Eat a Little Better with Sam Kass

I received Sam Kass’s book, Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World to review QUITE a while ago.  I wasn’t too busy and it wasn’t because I didn’t feel like looking at it.  On the contrary, I really liked the book and kept finding recipes I wanted to try before posting.  For those of you not familiar with Sam, he was the personal chef to President Obama’s family and worked with FLOTUS on her healthy eating initiative.  Yes, I am biased and really wanted to like this book (plus he is easy on the eyes-I didn’t just write that, did I?). Luckily I can, in good conscience say, its a winner.

I love the stories about the White House, the first family and Sam’s tips on healthy eating and cooking.  The first change I implemented was rearranging my fridge.  I moved my fruits and vegetables to bowls and see-through containers. Now, when I open the door my weekend farmer’s market bounty is staring me in the face instead of hidden in the  “the crisper”.  No longer out of sight, out of mind.  Be honest, who hasn’t pulled out an unidentifiable fuzzy green object that might have once been an apple or orange, or worse a forgotten cucumber that morphed into a slimy swamp creature…ewwwww.

Those ignored apples stashed in the crisper?  Placed front and center, a visible “I’m here” reminder, turned into a couple of delicious apple crisps.  

The recipes are straightforward, uncomplicated, some healthy, some homey, some both.  Right up my alley.  I LOVE sweet potatoes so a recipe for a trio of dips/toppings for baked sweet potatoes caught my eye. It reminded me of an absolutely scrumptious charred sweet potato with a bone marrow Salsa Negra appetizer I had at Cala in San Francisco.  The potatoes were tender, smoky and sweet.  Borrowing from Smitten Kitchen, I slow roasted the potatoes in the oven and finished them under the broiler for that nice char.  The toppings, an herbalicious sour cream, and a brown butter orange juice were a snap to prepare.  I nixed the bacon dip and made the topping for Kaddo, an Afghani dish of braised pumpkin topped with two sauces, a tomato meat sauce, and a garlic-mint yogurt sauce.  The sweet potato stood in for the pumpkin, pretty yummy.  It deserves its own post which is coming soon.

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Sweet Potato In-skin Mash-ups

Ingredients

• 4-6 Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes I used Smitten Kitchen recipe see link

Brown Butter-Orange Juice

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
• Kosher salt

Herbed Sour Cream

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives or green onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Kosher salt

Instructions

• While sweet potatoes are roasting you will have plenty of time to throw these sauces together.

Brown butter-orange juice

• Place butter chunks in saucepan, preferably a light color one so you can see the butter turn color. Place over medium heat and let the butter melt and bubble, swirl the pot occasionally. The butter will foam and then start to color. Watch carefully, the milk particles will turn a nice toasty brown, remove from the heat and pour butter into a heatproof bowl.
• Stir in orange juice and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Make a slit lengthwise in each potato, season with more salt. Smoosh it with a fork and drizzle the sauce on the sweet potato.
• Serve immediately.

Herbed Sour Cream

• In a small bowl, combine sour cream, chives, thyme and lemon juice. Mix until well blended. Season with a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Split potato, season with salt and place a generous dollop of the sour cream in the potato.
• Serve immediately.

Next,  Butternut Squash and Kale Fried Rice.  The sweetness of the squash meshed well with the saltiness of the bacon and the slight bite of the kale.  Surprisingly good and easy to make. Feel free to use any kind of rice, use a mix of green onions and yellow onions and season to taste with soy sauce.  DON’T SKIP THE EGG.

Leftover roast chicken? Sam’s tasty recipe for Chicken Salad was the perfect answer. Red onion, crispy green beans, fresh thyme, and mayo to bind. A breeze to put together.  For a touch of sweetness, grapes or diced apples would be a nice addition.

How could I not try the dish featured on his cover?  Braised Chicken with Olives and Oranges.  Bold, bright flavors, sweet from the oranges and tangy from the olives, like tennis a love match.  Even better the second day when the flavors mellowed and melded together.

You can see why it took me so long to review!

His Slow Roasted Pork served as the base for a couple of quick and delicious meals. I still had plenty left despite continually pulling shreds of pork off the bone and popping it into my mouth.

First meal-CARNITAS. Topped with a cabbage slaw, homemade salsa, cilantro, and onions on warm corn tortillas, darn fine tacos.

Second meal-Rigatoni with Pork Ragu. Onions, tomatoes, slow roasted pork and a handful of grated Parmesan, so simple and satisfying.

So, verdict? Wonderful, simple, straightforward cookbook with some sage advice.  I plan to use this book a lot.  Hope you will too.