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Some of Crate's Favorites

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Pecan Butter
We served this at a recent Crate Lunch and Learn class. It is easy and delicious. The butter can be made ahead. It elevates the baked sweet potato to a whole new level.

Serves 4

For the Butter:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, (3 ½ ounces), at room temperature
2 medium shallots, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced crosswise
¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt

4 medium sweet potatoes (10-12 ounces each), scrubbed and patted dry

Make the butter: Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook until browned and slightly crisp, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter with the shallots, pecans, maple syrup, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Blend together until the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Set aside for an hour or cover and refrigerate if making ahead. (Bring to room temperature before using.)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425 degrees. Lay the potatoes on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until very tender, 50 to 1 hour.

To serve, make a cut along the top of each potato, push on ends to partially open, fluff with a fork. Place a dollop of the maple pecan butter inside each potato and serve.

Farmhouse Chicken Stew with Buttermilk Dumplings
We all love this. This is a complete meal. It is similar to a chicken pot pie but much easier. Add the buttermilk biscuits half way through the cooking. Perfect for the cold days of winter.

Stew:
3 ½ pounds boneless, skinless, chicken thighs cut into 2 inch pieces
¼ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ cup olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
4 cups chicken stock
¾ pound red potatoes cut into 2 inch pieces
4-5 carrots, peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
½ cup thinly sliced celery

1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

In a large bowl, mix flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the black pepper and paprika. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and toss in the flour mixture until well coated.

In a Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Shake off excess flour and add chicken pieces, in batches if needed to prevent crowding. Cook, turning once or twice, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion slices to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the stock, potatoes, carrots, and celery and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up any brown bits form the bottom. Return chicken to pot along with any juices on plate and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken is just white throughout, about 20 minutes. (Can be made ahead to this point)

Buttermilk Dumplings:
2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
¼ cup chopped green onion
1 cup buttermilk

In a medium bowl, gently whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in shortening until it is the size of small peas. Stir in green onions. Make a well in the center, pour in the buttermilk, and stir just until dough comes together.

To cook the dumplings: Skim off any fat from top of the stew. Stir in peas, parsley, and thyme and bring to a simmer.

For each dumpling, dip a spoon into the simmering liquid, use it to scoop out about ¼ cup of dough, and then gently drop the dough onto the top of the stew. Repeat with remaining dough. You should have about 12 dumplings.

Cover pan tightly and reduce heat to low. Cook without lifting the cover, until dumplings are puffed, firm to the touch, and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

PENNE IN A COUNTRY RAGU WITH BRAISED SPARERIBS
Made in a heavy Dutch oven, as the Mario Batali by Copco, this hearty meal is perfect when served with polenta or hominy grits (with a bit of cheese). It's definitely comfort food. It was made in Crate's Lunch and Learn class and loved by all!

Yields about 5 cups ragu

2-28 oz cans imported Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 lb. baby back pork ribs, trimmed of excessive fat
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 ¼ cups)
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes; more to taste
½ lb. loose mild Italian sausage (or 2 links, casings removed)
1 cup dry white wine
½ cup tomato paste diluted in ½ cup water
1 Tbs. dried basil
1 Tbs. dried oregano

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 300F.

Put canned tomatoes and their juices in a food processor and process until pureed.

Cut the ribs into 2 or 3 pieces so they fit in a 7 to 8 qt. Dutch oven. Heat ¼ cup of the oil in the Dutch oven over medium high heat. Season the ribs with kosher salt and pepper and add them to the hot oil, fatty side down. Cook until the ribs turn a light golden brown, about 6 minutes. Turn the ribs over and brown them on the other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a large plate.

Add the onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion just begins to color, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon until it's lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

Return the ribs to the pan and stir them around with the savory base. Raise the heat to high and add the wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the wine is reduced approximately by half, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the diluted tomato paste. Season with ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper. Stir until the liquid begins to simmer.

Cover the pan tightly with a lid and put it in the oven. Simmer very gently, turning the ribs once, until the sauce has a medium thick consistency and the meat begins to fall off the bone, about 2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the ribs and any meat that has fallen off the bone to a cutting board. Skim the fat off the surface of the sauce. When the ribs are cool, pull the meat off the ribs and finely chop.

Stir the meat back into the sauce and simmer stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.