Pork Tenderloin with Jalapeno Paste and Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Scallions

This is a two-for-one recipe that I got off the Martha Stewart website. I was looking for something different to do with a pork tenderloin and simultaneously use up some of the sweet potatoes I had purchased at Costco earlier in the week (the bag is HUGE). The Martha website paired these two recipes up as a meal, so I thought that was very fortuitous and made them as suggested. Both recipes were awesome and fairly simple to throw together. We especially loved the sweet potatoes, and the pork complimented them perfectly. YUM! Oh, and don't let the hot pepper scare you...it really was not spicy at all. The peppers are seeded/de-veined so the spice is virtually non-existent. I would say there is a modest, tiny, almost undetectable bite of spice; but I'm also guessing that it depends on how hot the pepper is that you are using. I had serranos chiles on hand, so I used two of those, actually. My kids don't like spicy food, and they ate it just fine. This was a really great dinner that we all just gobbled up.

Pork Tenderloin with Jalapeno Paste
Adapted From: Martha Stewart website

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil, plus more for grill
4 cloves garlic
1 chopped jalapeno chile, with seeds and ribs removed (I used 2 Serrano chiles as a substitute)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 whole pork tenderloins, (3/4 pounds each)

Directions:
Heat grill to high. Lightly oil grill rack. In a blender, process 1/4 cup canola oil, garlic, jalapeno, thyme, salt, coriander, pepper, and cumin until smooth, about 1 minute. Spread paste over tenderloins.
Grill tenderloins, turning them occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 155 degrees. 10 to 20 minutes.
Remove from grill; let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

ALTERNATE:
I ended up browning my tenderloin in a cast iron skillet and finishing in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes (we ran out of charcoal for our grill.) Just brown the meat in a little oil in the skillet, making sure to get all sides. Then bake in the oven until done and cooked through.



Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Adapted From: Martha Stewart website

Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:
Heat grill to medium. Peel sweet potatoes, and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Toss potatoes in a large bowl with oil, thyme,chili powder, and cayenne pepper; season with salt and black pepper.

Grill potatoes, turning frequently, until tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 20 to 30 minutes.

Return grilled potatoes to bowl; add butter, and break potatoes into large pieces with the side of a spoon. Toss in scallions, and serve.

Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I love a good, traditional pot roast dinner. It's so homey and comforting, but I think of it more as a cold-weather/winter dish. It's not something I want to serve in the heat of summer. However, as it usually goes around here, necessity overrides preferences. I knew I had to use pot roast in one of my dinners this week, since I had two saved in my freezer and we're keeping a close eye on our budget. I didn't want to buy a whole lot of extra groceries either, so I was trying to think of something creative to do with this meat from stuff I had already had stashed away. My friend Michelle suggested I make stuffed, baked sweet potato halves. She had tried a really simple recipe recently with ground turkey and Mexican-inspired flavors, but thought I could probably do something similar with my roast meat. She was right! I just kinda made this dish up as I went along, and it was delicious. My family loved the twist on a traditional pot roast meal; even the kiddos gobbled it up! The biggest surprise is that our stuffed halves were not what I would consider as "heavy", but they was still filling and satisfying. Yum!

Baked Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 beef pot roast
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
1/2 bottle of your favorite meat marinade OR homemade marinade (I used bottled)
2 large sweet potatoes
1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup of shredded mild cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, jack, etc.)
olive oil
kosher salt (for outside of potatoes)
aluminum foil
grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions:
Combine roast (frozen is okay) seasoned with a sprinkling of salt and pepper to taste, water, onion slices, and marinade in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. When cooking time is done, remove meat and shred with two forks reserving the liquid. Set Aside.


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrub outside of sweet potatoes under running water to remove any excess, loose dirt. Pierce potatoes several times with a sharp knife on each side. Rub a generous amount of kosher salt and some olive oil on the outside of the potatoes. Double-wrap each potato in two sheets of aluminum foil. Bake for 1-2 hour, or until potatoes are soft to the touch and cooked through the middle. (I cooked mine for an hour, and it could have used more time...the middle wasn't as soft as I would have liked it. I think the cook time really depends on how big your sweet potatoes are.)

