Sunday, November 29, 2009

Dim Sum Sunday, Day 2, Turkey Day!



I must confess, I have never made an entire Thanksgiving dinner in my life. My mother always did it, then my mother-in-law if we went to Louisiana. If we stayed in town, we went to a friend's house. She took care of the turkey, stuffing, and gravy, and had the invitees attend to the various deserts and side dishes. I've always been tasked with bringing the sweet potatoes, either because few people like them (!!) or they are intimidated by the process of making them. Which is silly. Making a delicious, steaming pan of either roasted or souffled sweet potatoes is as easy as ordering out.

This year, we drove up north to my hometown to share Thanksgiving with my stepfather and his neighbors. And, yes, once again I brought sweet potatoes.

Here's how I've always made them:

What:
Serves 10 people (1 large sweet potato will serve 2 people)

5 large sweet potatoes
Grated rind and juice of one medium orange
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sour cream (yes, you can use low fat or even non-fat yogurt, but you're not saving yourself much calorie-wise here, so just go with it and worry later)
2 tablespoons bourbon (I always cook with Jim Beam)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

How:
Pre-heat oven to 400º F. Wash potatoes and stab with sharp paring knife a couple times on each side. Place in sturdy heat proof pan and roast in the oven 45 to 60 minutes, or until soft. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Cut in half and let cool completely.

Once potatoes have cooled, scrape out insides into a large bowl. Add all ingredients and whip up with a hand held blender until smooth and fluffy. Scape into 13x9 glass pan and refrigerate until ready to eat. Fifteen minutes before serving, reheat in a 350 degree oven, either plain, or with your choice of topping (I made a praline-like topping of pecans, brown sugar, flour, and butter; sometimes I'll add tiny marshmallows because my sweet tooth knows no bounds.)

In addition, you can make a more savory souffle by adding a cup of cubed smoked ham or bacon, a cup of diced green chile, and a cup of grated cheddar cheese.


As for the weather, we tend to have two kinds of Thanksgivings: those warm enough to sit outside and eat and those that dump a foot of snow. This is what we had this year:



7 comments:

Dani said...

Such a beautiful spread!

Your sweet potatoes look so yummy. This will be another recipe I'll have to try. :)

I made the wild rice recipe that Shamy had up yesterday and it tasted AMAZING! I'm so thankful for DSS to be able to try everyones recipes.
Hope your Sunday is a peaceful and happy one.

Big Shamu said...

Hmmmmmm, I'm ready for seconds. Now see, putting toasty pecans on top of sweet potatoes makes sense....putting marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes seems just a bit whack. How did the marshmallow thing get so popular?
Moi that looks excellent. Is there a special Southwestern stuffing variation? I also see pies in the background, pecan, pumpkin or apple? Love the serving dishes and the brick counter top. It looks like the weather was beautiful and everyone had a good time.
Thanks so much for participating in Dim Sum Sunday, you had some beautiful posts.

LaDivaCucina said...

Wow, looks sooooo good. Dang I want some leftovers NOW! I like your recipe for sweet potatoes and that you can make it savory too. I agree with Sham about the marshmallows, turns a wonderful and healthy vegetable into kiddie candy!

LaDivaCucina said...

Also, may I comment on the brilliant blue sky? Gorgeous!

Jenny said...

I think the marshmallow thing is what always turned me off of sweet potatoes. Because of you, I tried some the other night and you what? I liked them (no marshmallows.) If I'm going to eat sugar, it MUST be dessert. Or cereal.

LaDiva is right, that blue sky is fabulous.

moi said...

Dani: Thank you! I think I'm going to make Shamy's wild rice dish tonight, as well. And one of your galletes for a party I'm having next week.

Shamu: A traditional New Mexican stuffing is done with cornbread, green chile, and sage. Gotta watch the sage, though, it can get a little bit effusive. The gal who hosted also did an incredible fried sage butter for the rolls. YUM!

LaDiva: I know, I know. The marshmallows really are silly :o)

Boxer: Go you with your bad ass veggie eating self! As for our skies, yeah, we got that unblemished color 309.7 days out of the year. No lie. I am NOT happy when it's grey for more than a day.

Allison said...

YUM. Those sound amazing.