Food Network Photo
Megan Huffman has her ingredients for preparation of her Savory Sweet Potato Salad.
Food Network Photo
Megan Huffman and Food Network host Sunny Anderson in the kitchen.
Food Network Photo
Megan Huffman's Savory Sweet Potato Salad was runnerup in the Food Network national cooking contest.
Huffman’s Savory Sweet Potato Salad recipe was among four chosen to be cooked in a promotion for Extended Stay America (ESA), featuring a fully equipped kitchen in each room.
Lauren Wyler won the America's Top Away from Home Cook with a $5,000 award and sharing her recipe alongside Anderson at the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival, Oc. 16-19.
"I loved all the entries submitted by the four finalists and hanging out with them as they prepared their dishes for the cook-off. This contest proves simple delicious dishes can be made while away from home," said Anderson.
The four finalists competed in a hotel room cook-off at Extended Stay America in the New York City area, critiqued by judges including Lodging Magazine Editor Megan Sullivan, the voice behind popular NYC based food blog Big Girls Small Kitchen, Cara Eisenpress and Extended Stay America's own Chef Kay Carreon and Chief Marketing Officer Tom Seddon.
Huffman’s recipe with the ingredients is provided below.
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds sweet potatoes
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1/2 Tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika (plus 1/4 teaspoon for garnish)
Juice from 1/2 medium lemon
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup green onions (white part), thinly sliced (plus 2 Tablespoons of green part for garnish)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
4 Tablespoons Real Bacon Bits (from a 3 oz. package, not the bottled kind), plus 1/2 Tablespoon for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prepare sweet potatoes: rinse and scrub sweet potatoes. Use a peeler or small knife to peel skin off sweet potatoes. Cut each sweet potato in half, cut into cubes, and place in large pot.
2. Add water to pot of sweet potatoes; enough water to cover the sweet potatoes (about 3/4 full). Bring water to a boil. Once boiling, boil sweet potatoes for 5-10 minutes, just until “fork tender” (tender enough to stick a fork in them with no resistance). Drain and let cool completely (this could take 30 minutes-1 hour to fully c3. While cooking and cooling sweet potatoes, chop and prepare all of the herbs and additional ingredients. Add mayonnaise into a medium bowl along with the thyme, dill, salt, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, lemon juice, 1/4 cup green onion, red onion, and 4 Tablespoons bacon bits. Stir all ingredients together until well mixed. If potatoes are not fully cooled yet, let sit covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
4. Once sweet potatoes have fully cooled, add them to a large bowl along with half of the mayonnaise mixture. Gently stir with a spoon, being careful to not over-mix as this will make the sweet potatoes break up and become “mushy”. Add more of the mayonnaise mixture as needed or desired. You will want them to be well coated with the mixture, but not drenched in it. Save any remaining mayonnaise mixture for later use.
5. Let the sweet potato salad chill, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Once chilled, gently stir once more and garnish with the additional green onion, bacon, and paprika.