When potatoes are done baking, unwrap and let cool enough to handle. Halve each potato and scoop out some of the fleshy insides to make room for the filling. Leave a 1/2 inch of potato around the edges and the skins in tact. Discard excess filling or save for another application. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine shredded meat, cooked onions, cheese, and kidney beans. Add 1/2 cup of cooking liquid to start with; add more if needed. The meat mixture should be saucy. Stuff each half with meat mixture. Sprinkle tops with grated Parmesan and serve.

Roasted Veggie and Black Bean Baked Burritos

Here is another AWESOME recipe from the Aggie's Kitchen website. I know I have said it before--probably several times--but I love finding yummy, healthy vegetarian dinner ideas. Aggie always delivers!

Roasted Veggie and Black Bean Baked Burritos
From: Aggie's Kitchen website

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (small)
1 red pepper, cubed (small)
1 red onion cubed (small)
1 or 2 jalapenos, diced (if you want less heat sub another red pepper)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1 can black beans, rinsed
handful chopped cilantro
squeeze of lime juice
shredded cheddar
Whole Wheat Tortillas or Wraps (burrito size–recommended:Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas)
nonstick olive oil spray

Directions:
In a bowl, toss veggies in olive oil and season with spices. Place in large baking dish and roast in 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, tossing around halfway in between.

Let cool. Add to a bowl of rinsed black beans. Add cilantro and squirt of lime juice. Combine gently. At this point, mixture can be stored for later use. Warm wraps in microwave according to directions on package. Add two heaping tablespoons of vegetable and bean mixture to center of wrap. Top with shredded cheese. Fold over, fold in sides and continue to roll. Place on baking dish, seam side down and spray with nonstick spray or olive oil spray. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Baking this way will make tortilla wrap crisp. For a softer burrito, spray burrito with nonstick spray, then wrap in aluminum foil and bake for same amount of time.

Makes about 6 burritos {with filling leftover}.

Aggie's Tip: Pre-make your burritos and wrap in aluminum foil. Keep in refrigerator for 3-4 days for a quick lunch or dinner!



The Result:
So filling and satisfying! We all loved these burritos, and I am so happy to have plenty of veggies leftover to make more burritos (ohhh...the veggies would be good in quesadillas, too). We garnished our burritos with some seasoned, mashed avocado and they were absolutely delicious!

Thanksgiving #2

Last night, we went over to my friend Claire's house to celebrate Thanksgiving #2. Rather than post an explanation for the who, what, when, where, and how of Thanksgiving #2; here is a link to Claire's blog to give you all the details:

Thanksgiving #2

My contribution to last night's festive holiday meal, was my mom's versions of Sausage Dressing and Candied Sweet Potatoes. I would love to post recipes for both these dishes, but there are no recipes. No measurements at all. Both dishes are something that you do by sight and intuition. That is how my mom learned and that is how she taught me. Directions like, "add chicken stock until the dressing is wet...but not TOO wet" is what I am talking about. How do you translate that into a recipe???? I am not sure. Sigh. It is all very vague. I have always planned dissect each recipe and write down exactly what I am doing, but yesterday was not that day. So, I think I will post the general idea of each recipe so at least something is recorded. As it stands, there isn't even that right now. It is all verbal and by memory. I want to at least try to record something, so here it goes...

Mom's Sausage Dressing (Stuffing)

Ingredients:
equal parts of sage sausage and hot sausage (I used a 1/2 lb. of each for last night's dish)
1-2 onions, diced
4-5 stalks of celery with leaves, diced
1 loaf of white sandwich bread
1 loaf of wheat sandwich bread
salt and pepper to taste
chicken stock to taste
poultry seasoning to taste
dried sage to taste
1 or 2 eggs, beaten
cooking spray

Directions:
Toast all bread in oven on both sides. Tear toasted bread into bite sized pieces, into a large bowl. In a large skillet, saute onions and celery with a big pinch of salt; until onions are translucent but still firm. Add sausage, making sure to break up large chunks with the back of a wooden spoon. When sausage is no longer pink, mixture is done. Add to bread pieces. Season with salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning to taste. Add beaten egg(s). Add chicken stock until mixture is wet (but not too wet) and mush with your hands until all bread is incorporated into the mixture. Adjust seasoning if needed (yes, you have to actually taste it at this point to figure out if you need more seasoning). Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with cooking spray, and add the dressing to the dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven until top of dressing is toasted, but bottom is still a little moist (keep checking until the desired effect is achieved...about 1/2 hour or so).

