Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Combine water, yeast and 2 tsp sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir in sweet potato, orange zest, salt and flour until a soft dough forms. Add a little more flour if necessary to achieve a dough you knead.
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 10-12 times until dough become elastic. Use the vegetable oil to lightly oil a clean mixing bowl. Place dough in bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
4. While dough rises, combine butter, ricotta, 1/8 cup sugar and 1/8 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl until a paste forms.
5. After rising, punch dough down and transfer to a floured surface. Roll dough out into a 14" x 14" square. Use a rubber spatula or butter knife to spread ricotta-butter mixture over the entire square. Roll dough from the bottom up, pinching as you go to seal until you have a long cylinder.
6. Use a sharp knife to cut dough into 10 rolls. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until rolls brown slightly and the sugars bubble.

Makes 8-10 rolls.

Directions

1. Combine tomatoes, basil and 2 cloves minced garlic in a small pot. Cover and cook for 15 minutes until tomatoes break down. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add beef and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add spinach and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned and cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
3. Combine cooled beef-spinach mixture with ricotta and salt and pepper to taste.
4. To assemble the pillows, place 1 ravioli wrapper on a clean, dry surface. Place about 1/8 cup filling in the middle of the wrapper.
5. Use your fingers or a pastry brush to wet the edges of the wrapper. Place a second wrapper on top of the first, encasing the filling. Press the edges together to seal. Set on a clean platter. Repeat until all the wrappers and filling have been used up.
6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat so that the water is boiling lightly. Cook the pillows one at a time for about 1 1/2 minutes each or until they float. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to serving plates.
7. To serve, place two pillows on a plate and top with sauce. Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Directions

1. Prepare grill or grill pan, over medium-high heat. If using grill pan, drizzle lightly with olive oil.
2. Start by caramelizing the onions: heat olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Add onion slices and cook for 10-12 minutes or until soft.
3. Combine beef, garlic, diced onion, jalapeno and liberal amounts of salt and pepper. Form into 4 patties. Cook to desired done-ness (evidently I like medium-rare).
4. Top each burger with a slice of pepper jack and, if cooking inside, place under a broiler or even in a toaster oven until just melted. If you're grilling outside, just cover the burger and cheese with the grill cover for a minute or two until the cheese melts.
5. Toast or grill the buns and top each bun bottom with a cheeseburger, some caramelized onions, and a few avocado slices. Serve hot.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Spread yams on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp out the outside and tender inside. Toss with salt, pepper and parsley.
3. To make the aioli, simply stir Sriracha or other chili sauce into mayonnaise and serve alongside the fries.