Recipe of a Week: Danger's Simply Sweet Potatoes

A study of the top ten potato countries shows that spuds are among the most valuable food commodities in international trade.

Rich in carbohydrates, potatoes also contain proteins, calcium, potassium and vitamin C. Boiling potatoes nearly doubles the amount of calcium and substantially increases protein content.

According to CRN India, the worldwide potato crop was around 322 million metric tons in 2005. (For more of this fascinating story, visit here)

Well that's fine and all, but potatoes have got nothing on their cousin-by-name-only the Sweet Potato! Sweet potatoes are healthier, tastier, and can be substituted basically anywhere a potato is called for with amazing success. And since potatoes are such a frequent 'go to' for side dishes, I thought I would share with you a tasty and incredibly simple recipe which originally called for potatoes, but which got the sweet potato make over. 

Recipe of a Week: J. (prounounced 'hay') Kent's Jalapeno Quesadilla Fiesta

Birds of a feather flock together... ever hear that phrase? Indeed it must be true, because so many of my interests are shared by so many of my friends. For example, take my friend J.Kent. I love tasty Czech beer, he loves tasty Czech beer; I live overseas, and can thus only get one NFL game at a time on any given Sunday due to crappy overseas NFL coverage, he lives overseas and suffers the same programming headaches; I love to eat tasty Mexican food, and J.Kent loves to eat tasty Mexican food... but I had no idea that, like me, he also loves to whip up kick-ass, tasty Mexican food!

Well, thank goodness he does, because this week's Recipe of a Week comes courtesy of J.Kent's culinary dabbling, and the below is a verbatim recreation of his Mexicana masterpiece. 

Recipe of a Week: Danger's REAL Roman Carbonara

... Cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar, dollar bill, ya'll.... Cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dollar, dollar bill ya'll....

Sorry, Wu-Tang, but today there will be NO cream. And do you know why? Because unlike the bastard (no relation to Ol' Dirty...) versions of carbonara most people have run into outside of Italy, true carbonara does not use any milk or cream. How do they achieve that amazing, creamy sauce then you ask? By following this deliciously simple recipe below for true spaghetti carbonara.

Recipe of a Week: Danger's Wicked-Tasty Mediterranean Pumpkin Soup

Trick or treat? Well, I assure you, this is certainly no trick - now that Fall is upon us, pumpkins are showing up everywhere, and this tasty concoction is an amazing version of the seasonal soup favorite. I can only get fresh pumpkins a few autumn months per year, which means I'll be making a lot of pumpkin dishes in the near future.

Danger's How To: Oven Roasted Bell Peppers

Roasted bell peppers are most often purchased in a jar when a recipe calls for them. Fine, but you are missing out on an amazing experience by not making them yourself. The smell and taste of freshly roasted peppers is amazing, and it takes so little effort.

Since some upcoming recipes will include roasted peppers, here's a quick how-to for doing it yourself in your oven.