Jen's Notes:
Quantities of ingredients need to be adjusted, depending on the size of the crowd you are feeding. For example, I only used a loaf and a half of bread and a pound of sausage for last night's dinner that fed 6 adults and 3 kids.



*************************************************************

Mom's Candied Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
2-4 red yams (not really sweet potatoes, but that is what we call 'em)
allspice to taste
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg taste
cloves to taste
ginger to taste
salt to taste
brown sugar to taste
maple syrup to taste
1-2 Tablespoons of butter, cut into pea sized pieces
mini marshmallow for topping
oil (such as grapeseed)
cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cube yams into bite sized pieces. Place cut yams onto a large baking sheet. Drizzle with a little bit of oil. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Toss with clean hands until everything is well coated. Bake until yam pieces are soft (but not too soft).

Take the yams out of the oven and turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray and scrape all the cooked yams (and all the leftover contents of oil/spices that are on the sheet pan) into the casserole dish. Add additional salt to taste. Dot butter pieces on top. Add about a small handful of brown sugar. Drizzle maple syrup on top. Toss with hands or a wooden spoon, so everything is well coated. Top with enough marshmallows to cover the top. Bake at 350 degrees until all the marshmallows on top are puffy and nicely toasted.

Jen's Notes:
Again, everything is approximate and quantities need to be adjusted based on how many people you are serving.



The Result:
I forgot to take photos again; but Claire got some, and was nice enough to share. The only negative thing that happened is that I found out that the sweet potatoes don't travel very well. By the time we got to Claire's house, my marshmallow top totally deflated and looked kinda sad. The dish still tasted good, but looked better fresh from the oven. Overall, the food and company was fantastic and Thanksgiving #2 was soooo much fun!!!!

Rick Bayless' Crusty Chorizo and Black Bean Tortas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa & Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I am on a new recipe roll this week! Man alive, I haven't had three new recipes in a row for quite awhile. (Okay, really two new recipes since Sunday night's concoction barely counts as an actual recipe.) This dish was originally slated for Thursday night, but I did some rearranging to have it tonight. Why you ask???? Partly because I am really curious to try it, and partly because my super-sonic-pregnant-nose is tired of smelling the uncooked bulk pork chorizo in my fridge. I am going to pair these sandwiches with some Baked Sweet Potato Fries and call it good.

Rick Bayless' Crusty Chorizo & Black Bean Tortas with Fresh Tomatillo Salsa aka Tortas de Chorizo y Frijoles Negros
From: Copyright 2005, Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

Ingredients:
8 ounces fresh Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed (about 1 cup)
3-4 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil (divided use)
Two 15-ounce cans black beans
Salt to taste
4 bolillo rolls, crusty French rolls or submarine sandwich rolls (6-7 inches long, 3 inches wide)
6 ounces queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cup Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (recipe to follow)

Directions:
Set a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat and add the chorizo. Cook, breaking up the clumps, until browned and thoroughly cooked, about 8-9 minutes. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the oil (depending on how much fat the chorizo has rendered) and the beans. As the beans come to a simmer, mash them to a smooth paste with a Mexican bean masher, old-fashioned potato masher or the back of a large cooking spoon. Cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the consistency of very soft mashed potatoes--expect about 10 minutes after adding the beans. Taste and season with the salt if you think necessary. Keep warm over the lowest heat, covered to keep the beans soft and moist.

