If it doesn't work for you in Fahrenheit try it in Celsius. ;)

And that would be still an improvement compared to the Spartan food.
One Greek, on tasting the spartan food, said he could easily understand why the Spartans were so willing to die.

If I were coming home from NC right now, I'd have a crate of freshly dug sweet potatoes in the back of my station wagon... But instead, I bought some at the store to make sweet potato pound cake. (Thanks, Missy G of NPR!)

Missy G's Sweet Potato Pound Cake


This is one scrumptious cake. The All Things Considered staff scarfed the whole thing up, licked the crumbs off their plates, rubbed their bellies, and insisted this was my "best cake ever," "definitely in your Top 10 of cakes," and they begged, "Can I have the recipe?" Sure. Here it is. It should serve 20 to 32.

You'll Need
A shallow baking pan
A potato masher
A 10-inch tube pan

For The Cake
About 4 medium sweet potatoes
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon maple flavoring
1/2 cup peeled and diced Granny Smith apples

For The Topping
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3/4 cups chopped pecans

About 2 Hours Before Mixing The Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake your sweet potatoes for at least 45 minutes. Use a knife or a fork to test for doneness—the potato should be very mushy inside its shriveled skin. Remove from oven and cool for 1 hour. Slit each skin lengthwise and remove, leaving the soft, orange center. Mash with a potato masher and measure out 2 cups for this recipe. Cool to room temperature before mixing the cake. If the mashed sweet potatoes are too warm, they will melt the butterfat and the batter won't get as nice and thick as it should.

To Make The Cake

2. Position a rack so the cake will sit in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line the bottom of your tube pan with parchment paper, and spray the sides and bottom with baking spray.

3. Cream the butter with a mixer on medium speed.

4. Combine the sugars in separate bowl. Gradually add to the creamed butter, 1/4 cup at a time, beating at medium to high speed after each addition.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating at medium to high speed for 1 minute after adding each one.

6. Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup at a time.

7. In a separate bowl, dry whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.

8. In another separate bowl, combine the milk, vanilla, and maple flavoring.

9. With the mixer still on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk mixture, beating after each addition. Start with a third of the flour mixture, beat, then add half of the milk mixture, beat again, and repeat until the last of the flour mixture has been added and beaten in.

10. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and then mix the batter on medium to high speed for 2 minutes.

11. Slow the mixer down to the lowest speed and add the apples, mixing until just incorporated.

12. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and use the back of a spoon to even out and smooth the batter.

To Make The Topping

13. In a separate bowl (I know — it's like the bowls have Balkanized here), combine the cold butter, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a wooden spoon and do not fret because the mixture is crumbly. That's just the way you want it.

14. Sprinkle the topping all over the surface of the batter.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes before testing for doneness. Then use a sharp knife to test the cake, and poke it around in a couple of places to determine whether it's finished. This cake can fool ya.

15. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Then, using the plate-over-pan method, unmold the cake and flip it onto a cake rack, topping side up.

Parkin

A traditional seasonal cake that goes so well with bonfires, fireworks and to an extent burning Catholics ('Tis the season, after all).

1/2 lb medium oatmeal
1/4 lb wholemeal flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 lb unsalted butter
1/4 lb soft dark brown sugar
1/4 lb black treacle
2 tbsp golden syrup
1/4 pint of ginger beer

Put the butter in a pan over a low heat and melt. While it is melting add the sugar, treacle and golden syrup and stir frequently. Meanwhile put all of the other ingredients except the ginger beer in a sturdy bowl.

Once the butter has melted and the sugar, syrup and treacle have blended pour this into the bowl and mix well. Once mixed, add the ginger beer and continue stirring until you have a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into a large tin and bake at 160C/320F/433 K/Gas Mark 3 for around 1 1/4 hours (until a skewer comes out clean).

Leave to cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack.

Once cool, cut into squares and put in a airtight container.

It's ready to eat now, but the flavour will improve if it's left to stand for a few days.

For the folks this side of the pond, without a suitably stocked grocery store.



can probably substitute blackstrap molasses for treacle, and light corn syrup for golden syrup. if you make it and enjoy it, I'd suggest hunting down real treacle and golden syrup because you'll probably notice the difference in flavour.

Ah - useful. Molasses/black treacle are about the same thing, but golden syrup and corn syrup are a world apart - so yes, fellow cooking folks, listen to Soreen for he knows of what he speaks here.

Thank you, I did wonder what treacle was.

Golden syrup is in the major grocery stores along with the Karo. It costs almost twice as much, but it is there.

In some of the places here. but not all of them.

I do have some.. perhaps I'll use it to make a little cinder toffee at some point.

And on the subject of Parkin, I could really go for some black peas now; I'd better put some in to soak.

I made the mistake once of using Kero* syrup instead in a recipe that called for Golden syrup.

Won't do that again, it really did make a difference.


*For any that don't know, Kero is a clear corn syrup with no flavor, just sweet. Kind of like a thick simple syrup.

Fresh Herbed Halibut

Ingredients

1 (2 pound) halibut fillet
1 large lemon, quartered
olive oil for brushing
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dill weed

Directions

Preheat the oven's broiler and coat a baking sheet or broiling pan with olive oil.
Rinse the fish and pat dry. Place on the greased pan, and brush with olive oil or coat with olive oil cooking spray. Squeeze the juice from the lemon wedges over the entire fillet, and season generously with salt first, then garlic and finally dill.
Broil until the fillet is opaque and can be flaked with a fork (15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven).

That sounds delish... but try getting fresh halibut in Kentucky. Pffft.... I miss fresh seafood.

Sure you didn't mean Karo?


Kero has plenty of Flavour (I assume)


*ducks*

Spicy!

(I assume)

I refrained from tasting, but I think they're right.

Cheese Straws!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Its like homemade slightly spicy cheese nips. Mmmm....

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temp
* 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, at room temp
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper


Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In a food processor, add the butter, cheese, flour, salt and cayenne and process until a smooth dough is formed. You can also use a mixer for it but it needs to be a sturdy one, like a stand mixer.

Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes and roll on a lightly floured surface into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Cut into 1/4" wide x 1" long strips. Or use a cookie press!

Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to racks to cool.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us in the US, so I'm putting out a call for favorite Thanksgiving recipes.

This no-knead roll recipe is sure to result in an empty bread basket,.
Deb’s Dinner Rolls (Yields 18 large rolls)

1/2 cup warm water (105-112 degrees F.)
1/2 cup warm milk
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 egg at room temp
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, softened

Place water and milk in your mixer bowl with dough hook. Sprinkle in the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. Add all other ingredients. Mix on low for 5 to 10 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out. Spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut into wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place; let rise 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, until golden.

(My sister Lori had a similar recipe she called Galilean Dinner Rolls, and they're awesome.)