Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Cipollini Onions

Last year I shared a recipe for sweet potatoes that is well, sweet. This one is savory. For people who think that they do not like sweet potatoes, they haven't found the right recipe! This recipe has Cipollini onions, during the roasting process they will caramelize. If you live in Phoenix, the farmer's market has sweet potatoes, and they are wonderful. I would get there early this Saturday as it will be a busy one right before the holiday.

4 teaspoons unsalted butter
4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
about 12 Cipollini Onions peeled
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme or if you have fresh 6 sprigs with the leaves removed

Heat oven to 375° F. Place the butter on a rimmed baking sheet and put in the oven just long enough to melt the butter. Add the sweet potatoes and onions, stir to get butter on them. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Roast, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes for Desert

I know I said that the cranberries were my favorite part of Thanksgiving but my other favorite is the sweet potatoes. Most people make them so sweet with the marshmallows and pineapple that you might as well do them as a desert. I love sweet potato pie. Here is a recipe for a great one.
Crust:
1 1/2 cups Anna's ginger cookies (crushed in the Cuisinart)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cookie crumbs and sugars in medium bowl. Add half of the melted butter, stir until crumbs feel moist when pressed together with fingertips, keep adding a little melted butter if crumb mixture is dry. (I use all most a whole stick) Press crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish, building up sides 1/4 inch above rim of dish. Bake crust until set and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Cool on rack.

This is the perfect time to use a pretty pie dish if you have one, I have always wanted an Emile Henry one.

Filling:
3 pounds medium red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (if you don't have it, this is a combination of cinnamon, all spice, ginger and nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350°F. Pierce sweet potatoes all over with fork; place potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool . Cut potatoes open and scoop out pulp. Transfer pulp to processor and puree until smooth. Set aside 2 cups sweet potato puree for filling; cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine 2 cups sweet potato puree, sweetened condensed milk, and all remaining ingredients in large bowl; mix with Cuisinart until well blended and smooth. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie until puffed around edges and set in center, about 50 minutes. Transfer pie to rack and cool. Refrigerate pie covered overnight.

Meringue:

1 7-ounce jar Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme (try not to eat it out of the jar, you need it all, if you will be tempted buy 2 jars)

3 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

I'm not going to lie, I think the Meringue is the hardest part but the presentation is awesome. Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Using rubber spatula, scrape marshmallow creme into large bowl. Using Cuisinart, beat egg whites and salt in separate large bowl until foamy. Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff and glossy peaks form. Add about a 1/2 cup beaten egg whites to marshmallow creme and stir with rubber spatula or spoon just until mixed in to lighten (This is the hard part the marshmallow creme is very sticky and will be difficult to mix at first, but it gets easier as the egg whites are folded in). Fold in remaining whites in 2 additions just mixed. Spread meringue over top of cold pie, mounding slightly in center and swirling with knife to create peaks. Bake pie just until peaks and ridges of marshmallow meringue are lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Let stand at room temperature until meringue is cool. Gloat when everyone swoons at the beautiful Meringue.

Canadian Christmas Sweet Potatoes

While preparing Christmas dinner, my mom was baking the sweet potatoes. I told her we could mash them & they would be yummier. My sister & her hubby live in Canada & they brought this amazing maple syrup, so I decided to make up a new sweet potato recipe. This was a big hit.

5 sweet potatoes roasted at 325 for 1 hour, rubbed with olive oil & salt wrapped in foil.
1/4 cup maple syrup
salt & pepper
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1/3 stick butter
1/4 cup light sour cream

Peel sweet potatoes, place all ingredients in a large bowl, whip with electric mixer. Serve hot.
*While we did not have a picture of sweet potatoes, I did have a picture of eh Canadian with eh monkey.

Thanksgiving: Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Wild Turkey & Molasses

Since I have already shared my best mashed potatoes and I had a special request from my friend Becki for sweet potatoes that were savory, today I am going to share my Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Wild Turkey and Molasses. (You can substitute another Bourbon but it is Thanksgiving)
I made these for my first Thanksgiving 3 years ago for Matt's family, in my effort to win their hearts through their stomachs :)
While most people call them sweet potatoes, the orange colored potatoes are actually yams, just an FYI for your shopping. Plan on about 1 yam per person, that way you can adjust as needed.

6 small yams (around 3 pounds)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons Molasses
3 Tablespoons Wild Turkey
Salt & Pepper to taste
pinch of all spice
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400, wash the yams & dry them. Poke holes in like when you bake potatoes, Place them on the oven rack & bake for 45 minutes. Cut the yams in half, be careful they will be hot. Scoop the flesh in to a mixing bowl, add all other ingredients. You can either mash them with a potato masher, I prefer to use my Kitchen Aide. At this point you can set them aside & then just heat them through on the stove top. Transfer to a pretty bowl & top with a little butter. Take a shot of the Wild Turkey if it has been a rough Thanksgiving :)

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I think the first place I ever had sweet potato fries was at the Bayou in Salt Lake. They serve them with a garlic chiplotle aioli (fancy word for mayo). Yum! This version bakes the fries rather than frying to save a few calories. The taco seasoning may seem strange but it will give them a kick.

6 sweet potatoes, cut into French fries
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons taco seasoning mix
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a plastic bag, combine the sweet potatoes, canola oil, taco seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Close and shake the bag until the fries are evenly coated. Spread the fries out in a single layer on two large baking sheets.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until crispy and brown on one side. Turn the fries over using a spatula, and cook for another 30 minutes, or until they are all crispy on the outside and tender inside. Thinner fries may not take as long.

Garlic-Chipolte Aioli
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 generous teaspoons very finely chopped fresh garlic
Grated zest of 1 lime (no bitter white pith)
4 teaspoons fresh squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped chipotle chile with a little sauce from the can (look for chile chipotles en adobo sauce)
Salt and freshly ground black or white pepper to taste

Place the mayonnaise in a small mixing bowl and stir in the fresh garlic, the lime zest and juice. Stir in the chipotle chile. Season the mayo with salt and a generous amount of pepper. You could serve this with calamari too.