Heat a large griddle or skillet over medium. Slice the rolls open. use fingers or a spoon to scrape out some of the soft bread in the center of each half, making a small hollow. Brush the insides with the remaining 2 Tbsp oil, then lay them cut side down on the griddle or skillet to crisp to a rich golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Smear about 1/2 cup of the chorizo-bean mixture over the bottom half of each roll. Top with slices of the cheese and the avocado. Spoon on the salsa or dash on the hot sauce. Set the top of each roll in place, and you're ready to serve.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
From:Copyright 2005, Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday

Ingredients:
4 medium (8 ounces total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and halved
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
Hot green chiles to taste (2 Serrano *OR* 1 jalapeno), stemmed and roughly chopped (For less heat, seed & devein some or all of the chile peppers)
About 1/3 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro
1/2 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Directions:
Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay in the garlic and tomatillos, cut side down. When the tomatillos are well browned, 3-4 minutes, turn everything over and brown the other side. The tomatillos should be completely soft.

Scrape the tomatillos and garlic into a blender or food processor and let cool to room temperature, about 3 minutes. Add the chiles, cilantro, and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a salsa dish and thin with a little additional water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency.

Scoop the chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Stir into the salsa. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2 tsp.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Adapted from recipezaar.com/recipe #43469

Ingredients:
2-3 large sweet potatoes or yams, cut into fries
1 tablespoon of Chili powder
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of salt
Canola oil to coat

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Put cut fries into large ziploc bag with oil and spices and shake to coat.
3. Once well coated, open bag and add corn starch. Shake again until all are coated w/ corn starch.
4. Place fries onto baking sheet leaving space between fries; make sure to use baking rack to elevate fries off bottom of baking sheet for crisper results.
5. Put in oven for 10 minutes and then flip them over.
6. Place back in for 10 more minutes.
7. They should be soft on the inside and browned on the outside.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve with Spicy Lime Mayo (optional--recipe below).

Spicy Lime Mayo
Adapted from recipezaar.com/recipe #120459

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of light mayo
1/4 cup of light sour cream
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1-2 Tablespoons of lime juice
Pinch of salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate and let flavors combine for at least 1/2 hour before serving.

Jen's Notes:
I don't think I will make the Spicy Lime Mayo tonight due to the dairy content, but I still wanted to include it in my post. It is really good, and definitely worth trying with these fries!



The Results:
This was another fan-freakin'-tastic recipe! It was simple ingredients that, when combined, were soooo utterly tasty. We L-O-V-E-D these sandwiches!!! The husband and I fought over who got to eat the leftover half that our son didn't finish (we split it). Seriously, I don't think I have ever had a bad Rick Bayless recipe. They all seem to be awesome. The salsa was a perfect accompaniment...it was spicy and flavorful. The sweet potato fries were also a great side dish to go with these sammies. Really, I just can't say enough good things about this meal. We will certainly have this again.

On a technical note...I do want to point out that the directions for the salsa say to just "stem" the chile peppers,which is what I did. This made the salsa "light your hair on fire" spicy. Also, I noticed that I actually mis-read the recipe; I used 2 Serrano AND 1 jalapeno pepper (instead of 2 Serrano OR 1 jalapeno pepper...oops). I think next time I will seed and devein one or more of the peppers to get more of a balanced heat. As it stood, it was really spicy(which now makes sense because I added too many chiles)(even with the excessive heat, that did not detour us from breaking out the chips and eating it straight from the bowl). I love spicy food, but the pregnancy-induced indigestion was a little hard to deal with. With that said, I still would rather suffer the discomfort than to skip the salsa. It was one of the best homemade salsas that I have ever tasted!

Fish Sticks and Sweet Potato Fries

Today has not been a good day. My three year old tyrant - er, I mean son - has pretty much behaved like a wild beast.

Seriously, I feel like crying and/or running away from home.

Let me give you the rundown of beastly behavior. (Oh yes, I need to share my pain.)

So far he has: dumped his bowl of Cheerios and milk on the floor at breakfast, threw a tantrum because he did not want to put his shoes on, pooped at swim class in his suit (yes, he is fully potty trained), threw a tantrum because I did not give him the snack he wanted, threw a tantrum at his friend's house over some toy, threw a tantrum because he did not want to come home, threw a tantrum because he did not want to take his shoes off, threw his chicken nuggets on the floor at lunchtime, hit me in the face, flailed around on the ground and kicked our wall repeatedly, filled up a cup of water in the bathroom and then promptly upturned it onto the floor, refused to take a nap, trashed his room like a rock star, and spit on the dog.

