Page 18 - Florida Sentinel 1-15-16 Edition

Recipes
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Fries
2 large sweet potato 1-1/2 tablespoon coconut
or olive oil
2 tablespoons pure
maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon spicy
seasoning (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or your choice)
Salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans
DIRECTIONS: First preheat
oven to 425 F. Wash and scrub
sweet potatoes. Dry them off.
Slice and cut into shoe string
fries about 1/2" thick. Place cut
fries into a large plastic ziploc
bag. Next, heat up the coconut
oil in microwave if not already in
liquid form. Add maple syrup and pumpkin seasoning (also could use cinnamon, or some nutmeg.) Whisk together and pour over potatoes in ziploc bag. Zip up bag, and shake to coat all the fries evenly. Place coated fries on baking sheet and salt (a few good pinches should do.) Place in oven for 15 minutes then flip. After flipping fries, bake for an additional 12 min. At this time, add the second Tsp of pure maple syrup and pecans. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Fries should be done at this point, serve immediately.
From Tonia Turner
Dr. King loved pecan pie and in his honor I present to you a few simplified, yet delicious menu items made with pecans. This menu can serve as a light luncheon after the MLK holiday festivities, as you sit and reminisce about this great man.
Pecan Pie Pops (Adult & Child Versions)
1-1/2 pounds pie dough
8-inch cookie sticks
1 pound toasted pecans, chopped
Special equipment: 24 mini foil baking cups, hole puncher, round cookie cutter
Pie Pop Filling
6 eggs
1 pound caster sugar (can substitute brown sugar)
2 cups dark corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
5 ounces butter
Special equipment: electric mixer
Cook's Note: For an adult version - add 2 tablespoons of Whiskey
DIRECTIONS: Pie Pop Shells: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Using a hole puncher, cut out 1 hole in each mini foil baking cup about halfway down the side. Roll the pie dough out on a flat surface and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Once chilled, remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut out circles using a round cooking cutter. Put the circles into the mini foil baking cups. Chill these mini pie shells in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and trim any excess dough from the rim of the baking cup. Gently insert a cookie stick through each baking cup and pie shell. Fill the pie shells with the chopped pecans. Next chill the prepared pie pop shells in the freezer for 15 minutes. Re- move the pie pop shells from freezer and put them on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, turn- ing halfway through. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and set the pop shells aside.
DIRECTIONS: To make Pie Pop Filling: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Whisk the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer. While the eggs are mixing take a small saucepan and set it over medium-high heat. Add the butter to the saucepan and bring past a boil until you see protein solids and it begins to brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. (There will be white bits on the top, and will drop to the bottom on the pan.) Remove the pan from the stove and let the butter finish browning in the pan while it cools. Don't worry if the butter gets dark, as long as it smells good (and isn't burnt) it will taste good.
Whisk the sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla into the eggs in the mixer. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl periodically to ensure the ingredients on the bottom and sides of the bowl are incor- porated. Slowly, add the browned butter until it's incorporated into the egg mixture.
Put about a tablespoon of filing into each pop shell. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 17 to 20 minutes, turning halfway through. The filling should look set and no longer bubbling when completely baked. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the pie pops to cool completely be-
Pecan-Crusted Chicken Strips
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pecans
1/8 teaspoon salt freshly ground black
pepper
1 egg white
1 tablespoon all
purpose flour
4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken
breast tenders
DIRECTIONS: Pre- heat the oven to 375 de- grees, then coat a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray. In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, pecans, salt and pepper.
In a second bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, and place the flour in a third bowl. Start by covering a chicken tender in flour, and then dip it into the egg white. Press both sides into the bread crumb/pecan mixture, then place on the baking sheet. Repeat for all tenders, and bake them for 15 minutes, turning once. They should be crispy and golden brown when you take them out.
fore enjoying.
PAGE 6-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016