Call me a late bloomer, but I am proud to announce that I have finally begun taking photography lessons. Oh, I know enough to get by, but I really wanted to learn from the ground up. Learning something new is always hard, and many people avoid the heartache of failing at something. Living in the same routine is easy, but it is the new year, and maybe it is time for you to challenge yourself too.
Photography uses a lot of fractions, which are not my forte. I was struggling to keep up with my instructor and write down my notes. While I know my current limitations, I will try to overcome them and learn as much as I can. Let’s think about all the successful people in this world– those who succeed the most were the best at learning new skills. You must dedicate your spare time in the pursuit of learning a new skill. And you must stick with it. That is what I intend to do, and I know I will be successful. I took up the sport of boxing at 45 and have stuck with it ever since, trying to improve any way that I can. Will I ever be Mohamed Ali? No, probably not, but I will be the best boxer I can be, and that is good enough. Will I ever be Annie Leibovitz? Not likely, but I know I will be better at photography than I am today. I also learned to speak Spanish when I was in my thirties. I felt invincible when I spoke my first full sentence.
Nothing will make you prouder at this moment, then learning something new. Remember the first couple of chords of your guitar? Or the feeling of making it downhill on the steepest ski slope? I remember when I couldn’t cook. Now I can. Try something new. It’s good for your brain, your heart and your emotional well-being. You can do it. If you’ve been successful at learning something new, please share it, I would love to hear from you!
This dish is one that you can count on being successful. The roasted sweet potatoes are wonderfully caramelized adding deep rich flavor. It is so smooth and creamy. The maple syrup gives it sweetness and the chipotle chilies and the adobo sauce are the perfect amount of heat, making it lip-smacking good.
This recipe is courtesy of Ina Garten and will serve 6 to 8 people who will want to try this new dish too!
Ingredients for Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes:
4 pounds sweet potatoes (6 potatoes)
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon minced chipotle chilies in adobo sauce with seeds, such as Goya
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the can of chilies)
¼ cup pure Grade A maple syrup
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Place the sweet potatoes on the prepared sheet pan and pierce each potato 4 times with a small knife.
Roast for 1 to 1¼ hours, until very tender inside when tested with a knife.
Set aside until cool enough to handle. (Leave the oven on.)
Peel the potatoes, discard the skins, and place the potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Meanwhile, place the milk, cream, chipotle chilies, and adobo sauce in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. (It might look curdled.)
With the mixer on low speed, add the chipotle-milk mixture to the sweet potatoes.
Add the maple syrup, butter, and 1 tablespoon salt.
Mix until the potatoes are coarsely pureed.
Pour into a 9 × 12 × 2-inch oval oven-to-table baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, until heated through.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve hot.
It’s that simple!
