Happy New Year! 

It’s mid-afternoon here in sunny, but crispy cold Placerville, California…and as I sit here in the wee corner desk in the kitchen of my humble abode, I clearly contemplate on the many great days, as, too, of the trials and tribulations that has bestowed my life throughout the past year.  Moving forward, I focus not on a ‘resolution’ for the new year but on goals for the next 364 1/2 days left of 2013…

Although I have kept myself busy in the kitchen since my last post, I’ve managed to stumble upon the Holidays writer’s block.  Thus, in the midst of playing around with the idea of what to do with the left-over pot roast from last’s night’s (or two days ago) dinner and in collaboration with my wonderful husband, we bring to you today The Cooking Apprentice’s first recipe share of the year….

Ingredients:

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• Left over meat, finely chopped (We had approximately 1 cup of left over beef pot roast)
• *1 bag of frozen peas, cooked (or 1 cup of can or fresh peas, if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Worcestershire Sauce (optional, but recommended, for added flavoring)

Equipment:

• Large ramekin or similar oven-safe bake ware
• Potato riser or similar to mash the sweet potatoes
• Strainer
• Large pot
• Large pan (optional, for re-heating the left over meat)
• Butane torch (optional, for the meat)

Direction:

1. Wash, clean, peel and dice the sweet potatoes into cubes.  In a large pot add approximately 4 cups of water, along with the sweet potatoes, and 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil until potatoes are tender enough for mashing.
2. Strain the water from the potatoes, and remove from the pot.  Place the potatoes in a large bowl and set the pot aside for later use.
3. As you mash the sweet potatoes with the potato riser (or similar), place it back inside the pot.
4. On low-medium heat, add 1/2 cup of heavy cream, salt, and pepper to the mashed sweet potatoes and cook for about 5-8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, layer half of the left-over meat on the bottom of a large ramekin (or similar bake ware) then, add the cooked peas on top of that.
6. Now layer the sweet potatoes on top of that and lastly, the other half of the left-over meat on top of that.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and heat the layered dish for about 30 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven when cooked, and, as an option, you can brown the meat further by using a butane torch.

Serve warm with a few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce, as desired.   Et Voilà!-gcc

Tips:

1. You may substitute the sweet potatoes with regular potatoes.
2. *Other suggested veggies you can use in place of/other than peas can be kale, spinach or similar vegetables that are not watery when cooked.