--it had a light kick due to the ginger and hot pepper sauce but was fairly sweet with a nice peanuty undertone. Plus, even with the giant list of ingredients, it was super simple. Throw everything in to a blender or food processor and finished.

I had high hopes for Carrot puree (p. 266) because a carrot/mashed potato mix sounded absolutely amazing. I love carrots. I love potatoes. What could be better?

I placed a half pound of sliced potatoes in water and boiled them for about five minutes:



I added sliced carrots and cooked until the vegetables were tender. The potato/carrot mixture was then drained, returned to the pan, and mashed. I added heavy cream, salt, butter, and pepper:



Absolutely delicious. The mash was creamy and smooth. The carrots elevated the dish from simple mashed potatoes and the cream made it seem slightly decadent. I loved the carrot puree and will absolutely make it again. It was also amazing leftover.

I decided to make a Mustard glaze (p. 583) for the spiral sliced ham I was making. I mixed brown sugar, mustard, and honey:



Slathered it on the ham:



This glaze was probably my favorite so far. The sweet mustard flavor complimented the ham perfectly. I saved the glaze as a dipping sauce and it was great for days. I also really like easy glazes and this one was incredibly simple and made with stuff I already had on hand.

Random fact:

• Robert Timothy French started work for a spice merchant at 21. When he was 60, French bought a flour mill and bakery with his son, starting the RT French Company, where they sold spices, including powdered mustard with turmeric. They introduced their French's cream salad mustard in 1904 (The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, p. 398)

Deep-fried sweet potatoes (p. 302) and Additions to green beans (p. 251)

As I've said before, my father is extremely supportive of TJOTJOC, so when I went to his house for the night, he wanted us to cook a TJOC-heavy dinner. We looked through his cabinet, paged through TJOC, and decided to utilize his home-canned green beans and homegrown sweet potatoes (that were probably nearing the end of their life span).

I have a fear of the deep fryer. I've actually had a deep fryer for about 7 years and only took it out of the box for the first time a few weeks ago. I still haven't used it yet. Knowing this, dad thought it would be a perfect time to make Deep-fried sweet potatoes (p. 302) because he could help. Reading through the recipe again, I see we missed the first line about boiling the sweet potatoes for ten minutes (whoops! Didn't do that).

Dad cut the sweet potatoes in to strips using a mandoline. Apparently, he's cut himself before on the appliance because he decided to use it while wearing oven mitts. I thought it was both smart and hilarious.



Some of the delicious looking strips:



One of the benefits of the mandoline is that all the strips are exactly the same width, so they should cook at about the same pace. Four large sweet potatoes made a LOT of strips:



They were popped in to a deep fryer and deep fried until golden brown:



These were amazing. I love fries, I love sweet potato fries, and these stood up to the best. They had the intrinsic sweetness of the sweet potato and were crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. I gorged myself on them since I suspected they wouldn't keep well. I also salted the heck out of them.

I honestly don't think that cooking them first is necessary, although On Food and Cooking by Andrew Smith says that the best fries are fried at two temperatures, so maybe the precooking is a way to get around that. Has anyone made this recipe as written? I would like to know the difference.

We were both attracted to Additions to green beans (p. 251) and decided to make two of the different styles. The first one we made combined wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and a drop of my father's super-hot-don't-eat-if-you-value-your-tongue pepper powder:



It didn't seem like enough for a pound of green beans, so we doubled the recipe.

We also mixed sauteed mushrooms, sour cream, and parsley:



And added each to a pound of green beans:



Well, for one thing, I will tell you the amount of vinegar mixture that TJOC actually calls for is undoubtedly correct. The green beans were so vinegary they were almost pickled (although Dad and I heartily enjoyed them anyway). The sour cream green beans were delicious and would be absolutely perfect for a potluck (I don't know why I always say that things would be perfect for potlucks, I never go to potlucks, so how would I know? More, it would be perfect for my vision of a potluck). Mushrooms, sour cream, and green beans is a delicious combination. These additions work well if you have a garden full of green beans and are getting really sick of them--try adding something new to them.

Random facts:

• We eat the seeds of many legumes, the green seeds of a few (including lima beans, fava beans, soybeans), and the pods of only the green bean, the long bean, and the pea (On Food and Cooking, p. 335).
• The breeding of green beans is probably fairly recent since they have to be eaten almost immediately and weren't as useful as dried beans (OFaC, p. 335)
• The "string" in green beans was bred out in the late 19th century by Calvin Keeney, only heirloom varieties tend to have it today (OFaC, p. 336 and Wikipedia). I find this odd since I've had green beans with strings plenty of times in my life--were those all heirloom varieties?
  
• True "yams" are rarely seen in the US. Most of what Americans call "yams" are really sweet potatoes (OFaC, p. 306).

Eggs Florentine (p. 197), Creamed spinach II (p. 305).Mornay sauce (Cheese sauce) I (p. 551), and Au gratin I (p. 961)

Rachel and I thought that making a big breakfast before I headed home to mom's house would be a great idea. It was pointed out that making a well-thought out breakfast could knock out a lot of recipes.

Continuing down the synergy pathway, we decided to make Eggs Florentine (p. 197) which neither of us had ever eaten previously. We were entering blind with no expectations.

I wasn't very impressed with my previous stab at creamed spinach. I was hoping that Creamed spinach II (p. 305) would be tastier.

I boiled about a pound of baby spinach:



I cooked onion in butter until golden. I then added a bit of flour:



I stirred in hot cream and a little bit of sugar, finally adding the spinach. I covered the bottom of a baking dish with the creamed spinach:



I got Mornay sauce (Cheese sauce) I (p. 551) ready. It was simple, essentially just white sauce I with a fourth cup of grated cheese added:



Mornay sauce is the stuff dreams are made of. I don't think there is anyone out there who doesn't love a good cheese sauce (unless you hate cheese). This cheese sauce is simple, mild, and creamy. Truly delicious.

I poached my eggs:



One of the yolks broke but I thought 3/4 success was pretty good. It was stressful transferring them and trying not to break the fragile yolks! I think I'm getting better at poaching eggs, although they still aren't pretty.I layered the eggs on the spinach:



The Mornay sauce was poured over the eggs:



The poached eggs were covered with Au gratin I (p. 961) (essentially just breadcrumbs):



The whole thing was briefly baked:



And done! Delicious with toast and bacon:



This recipe is a perfect example of the whole being better than the individual parts. I don't particularly love poached eggs or creamed spinach alone but combined, and with delicious Mornay sauce, the dish was amazing. I thought it looked quite impressive too--I will totally make this again. It was SO good.

Random facts:

• Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, loved spinach so much, she insisted it be served at every meal. The labeling of spinach dishes as "Florentine" is because of de Medici--her hometown was Florence, Italy (Wikipedia)
• Spinach is very high in iron and calcium but most of it is not easily absorbed by the body (Wikipedia)
• Spinach is a member of the beet family (On Food and Cooking, p. 324)
• Usually Mornay sauces use Parmesan or Guyere cheeses (On Food and Cooking, p. 65)