I wish I was exaggerating. All this and it is only 2:30pm. Did I mention the crying and whining??? Pepper that into my day, as well.

Needless to say, I will not be cooking dinner tonight. I fully plan on hiding in my room and letting the husband take over as soon as he gets home from work. IF he comes home. I called him and gave him the low down on what was going on and he did not sound all too anxious to leave work. I am sure he will drive very slowly (I would).

I think I will whip up some frozen fish sticks and sweet potato fries for our dinner. If I am feeling better, I may make tartar sauce. Who knows. I am just trying to get through the day at this point. Okay...it is 2:49 pm now. Only 1 hour and 41 minutes until the husband gets home. It will be a testament to my parenting skills if I can hold it together until then! Okay, deep breath...

Veggie Cheeseburgers, Glazed Carrots, and Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I am still not exactly sure what I am doing for dinner. It has been a little bit of a harrowing day, so I am shooting for a uncomplicated meal. I have formulated a rough plan, but I am not 100% certain on exactly how I am going to execute part of it. The Veggie Cheeseburgers and Glazed Carrots are both items that we have had before...so no surprises there. I am trying to decide how I am going to make the Sweet Potato Fries I have in mind. Hmmmm... I think I will just play around with the seasoning and post the final recipe in my "result" post later. So for now, this is just a template for our dinner. I will let you know how it all goes! Here are my previous links:

Jen's Glazed Carrots

Veggie Cheeseburgers on Whole Wheat Buns

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Adapted from recipezaar.com/recipe #43469

Ingredients:
2-3 large sweet potatoes or yams, cut into fries
1 tablespoon of Chili powder
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 tablespoons of corn starch
1 teaspoon of cinnoamon
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of salt
Canola oil to coat

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Put cut fries into large ziploc bag with oil and spices and shake to coat.
3. Once well coated, open bag and add corn starch. Shake again until all are coated w/ corn starch.
4. Place fries onto baking sheet leaving space between fries; make sure to use baking rack to elevate fries off bottom of baking sheet for crisper results.
5. Put in oven for 10 minutes and then flip them over.
6. Place back in for 10 more minutes.
7. They should be soft on the inside and browned on the outside.
8. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve with Spicy Lime Mayo.

Spicy Lime Mayo
Adapted from recipezaar.com/recipe #120459

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of light mayo
1/4 cup of light sour cream
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1-2 Tablespoons of lime juice
Pinch of salt to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Refridgerate and let flavors combine for at least 1/2 hour before serving.




The Result:
I call this meal "Ode To Orange Food" . Everything on our plate was orange! I don't know...it struck me as funny. This was a yummy and filling meal. As usual, I turned to RecipeZaar for ideas on the Sweet Potato Fries and I was not disappointed. The sweet potato fries were really flavorful, but I need to try and improve on the texture. They were a bit soggy. I think I will amend the recipe to cook them on a wire rack, so they get crisper. Also, I added a bunch of extra spices to make the fries my own. I will edit and post the original recipe to show my version. Other than that, this meal was really tasty and easy. I have a couple of sweet potatoes leftover, so I am going to try the fries again soon. The lime mayo was really delicious, and it paired with the fries perfectly. Both recipes are definite keepers!!!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

I finally found an interesting vegetarian cookbook! As part of my "eat vegetarian three times a week" goal, I have been on the lookout for great vegetarian cookbook. Many that I have tried have been boring and disappointing, with lackluster recipes that just seem like a bunch of veggie side dishes. Nothing seemed to really scream "special" or have recipes that begged to be the "star" of the meal. In fact, there were a few cookbooks that were so boring I just returned them to the library without even marking one recipe to try out. That is really bad when I can't even find one recipe that looked interesting enough to make as an experiment(really, we will try almost anything once). Alas, my search continued...

Then, I found The Bold Vegetarian Chef by Ken Charney. I just happened upon it at the library,and loved it immediately. It was exactly what I have been looking for! Now, I have dozens of recipes marked for testing! His whole food philosophy (as you may guess from the book's title) is bold flavors and with lots of spices, etc., but easy and familiar enough not to be strange. Exotic, but not too exotic...not weird, but not boring either. I would call it "doable exotic". Hooray! I LOVE bold flavors! I am very excited to try some of his recipes, and I hope they live up to my expectations. This is the first one that I am trying from his cookbook, so wish me luck!


Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers with Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 carrot, peeled and grated finely
2 cups cooked black beans
1/2 ounce dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water until soft, stemmed, caps coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup peeled and mashed cooked sweet potatoes
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (preferably vegetarian)
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 to 2 cups dried bread crumbs
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1/2 cup canola oil, for frying

Directions:
1)In a large skillet, cook the onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft and nicely browned, 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, black beans, and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until garlic is softened and fragrant.
2)Remove from heat. With a potato masher or large fork, mash until the beans are about half crushed. Stir in tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper.
3)Place bean mixture in a large bowl. Add the sweet potato, quinoa, caraway seeds, and cilantro. Mix thoroughly. Season with hot sauce and/or Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Gradually add enough bread crumbs to produce a mixture firm enough to hold together. Let cool.
4)Form bean mixture into 8 burgers about inches in diameter. Spread cornmeal out on a clean plate.
5)One at a time, dredge the burgers in the cornmeal, using your hands to carefully coat both sides. Place on another plate or clean surface. Finish all 8 burgers and set aside. Use extra cornmeal, if needed, to coat all the burgers.
6)In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add or 4 burgers and fry, turning once with two spatulas to prevent 'splashing' oil. Cook until crispy and brown on the outside, heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove burgers to drain on paper towels, and add remaining oil. When oil is hot again, cook the remaining burgers, and drain. Serve with Yellow Pepper Sauce.

Roasted Yellow Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:
2 yellow bell peppers
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 to 1 fresh hot pepper (jalapeno, Serrano or habanero) minced
1/2 banana
1/4 to 1/2 cup of dry white wine or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 or 2 splashes of white wine or cider vinegar

Directions:
1) Roast yellow peppers, peel and cut into strips.
2) In a small skillet or sauce pan, cook the onion in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until soft and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.
3) In a food processor, combine the roasted bell peppers, cooked onion, hot pepper, banana, and remaining oil. Blend briefly. With the machine on, gradually add wine mixing until smooth and creamy.
4) Strain the sauce through a food mill or fine mesh strainer and scrape into a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced slightly. The sauce should be a bit thick, but not heavy. Season with salt, pepper, vinegar to taste.




The Result:
Oh man! This was awesome!!! Okay....it was labor-intensive, but well worth it. Also, I acknowledge the fact that most households do not stock 'quinoa' in their pantry (or some of the other specialty ingredients/equipment in this recipe), but I do...I actually had everything on hand for this dish...even the food mill (I know, I know...I am a food nerd...don't remind me). This recipe was fan-freakin'-tastic! It was exactly as promised, bold and flavorful. The yellow pepper sauce was so,so good. It was the perfect condiment to these burgers.
The yellow pepper sauce was awesome...although, I had a little jalapeno pepper incident when I was making the sauce. I put my knife down on the cutting board when I finished mincing the hot pepper (a little too haphazardly), and a piece of jalapeno flew up into my eye. Literally, a little chunk got lodged under my eyelid. It burned. It burned so bad, it felt like someone sprayed me with pepper spray at point-blank range. My eye was blood red. It hurt! I flushed it with water and the chunk came out. For the next 20 minutes or so, my eye just teared and burned. No fun! After 20 minutes, it was fine...it stopped hurting and the color returned back to normal. Ugh. I am happy that my eye is okay now, I really did not want to sport an eye patch for the rest of my life.

Anyway, this dish took a while to make but it was satisfying and substantial. One burger was plenty of food. In fact, I had the other half of the yellow sweet potato that I served on the side, that I could not finish because the burger was so filling.
This is an awesome vegetarian recipe to keep for when you really feel like "cooking". I think I used almost every bowl I had and almost every piece of kitchen equipment I own. So far, I have done two loads of dishes and it still looks like someone threw a hand grenade in my kitchen. I am happy to have leftover burgers, so I don't have to actually make them again anytime soon. I may even try freezing a couple. Overall, I am really happy with this recipe and I will make it again sometime. These burgers could easily become addictive!