Sweet Potato Mash with Mint

Ingredients
3 lbs light yellow sweet potatoes (boniato if you can get them), peeled, cut into 2 inch chunks
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup to 1 cup (or more) water
1/4 cup minced onion
1/2 small garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves, packed, (about 30-40 leaves)
2 Tbsp minced cliantro, packed
Salt
Sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
1 You can cook the sweet potatoes by either roasting or boiling. To roast, rub olive oil all over the pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt, and put them in a roasting pan, cook at 425°F for 40 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. To boil, put in a saucepan and cover with an inch or two of cold water. Bring to a boil, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, reduce heat and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until a fork easily pierces through the pieces.
2 Place cooked sweet potato pieces in a large bowl, add olive oil, mash with a potato masher until completely mashed. Slowly add water, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sweet potatoes reach desired consistency.
3 Stir in the onions, garlic, mint, and cilantro. Stir in vanilla extract. Add more salt, and maybe a little sugar if you want, to taste.
Serves 6.

Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients
2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
2-3 cups finely chopped, cooked corned beef
2-3 cups chopped cooked potatoes, preferably Yukon gold
Salt and pepper
Chopped fresh parsley

Method
1 Heat butter in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Add the onion and cook a few minutes, until translucent.
2 Mix in the chopped corned beef and potatoes. Spread out evenly over the pan. Increase the heat to high or medium high and press down on the mixture with a metal spatula.
3 Do not stir the potatoes and corned beef, but let them brown. If you hear them sizzling, this is good. Use a metal spatula to peak underneath and see if they are browning. If nicely browned, use the spatula to flip sections over in the pan so that they brown on the other side. Press down again with the spatula. If there is too much sticking, you can add a little more butter to the pan. Continue to cook in this manner until the potatoes and the corned beef are nicely browned.
4 Remove from heat, stir in chopped parsley. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper, and add salt to taste.
Serve with fried or poached eggs for breakfast.
Serves 4-6.

Tilapia with Pimiento Sauce

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
1 clove garlic, minced
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup sliced cremini or button mushrooms
3/4 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 6-8 ounce tilapia fillets

Method
1 In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring sauce to boiling.

2 Gently place the fish fillets in the pan and scoop some of the sauce over the fillets. Return to boiling. Reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. With a wide spatula, lift fish from skillet to a serving dish. Spoon sauce over fish. Serve with rice, and/or crusty bread.

Serves 4.

Pan Seared Salmon with Avocado Remoulade

Ingredients
2 large avocados, cut and peeled
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice (can substitute lemon)
3-4 Tbsp light olive oil (light refers to flavor and color, not calories)
1 Tbsp minced shallots or green onion
1 Tbsp minced parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of salmon fillets
Grapeseed or canola oil

Method
1 Put avocado pieces and lime juice into a food processor or blender and pulse until blended. Slowly add olive oil, pulsing, until you reach desired consistency of sauce. Add minced shallots (or green onions) and parsley, pulse just until combined. Remove to a bowl, add mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
2 Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with oil, heat on medium high until almost smoking. Season both sides of the salmon fillets with salt and pepper, carefully lay the salmon into the pan, skin side down. Cook the salmon until about medium doneness, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Serve salmon with avocado remoulade sauce.
Serves 4.

Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup of butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces), room temperature
1/2 cup of sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups of flour
1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 cup of your favorite jam
Parchment paper

Method
1 Cream the butter and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.
2 Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. If using nuts place the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk them until bubbly and frothy (the egg whites will be used to keep the nuts on the cookies).
3 Add the flour and salt. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 350F.
4 Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. If using nuts, dip the balls into the egg whites then roll them into the nuts until covered. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets.
5 Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. Do not press too hard or the cookie will fall apart. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
6 Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Guinness Bread with Molasses

Ingredients
3 cups self-rising flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup molasses
A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
12 ounces of Guinness beer
Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons

If you don't have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. Have made both ways though and got better results from the self-rising flour.

Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan well with butter.
2 Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3 Slowly pour the Guinness into the flour mixture. (The “pub cans” are larger than 12 ounces, but they have better carbonation, so I pour most of it out and leave a swig to drink. This has never failed me, but if you are a stickler, use a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness instead.) Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine. Don’t work the heck out of the batter – because that’s what it’ll look like – but you don’t want lumps, either.
4 Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, you’re done.
5 Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.