Swing Eats

What's a good, simple, and seasonal side for Thanksgiving? My vote (besides Brussels sprouts) is for sweet potatoes. Right now, the local farmers have amazing sweet potatoes with different color skins. Remember, most of the nutrients are in the skin. The skin also adds more texture and dimension than peeling it. Peeling requires unnecessary work, and ends in a lot of food waste. So keeping the skin on the sweet potatoes is a win-win. Keep it simple. There's no reason to over complicate, especially when roasting a turkey is involved. I prefer to roast sweet potatoes with fresh herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Here I used thyme rosemary. Sage would work wonderfully, too. Either way, this side compliments the rest of the turkey day spread well, especially the turkey and cranberry sauce. Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Thyme and Rosemary Ingredients: sweet potatoes, aka yams, 4 large, cut into large dice olive oil, 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon chopp...

I love carrots. Especially their bright orange color. Usually, I eat carrots raw as carrot sticks. But I often forget how sweet carrots are when cooked. Another one of my favorites is roasted carrots with potatoes. It is rare to find a dish where the carrots are the star. One of the standard culinary carrot dishes I learned to make in culinary school was glazed carrots. Unfortunately, it rarely lived up to its potential. I believe due to the technical execution which consisted of boiling the carrots in too much water in a narrow sauce pan, resulting in watery and mushy carrots with no color left. Herein lies my redo of this classic. Braising proves perfect for glazing. Braising is when something is cooked in a wide covered dish with no added moisture over medium to high heat. Here my seasonings consist of my seasonal favorites: maple syrup, Kentucky bourbon (yes, it is gluten-free, made from corn: my choice Eagle Rare), nutmeg, and butter. My favorite cut for carrots is oblique whic...

  There's a fine balance between a food is scary-looking, yet appealing enough to eat.  Yes, these look straight up middle America and there is nothing wrong with that.  Embrace it.  I just handed out cellophane bags of these scary bread sticks to my neighbors and they all commented how cute they were.  Not too cute to eat!  This bread is a pao de quejo mix (Brazilian tapioca cheese rolls), Chebe bread mix.  Any bread mix can be used.  It's all in the presentation. Scary Monster Fingers Cheesy Bread Sticks (gluten-free) Ingredients: Eggs, 2 large (+ 1 for egg wash) Olive oil, 2 tablespoons Water or liquid of your choice, 5 tablespoons Garlic salt or powder, 1/2 teaspoon Parsley, 1 teaspoon finely chopped (optional) Chebe, 1 box Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon Shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup Almonds, raw, about 10-12 Directions: Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, mix together the 2 eggs, oil, liquid, garlic salt together with a wh...

'Tis the season for pumpkin.  Pumpkin everything.  Nope, it doesn't get old for me.  My only pet peeve about pumpkin recipes is that only a portion of the can of pumpkin is used.  Then, I have the remainder go to waste in my fridge.  I figured not matter what, I was going to develop a pumpkin recipe using one whole can.  Why not use it for waffles?  I like to make a big batch of waffles, individually wrap them, and heat as needed for a breakfast on the go.  I try my best to make my waffles as nutrient dense as possible.  Almond flour works great in waffles.  And separating the eggs, adding in whipped eggs whites makes for a fluffy texture. Pumpkin Almond Spice Waffles (gluten-free) Ingredients: Eggs, 3 large, room temperature, separated Sugar (white or brown), 3/4 cup Pumpkin Puree, 1 15oz can Almond flour, 1 cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free flour, 1 cup Salt, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon Nut...

Cauliflower that eats like meat...  Yeah, that's it.   Cauliflower T-bones are a regular featured item at one of my favorite restaurants, Superba Snack Bar in Venice by the brilliant Jason Neroni.  This is my version of it, and I'm sharing it with you....  Have you ever noticed the cross-section of cauliflower?  If cut straight down, it kind of looks like a steak.  Just steam til tender, pan fry, and top with a tasty topping.  I made the process easier by steaming the cauliflower in the microwave and using tapenade as the base for the sauce.  I like shortcuts when they work well.  I realized I forgot to top this with some Parmesan cheese.  Either way, it's delicious and easy to make. Cauliflower T-Bone Steaks with Olive, Lemon, and Parsley Ingredients: Cauliflower, 1 head Veggie broth, 1 cup White wine, 1 cup Garlic cloves, 2-3, crushed Salt and pepper, to taste Olive tapenade, 1/2 cup (I used Trader Joe's) Olive oil ...

Right now corn and tomatoes are in prime peak at the farmers markets, and priced well.  I love corn on the cob, but it does a number on my teeth.  I thought why not cut the corn kernels off the cobb and saute them with my favorite corn pasta.  Corn on corn.  Top it off with some summer tomatoes (anything kind(s) that appeal to you) and chives to freshen it up and make it aromatic.  This dish is super light and easy to make.  Some protein toppers to add in to compliment this dish well would be grilled chicken or shrimp, feta cheese, any fresh crumbly cheese.  And for pasta - any kind will work, but I'm partial to my favorite Italian gluten-free corn pasta, Le Veneziane . Corn Pasta with Fresh Summer Corn, Tomatoes, and Chives Ingredients: Olive oil, 2 tablespoons Corn kernels, cut from 3-4 ears of fresh corn Salt and pepper, to taste Tomatoes, about 1/2 pound, cut into medium dice (half or quartered if using cherry tomatoes) Corn Pasta Fettu...

I only eat fried foods a few times a year, at most.  If you are gluten-intolerant, you understand.  It's damn near impossible to find safe non-contaminated fries at a restaurant, let alone gluten-free fried foods.  My favorite fried chicken was Long John Silver's chicken planks.  Ah, heaven.  Perfectly delectable battered chicken with no bones or fuss.  Personally, I'll take it over KFC any day.  I rarely make fried food because it's not the healthiest, nor the cleanest to make, the multiple batches of frying while keeping target temperature, and keeping your cool over the hot oil.  Yes, those are chopsticks in the top picture.  I found it easiest to use them to dredge the chicken in the batter, as well to turn and remove from the cooking oil.  This tastes exactly like how I remember LJS's chicken, even if it has been twelvish years for me!  Make this for loved ones to share - they won't know nor let alone care that it is gluten-...

I love mayonnaise and anything mayonnaise based.  However, it doesn't serve me well when I'm watching my weight.  Obviously, I'm a sucker for traditional coleslaw.  This time,  I wanted to come up with a healthier version that was packed with flavor and texture.  Recently, I rediscovered my little recipe book, "Art of Thai Cooking," from a cooking class I took while in Thailand.  I immediately went to the green papaya salad.  Hey, that's like a coleslaw.  I'll just make substitute out ingredients for those that are more traditional to coleslaw and readily available at the average American grocery store.  This is a simple recipe, yet complex with the traditional four components of Thai cuisine: salty from the fish sauce; sweet from brown sugar; tart from lime juice; and slightly spicy with chili sauce.  Feel free to swap out ingredients, like using red cabbage for green cabbage; and green papaya or any fruit for mango. Thai Coleslaw...