Sweet Potato Thanksgiving Sides

Sweet potatoes are great even when it's not Thanksgiving. But here are a couple of sweet potato options that I think work really well as feast day sides (I'm starting to drool just thinking about them).


Sweet Potato Souffle
(Don't know if it's really a souffle, technically, but it makes for an alliterative title)

2 (29-oz) cans sweet potatoes
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup broken nuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

Blend sweet potatoes, eggs, flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp melted butter, and milk. Mix in spices and beat. Pour into casserole dish.

Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potato mixture.

Bake covered at 350 deg. F. for 1 hour, then uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.



If the souffle is a little too desert-y for your meal, or you're afraid it will steal the spotlight from the pumpkin pie, there's always the more savory roasted sweet potatoes.


Roast Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.

Peel and cut the following in a 1-inch dice
2 1/2 - 3 pounds sweet potatoes
2 onions (or cut in wedges)
2 or 3 medium apples (not red delicious or a tart one like granny smith; something crisp and sweet like fugi or gala)

Spread in single layer in a roasting pan and toss with:
1/4 olive oil
black pepper
salt
a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme.

Cook at 375 deg for 25 - 30 minutes, or until all is tender.

Sweet Potato Soup

The other day I somehow went over-board making Baked Chicken on Roasted Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes. I used the left-over chicken for chicken quesadillas (of course), but what to do with all that left-over potato/sweet potato? The sweet potatoes were cooked almost to the point of falling apart, which to my mind suggested "soup." So here's my on-the-fly recipe for potato/sweet potato soup.

First make Baked Chicken on Roasted Potatoes/Sweet Potatoes

--Peel and cut several baking potatoes and sweet potatoes in a 2" dice
--Rough chop one onion
--In a roasting pan, toss diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onion with 1/2 envelope of onion soup mix (no oil--the chicken will provide plenty of fat)
--Remove skin from chicken drumsticks and bone-in thighs (from all the pieces, or just some of them, depending on how much/little fat you want). Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder (don't over-do it), and "Herbs de Provence"--ie. basil, rosemary, marjoram, sage, savory, thyme, lavender (I didn't even know lavender was edible, but it's listed on this herb blend I used). Let sit about 20 minutes for seasonings to permeate the chicken.
--Arrange chicken parts on top of diced potatoes/sweet potatoes.
--Cook chicken and potatoes at 375 deg. F. for 45 minutes until chicken reaches at least 165 deg internal temperature and the vegetabels are soft.

I turn the chicken after 30 minutes so that it browns on both sides and sometimes even turn on the broiler for just a couple minutes at the end so that the chicken looks good and browned. People in this house seem to have a thing against pale chicken.

Also the sweet potatoes will be noticably softer than the baking potatoes, but other than adding the sweet potatoes after 10 minutes of baking--which would mean taking off the chicken, mixing in the sweet potatoes, and replacing the chicken--I don't see how to avoid that.

--Once your family has had its fill of the chicken and potatoes, season the left-over roasted vegetables with a little tarragon and thyme, and salt and pepper if needed.
--Add chicken broth and fat-free half-and-half (or other choice of cream/milk) in a ratio of 2 parts broth to one part cream. Actual amounts depend on how much vegetables you have and how thick or thin you want the soup to be (for 4 servings of fairly thick soup I used 1 cup broth and 1/2 cup half-and-half).
--Blend the vegetables with the liquids to a smooth, creamy consistency.
--In a sauce pan, gently heat through.

Uche said it was "okay"--maybe he was put off by the orange color--but I quite enjoyed it. I wonder how it would be with roasted apple or pears, maybe topped with toasted pecans.