A dish you may have grown up with...

It's no secret that I get happier as the weather gets colder. Two weekends spent hiking in the Berkshires air kicked off my favorite season, filled with friends and lots of food.

Sharing food with others is why I love to cook.

Thanksgiving is really the only holiday I get excited about cooking for—my mom and I plan the menu weeks in advance, wondering how we can tweak a dish from the previous year to make it better (healthier) or what should stay exactly the same.

This time of year, not only are we gearing up for our family Thanksgiving dinners, but Friendsgiving dinners as well. More often than not, Friendsgiving is potluck-style, giving you the chance to either showcase your mom's famous sweet potato casserole, or show how great you are at pointing at a babka from across the bakery counter.

Chances are you've had some variation of sweet potatoes with marshmallows growing up. Perhaps you tried to scoop up only the toasted marshmallow topping. This dessert-as-sidedish conjures up extreme nostalgic feelings and in the spirit of the impending holiday, the #howtoadultcookbook ladies are here to give you a sweet twist to this classic Thanksgiving item.

Here's what you'll need to make Mini Sweet Potato Casseroles - makes 10-12 muffin-sized casseroles:

• 4 large, or 5-6 medium-sized sweet potatoes—boiled, peeled & mashed
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• mini marshmallows (for topping)
• chopped pecans (for topping)

Place sweet potatoes in a large pot of water—water should be covering sweet potatoes fully, with 1-2 inches of water above potatoes. Bring water to boil and boil sweet potatoes for 30 minutes. Remove sweet potatoes from pot, and place in large mixing bowl to cool (about 20 minutes).

Preheat oven to 350F.

While still semi-warm, peel sweet potatoes, discarding the skin and placing peeled sweet potatoes back in the large mixing bowl. Mash sweet potatoes until smooth.

Add coconut oil, maple syrup, nutmeg, ground ginger, cinnamon, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined (the coconut oil will melt from warm potatoes).

In muffin tins lined with cupcake liners, fill each liner completely with sweet potato filling. Make a little hole in the middle of each for toppings.

Bake for 15 minutes until mini sweet potato casseroles are hot and slightly browned on top. Remove from oven to sprinkle each with a few mini marshmallows and chopped pecans—cover the top of each mini casserole almost fully (you should still be able to see potato underneath). Place back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes until marshmallows are slightly browned on top.

Remove from oven to serve each mini casserole as an individual portion.

Tip: Be careful, they'll still be quite soft so you may need to use a spoon to remove them from muffin tins.

New Beginnings for a New Year

Do you notice anything different? Look up! One of my super talented friends, Grace, designed this logo especially for Nina Knows Food. I am thrilled with her beautiful interpretation of my passion for cooking and eating. I am also SO honored to display her work. Now I can move into the New Year with a new look to the blog, among other things!

The past two months have seen one BIG move, two major holidays, lots of cooking, and even more eating. My new kitchen has yet to be used to cook a real meal, but lots of delicious food was cooked in my family's home kitchen.

Thanksgiving is a time for my mom and I to bounce ideas off each other about how to make the meal even better than last year's. We stick with the classics, turkey and stuffing being two of them. Stuffing that does not fit into the bird goes into muffin tins to make what we call stuffin' muffins. For those who like their stuffing a little crunchy, these muffins are perfect.

Green beans with ginger and garlic was added to our menu last Thanksgiving, and made a repeat appearance this year because they're just so darn tasty. Thanksgiving foods are very savory and these green beans add a much-needed crunch and spice to the meal. My apple cake with lemon and ginger will always make an appearance - everyone knows to save room for dessert.

My leftover sandwich, piled high with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, spinach, guacamole and goat cheese, was one of the best things I have ever eaten. Ever. 

Chanukah came and went, but the lingering smell of sizzling latkes stayed for weeks. I learned how my mom makes latkes, and now I'm confident I'll be able to take on the task. Needless to say, I don't really want to eat another latke until next Chanukah.

My family does not celebrate Christmas, but that doesn't mean we won't help others celebrate! Chocolate-covered strawberries are WAY easier than you might think and they make a gorgeous gift to bring over to any holiday party.

Over a double boiler, melt dark chocolate chips (1/3 - 1/2 bag) with 1 TBS Crisco - this makes the chocolate shiny and smooth. Once melted, dip strawberries and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Cool overnight, or at least for a few hours, to let the chocolate set. Repeat with the remainder of the chocolate, depending on how much fruit you have to dip.

You can use this chocolate to dip any kind of fruit or treat! I added Chanukah-themed sprinkles to our strawberries above because, well, why not?

I'm looking forward to more sunrises from my apartment window and more amazing meals to share with all of you. Cheers to the happiest and healthiest New Year yet!