Sweet Potatoes are the perfect comfort food. They offer a dense, sweet, creamy texture and a loaded with vitamin C, potassium and beta-carotene. These nutritional properties are often linked with helping to reduce inflammation and may reduce chances for cancer and heart disease*.

This recipe doesn’t use high sugar or high fat ingredients to make these already delicious sweet potatoes bad for you. There is so much flavor within the potato itself, it’s silly to mask it!

Twice Baked Thyme Sweet Potatoes Ingredients

4 medium sized sweet potatoes

3 tbsp fresh thyme, plus extra for garnish

1 tsp Red Pepper flakes

1 tsp walnut oil

3/4 tsp sea salt

¼ cup fresh parmigiano reggiano (optional)

lemon zest for garnish

This recipe is great for multi-tasking. Since the potatoes take a while in the oven, I usually make this dish when I’m undertaking other recipes that may take a bit more active time.

Heat oven to 425°F. Wrap fork-pricked sweet potatoes in aluminum foil (heavy duty works best) and place on a baking sheet. Bake the sweet potatoes for about 45-60 minutes. The potatoes should be soft and easy to cut into.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and let cool until you’re able to handle them. Boost the oven temperature to 450°F.

Run a knife length-wise down the potato and scoop contents into a large mixing bowl. Combine the sweet potatoes with the thyme, red pepper flakes, walnut oil and sea salt. Spoon the sweet potato mixture into small ramekins, or mini tart pans and place on baking sheet. If you don't have either on hand, you can also use a cupcake pan! If desired, sprinkle the top with the grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. Bake for another 5-10 minutes. Baking time will depend on the size of the ramekins or tart pans you’re using.

Once the sweet potatoes are finished (the cheese is melted), remove them from the oven and sprinkle with a few thyme leaves and lemon zest.

Enjoy! 

*Reader’s Digest: http://www.rd.com/health/the-health-properties-of-sweet-potatoes/

Bison Burgers... the perfect compliment to Superbowl Sunday

For us carnivores, there are few things more satisfying than picking up a hearty burger, placing your two elbows on the table to steady yourself against your opponent stacked high with grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms and avocado and inhaling that fresh from the grill aroma before your first bite. The moment you dig your teeth into that juicy, smokey, tender patty is so satisfying it makes you forget about all those calories you’ll have to burn off the next day.

Usually I would be averse to stuffing my face with this fatty “fast food” staple, but some occasions just call for this indulgent meal… like the SUPERBOWL? I’m of the opinion that the Superbowl has become somewhat of a national holiday, and on holidays you have to splurge a little J

While beef burgers definitely hit the spot, I went with ground bison (or buffalo) meat as the main ingredient. I personally find ground bison to cook to be more tender than most ground beef. It also contains less fat than many cuts of beef used to make ground beef. According to the National Bison Association’s website, a 3.5oz of the leanest cut of Bison contains on 2.4g of fat compared to 8.1g of fat found in the leanest cut of select ground beef! An added benefit of cooking with ground bison is that it contains more iron than ground beef when comparing the same serving size. (Yes, I had to find at least a tidbit of a nutritional benefit to making this burger.)

(Apologies for the picture, I was without my camera when I made these. Thank goodness for camera phones)

Bison Burger Ingredients

1 package whole wheat hamburger buns, or a soft pretzel roll (my favorite)

2lbs ground bison (can be found at most Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods stores)

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

¼ cup bread crumbs

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

Salt and Pepper

1 small shallot chopped

1 lb. sliced white mushrooms, or baby bella mushrooms

1 medium red onion, sliced

1 or 2 avocados

Your choice of condiments

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and use your hands to incorporate the spices and breadcrumbs into the meat. Be mindful to mix until everything is just combined. Then add the chopped shallots to the meat mixture. Form large patties that extend beyond the circumference of the bun that you’ll be using by roughly ¼ inch. The patties should be about ½ inch thick.

For the adventurous and those looking to add some more texture and flavor to this burger, add a ¼ to ½ cup of blue cheese crumbles to the meat mixture before grilling. You could also make a layered patty with two thin layers of the ground bison sandwiching a layer of any type of cheese you desire.

