Mashed Maple-Cascabel Sweet Potatoes
From Sam Dickey, Granite Cafe
6 cups peeled and cubed raw sweet
potato (1/2-inch cubes)
2 1/4 teaspoons coriander seeds about 7 cascabel chiles, depending on size, enough to make 1 generous tablespoon ground chile (cascabels are smooth-skinned, dark reddish-brown chiles about 3 inches long)
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon real
maple syrup
1 generous tablespoon lime juice
1 generous tablespoon orange juice
1 generous tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper
In a large saucepan, cover cubes of sweet potato with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender but not mushy, no more than 9 minutes after the water starts boiling. Pour into a pan of ice water to stop cooking, drain, then mash and set aside.
Toast coriander seeds in an ungreased cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Grind.
Stem and seed cascabel chiles, then toast in an ungreased cast-iron skillet over medium heat, turning frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Grind.
Mix mashed sweet potatoes with ground coriander seeds, 1 generous tablespoon of the ground cascabels, and remaining ingredients and refrigerate, covered, for 24 hours to let flavors develop. Serve chilled.
From the July 2001 issue.
A Star-Spangled SpreadSix top Austin chefs set off culinary fireworks with a potluck picnic for the Fourth of July.
Five weeks before the real event, Casa Volpe (Italian for "Fox House"), as Lisa and Emmett Fox of Austin's Asti call their stylish Tuscan-Texan villa outside Austin, was the scene of a pre-picnic photo shoot and sampling fest. As late-afternoon sunlight flooded the covered deck, the chefs began to arrive, bearing great baskets and platters of food. Marion Gillcrist, the chef and a co-owner of La Traviata, brought fresh, creamy Texas mozzarella and a bounty of heirloom tomatoes in shades from crimson to orange to green with yellow stripes. Aquarelle's Jacques Richard, a native of France, showed up with a still life of raw and blanched vegetables and a bowl of the world's most garlicky aïoli. Sam Dickey, the chef and a co-owner of the Granite Cafe, whipped up luscious mashed sweet potatoes infused with maple syrup and cascabel chiles. Will Packwood of Emilia's, who was recently named one of the country's top ten up-and-coming chefs by Food & Wine magazine, reinterpreted five-bean salad with a terrific parsley-thyme-scallion vinaigrette. For their part, the genial hosts prepared grilled lobsters (filled with vegetable slaw in a rainbow of colors) and homemade vanilla ice cream with swirls of puréed fresh peach.
Recipes
Crudites and Sauce Aioli
Five-Bean-and-Red-Onion Salad
Grilled Lobsters With Summer-Vegetable Slaw
Heirloom Tomatoes and Texas Mozarella
Honey-Ginger Applesauce
Mashed Maple-Cascabel Sweet Potatoes
Peach Swirl Vanilla Ice Cream
Sweet and Spicy Brined Pork Loin
Texas Blueberry Shortcake
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