Jerk Gulf Shrimp with Red Onion Pickled Beets and Carrots with Sweet Potato

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor The use of whole spices that have been toasted in a sauté pan briefly adds an entirely new dimension to the flavor and complexity of the whole spice. For this recipe we toasted briefly fennel seeds and mustard seeds combined with freshly harvested carrots and beets….

Sweet Potato Fries “Bakes?”

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor As we know sweet potatoes are loaded with nutritious goodness, so finding ways to create various dishes with them is not only good for us but can have a very different set of flavor characteristics depending on the direction you choose. Most folks like crisp French…

Sweet Potato and Apple Bisque

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor Not only are sweet potatoes loaded with nutritious elements they are inexpensive, store well, and when cooked may be stored frozen or under refrigeration until future use. I found sweet potatoes at 39 cents a pound at one of my produce haunts and to get a…

Roasted Cornish Game Hen, Sweet Potato Medallions and Grilled Okra

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor Hearty, herby and a terrific combination of flavors, texture, color and smokiness and all prepared on the grill. This dinner is a favorite of the family, takes little prep time and just about cooks itself on an outdoor grill. Throw in a salad, crunchy bread, and…

Cilantro Pesto Stuffed Shrimp

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor This is a very tasty and a little spicy dish with great eye appeal. I like to serve them with yucca fries with a honey mustard dip and a cold black bean and mango salad. Enjoy! Equipment/ utensils required: Chef’s knife, cutting board, cast iron skillet…

Yucca Fries with Honey and Stone Ground Mustard Sauce

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor Try this if you can find fresh yuca root, also called Cassava or manioc, as it is unusual to many folks that may not even know what yucca is let alone having it as part of a meal. The look is similar to potato fries but…

Coconut-Curry Sweet Potato Soup

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor The following soup is my take off of an Indian style squash soup, substituting sweet potatoes for the squash, as sweet potatoes are plentiful in our area during the summer and winter and they add a decidedly flavorful dimension that squash lack. In the picture of…

Basic Smashed Red Potatoes with Cheddar Cheese and Greek Yogurt

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor Smashed potatoes are easy to make and versatile in that you can add so many flavorful ingredients, chives, cheese, yogurt, bacon, onions, peppers, whatever pleases your palate, to the potatoes when you mash them. The following recipe makes a “stiff” smashed potato dish with the skins…

Lemon, Beet Salad with Apples, Oranges and Ginger

Recipe courtesy of Andrea Bogle – Contributing Cook Equipment/ utensils required: Chef’s knife, cutting board, grater, mixing bowl.

Dill and Horseradish Potato Salad

Courtesy of Sharon Schneider – Contributor Equipment needed: Medium to large stock pot, chef’s knife, whip Ingredients: 15-20 small red potatoes, washed, unpeeled, cut in bite-size pieces 3 eggs, boiled, peeled (under cold water), quartered or grated

Grilled Asparagus

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor Equipment needed: Chef’s Knife, cutting board, flat iron grill, baking sheet Ingredients: ½ lb. or a full bunch of fresh asparagus

Poached Garlic

The following very simple recipe allows you to hold cloves of garlic under refrigeration for up to two weeks. It has the added benefit of removing the “heat” of the garlic clove and enhancing the sweeter flavor normally achieved by caramelizing. The finished product makes it super easy to work into dishes that you want…

Roasted Beets

Recipe courtesy of Donna Hargrove D.O., FACOG – Nutritional Editor Winter and early spring brings lots of fresh root vegetables into play, beets being among my favorites. When our containers and window boxes of beets come in there are usually more than we can consume immediately so we try to stagger the planting of the…

Green Chilies and Corn Chowder

Recipe courtesy of Chef Bren Ankrum – Culinary Editor Equipment/ utensils required: Chef’s knife, mixing bowl, large sauce pot. Ingredients: 4 oz. corn cut fresh or from roasted ears. Approx. 3 ears of corn 4 oz. green chiles. Roasted, peeled and chopped to medium