Southern Comfort (6 page)

Prick each sweet potato with a fork five times and microwave them together on high for 15 minutes. Holding a hot potato with a kitchen towel set in the palm of your hand, halve each potato, scoop out the soft flesh, and transfer the pulp to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Discard the potato skins. Puree the pulp until smooth. Let the puree cool and set aside until needed.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour the warm milk into a bowl; whisk in the yeast until dissolved. Using a wooden spoon, stir ½ cup of the flour into the milk mixture until it is absorbed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area of the kitchen until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Combine the sweet potato puree, brown sugar, and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until smooth. Add the melted butter, the remaining 2 cups flour, and the salt, along with yeast mixture and mix on low speed until the dough starts pulling from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes more. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into twelve equal portions.

Dust your work surface lightly with flour again if necessary and form the dough into balls. Place them 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until they have doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for about 12 minutes.

Serve warm with salted butter.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Pour the warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir in the yeast until it has dissolved. Next add 1 cup of the all-purpose flour and give a gentle stir, also by hand, to mix the flour into the liquid. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm area of the kitchen until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or have a nonstick baking sheet ready.

Return the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add the remaining 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, chestnuts, pecans, honey, molasses, salt, and olive oil. Mix on low speed for 20 minutes to form the dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Using the palm of your hands, pat the dough into a large, flat oval about 1 inch thick. With both hands, tightly roll the dough into a cylinder and place on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Bake until the bread is dark brown and crusty, about 45 minutes. Let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

I
NSPIRED COCKTAIL FOOD
should be just as fun and juicy as the cocktail party itself. Bite-size, easy-to-eat food is imperative, because something hanging from the side of your mouth or staining the front of your shirt is a real conversation killer. Some guests may try to avoid embarrassment by using the “eat first, mingle later” approach, but too much lingering alone around the food runs the risk of putting out a piggy, antisocial vibe. You can make your cocktail party one that everyone enjoys by anticipating the needs of your hungry-to-eat, but also hungry-to-be-appropriate guests. Split up your food around the room to encourage movement and serve some of our tried-and-true crowd pleasers.