While you’re making the meat mixture, generously oil your grill and heat it to medium high heat. Once the grill is hot enough, place the patties on the grill on medium high heat for 1 minute and then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 3 more minutes before flipping. I recommend cooking the bison no more than medium to capture the best flavor and keep the patty juicy. For a medium burger, continue cooking for roughly 5 minutes before removing from the grill. If you like your meat more well done, flip the patty again and cook for an additional 2 minutes. As with all meats, make sure to use a meat thermometer if you are unsure if your meat is cooked thoroughly. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, check out my trick to tell when you’re meat is ready in my Thyme Chicken Paninis , or see my Tips and Tricks tab.

While your meat is on the grill, place onions and mushrooms in a sauté pan with just enough olive oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan. Sautee the mushrooms and onions until tender and then sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Once your burgers are off the grill and have rest for a couple minutes assemble your masterpiece and top with the mushrooms and onions. Add your favorite condiments and dig in!

Enjoy your bison burger with your favorite brew and, of course, football! 

Rockfish and the best present ever!

The excitement of opening those “I have to have it” presents on Christmas has died down by now and we are all hard at work on our New Year’s resolutions. Right? Not me! I’m still obsessing over the best present in the world… My Canon Rebel DSLR! While my photography skills are still at the novice level, I have had the best time snapping pictures of anything and everything I cook. As many of you food enthusiasts know, you eat with your eyes first and now I can hopefully start doing some of the dishes I share with you justice.

My first post of the 2012 is one of my first attempts at shooting food with my Canon and provides a quick and easy delicious recipe for Rockfish. What’s Rockfish? I didn’t know too much about it until I decided that I needed to branch out a bit more this year and experiment with some new types of seafood.

While there are many types of rockfish, you’re probably most familiar with the Rock Cod and Pacific Snapper varietals.  The wonderful fish connoisseurs at my local market directed me to the Rock Cod fillet. (For those who are conscious about the effects of overfishing, make sure you purchase Rockfish that has been hook and line caught, not trawl caught.) This delectable fish is lean and mild.

This recipe really allows you to enjoy the texture of the fish and doesn’t overpower the flavor of the fish (one of my biggest pet peeves).

Pan seared Rockfish with Pinot Grigio Sauce Ingredients (Serves 2)

For the Fish

1 large Rockfish filet, skin removed (about ¾ lb to 1 lb)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for the pan

4 gloves garlic, crushed

zest of 1 lemon

¼ tsp celery seed

salt and pepper

For the Sauce

½ cup Pinot Grigio

juice of one lemon

2 tsp butter

2 sprigs rosemary

salt and pepper

Dab a small amount of olive oil on your hands and gently massage the fish to check for any bones.  If you do find a couple, use small pointy tweezers to gently remove the bones. This leaves the filet intact and works very well to nab those little suckers. You can also use kitchen pliers, which work well to remove multiple pin bones at one time (especially handy if you’re deboning the entire fish).  After ensuring your fish is bone free, cover both sides of the filet with 2 tablespoons olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the lemon zest on both sides of the filet and let rest for about 10 minutes.

While the fish is resting for the 10 minutes, fill a small saucepan with the Pinot Grigio and bring to a rolling simmer.  Let simmer for 2-3 minutes and then add the butter and stir thoroughly until the butter is completely melted. Next add the rosemary and lemon juice and let the sauce sit over low heat until after you sear the fish (about 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.


Lightly coat a large stainless-steel pan with olive oil, so that there’s a very thin layer barely covering the pan.  I beg you please, please, please do NOT use a non-stick pan! Yes, the grease might not be that easy to clean after cooking, but every single one of your senses will thank you when you’re biting into a crispy filet and not a mushy one.

Turn heat to high and let the skillet warm for about 2 minutes. Watch closely so that the oil doesn’t start to smoke. Once skillet is hot, place the Rockfish in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes over high heat. Flip the fish and continue to cook on the other side for approximately 2 minutes. Turn heat to medium high and gently touch the fish with your ring finger. You’ll want the fish to feel firm, but also have a slight give.  If the fish doesn’t feel firm, yet, continue to cook over medium high heat.

Plate the fish and spoon the Pinot Grigio sauce over the fish. Serve with roasted asparagus, brussles sprouts, or my Twice Baked Thyme Sweet Potatoes (one of my favorite healthy comfort foods).  And don’t let that Pinot Grigio go to waste!