Welcome Fall!

Sweet Potatoes & Bartlett Pears

What better way to welcome Fall than with a side dish of baked sweet potatoes and Bartlett pears?? Martha, you done good yet again!

from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast I cannot sing the praises of this cookbook enough. Divided by season, color photos of every recipe, prep & total cooking times, and a great selection of 'basics' and how to make them.

*2 Sweet Potatoes *3 Tbl Olive Oil *1 tsp Dry Mustard

*1/2 tsp Ground Ginger *1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

*Coarse Salt *2 Bartlett Pears

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Scrub sweet potatoes. Quarter and slice, about 1 and 1/2 inches thick. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the slices with 2Tbs olive oil, mustard, ginger and cayenne; season with the salt. Roast, tossing occasionally, until crip-tender. 20-25minutes.

(since I use a toaster oven, I set it on the bake setting and used a deep pan)

2. Core and quarter the pears; halve cross-wise. Add to the potatoes; toss all with remaining tablespoon oil. Continue roasting until potatoes are fork-tender. About 10 minutes more.

Serves 4

the Potatoes and Pears were a perfect side to Lemon-Parsley Pork Chops

*1 Lemon, zest removed and minced *2 Tbl chopped parsley

*1 Garlic Clove, minced *Coarse Salt & Ground Pepper

*2 Tbl Olive Oil *4 Bone-in Loin Pork Chops (abt 8oz each)

another great thing about the cookbook is the helpful hints & technique tips, like for this recipe, how to mice lemon zest: with a veggie peeler remove the zest in long strips (avoid the bitter white pith). Using a sharp knife cut the zest into thin strips and then cut crosswise.

1. Combine the minced lemon in a small bowl with the parsley, garlic 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Set Aside. I put everything into my mini food processor to chop, mince, etc and it came out aok.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season pork chops on both sides with S&P. Cook in skillet until browned, 2-3 minutes per side. I used the grill pan...what can I say I love that thing!

3. Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet, bring to a boil. (hard to do this in the grill pan, shoot!!). Reduce heat to medium- low: cover and simmer gently until pork is cooked through. 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a platter or serving plates; drizzle with the pan juices as desired and sprinkle with the lemon parsley mix.

Serves 4. Prep Time - 10minutes. Total Time - 25 minutes.

For greens, I added some mixed greens from the 'floral salad mix', topped with sprouts. Such a good dinner, will be making it again!!

xo,

Michelle