Right now, I’m in heaven. I have been eating that plateful of wonderful candied sweet potatoes with that sugary buttery ambrosia from the bottom of the pan drizzled all over it! It is complete bliss and no, it is not healthy – but it is a holiday dish so let’s just call it a splurge. It is my preferred dessert during Thanksgiving and Christmas so for those people who are asking about fall apples and pumpkin recipes? Here’s one that is neither and it will knock your socks off. Period.
Sweet potatoes are fibrous which is something I didn’t understand when I was in my 20’s. Back when I was taking care of my dad as he was dying, the entire family thought it would be a good idea to come to our house for Thanksgiving so we could all be together. Well, let’s see: I got to clean the house from top to bottom, keep dad fed dry and happy, make sure a 12-year-old got all her semester projects done and make sure mom had clean clothes to wear to work that week PLUS cook the larger part of the meal. Uh, yeah – that was really nice of everyone. Nana came over and helped thank goodness because mom doesn’t cook and I was pretty bad at it back then.
I could smell those sweet potatoes cooking in the oven with the brown sugar and butter melting all down the sides of each piece and then with the marshmallows! It’s all I could smell or think about as I went around the kitchen doing what Nana told me to do while running to bathe, shave, and dress dad as mom and Top Girl entertained our guests as they arrived. When it came time to eat, I only wanted the sweet potatoes. I ate a bowlful and then another and eventually a third small bowl. I was happy as a clam ………for about 2 hours. Did I mention that sweet potatoes are fibrous? A stabbing pain hit my tummy so hard it took my breath away. I made my way to my bed where I could lie down, curled up in a ball moaning and groaning in pain. Nana came to the door and said, “What’s wrong sugar foot?” That’s what she called me, sugar foot. I couldn’t breathe much less tell her. She just smiled and reminded me that she warned me when I got my first bowlful that I should probably rethink eating only sweet potatoes on an empty stomach. It was a long afternoon and night. I never did it again and I highly recommend you not do it either. But a small bowl or plate of these delectable golden gems is absolutely sublime. Oh yeah, and really easy to make!
Ingredients:
3-4 medium sized sweet potatoes.
¼ Cup white sugar
¼ Cup brown sugar
1 Cup (more or less) pecans (optional)
½ Cup unsalted butter cut into pats
Marshmallows
Directions:
Clean the potatoes put in a pot of water and bring to boil cooking until potatoes are tender.
Peel potatoes.
Cut up into small sizes like this:
Place in a greased 9 x 13 pan
Sprinkle both sugars and pecans on top then the butter pats. At this point, you can double wrap in foil and place in freezer for a couple of weeks. Works perfectly! If you do, thaw completely before proceeding.
Place covered with foil, in a 350F oven for 45 minutes.
Take out and remove foil spreading on marshmallows
Flip your oven over to broil “high” and set the dish on the lowest rack in the oven.
It only takes 2-3 minutes for the marshmallows to puff up and then get just a bit brown.
Take out and serve!
