I'm Not All That Sweet

Confession: when I was a kid, and Thanksgiving rolled around, I deliberately avoided all the orange items on the menu. Turkey...excellent. Dressing...fantastic.

Sweet potatoes...blech.

It took me years to try them again, because I always associated them with the sickly sweet casserole that my grandmother always had on the buffet. It was just too much - they're SWEET potatoes, for heaven's sake - do they really need all that extra sugar?

*please note...if you like all that extra sugar, please don't use this "recipe." It has some sugar...just not as much as is typically used...it's really just a nod to the traditional sweet potato casserole.

So, here we go...



Bake up a bunch of sweet potatoes. I realize that's non-specific, but it depends on the size of the potatoes and the size of your crowd. I used about five, I think. Scoop out the flesh and place in a large bowl. Add some butter and mash with a fork or a potato masher if you have one.

I have one.

In Knoxville.

sigh...

Now - most recipes would have you dump a ton of sugar and eggs and vanilla and other stuff into the mashed sweet potatoes, but I'm going to make your life easy.

Don't do it. They are delicious and they don't need all that stuff. A little butter is all you need at this point.

Put them into a lovely shiny aluminum casserole dish because you've packed all your real ones away, and spread them into an even layer.



Sorry for the crazy iPhone photos, but I a) couldn't find my camera, b) got a new iPhone camera app, and 3) I'm in an iPhone photo show tomorrow so I'm showing off.

Okay. Now dump about a cup of brown sugar, a half cup of flour and about 3/4 of a stick of butter into a bowl and use your pastry cutter to mix them together.  Or you can be like me and use a fork again.

My pastry cutter is actually not in Knoxville.

I don't have a pastry cutter.



Mix it together well and layer it over the top of the potatoes. (See...I told you there would be sugar!) You can also add some chopped pecans to this layer if you like them. I don't like them. So I don't. If I were cooking for my dad, though, I probably would.



I know what you're thinking..."Diahn! How on earth will your casserole stay together without eggs? Impossible!"

No. Not impossible. It works just fine. Potatoes stick together like nobody's business.

Put this in a 350 degree oven for about 30 or maybe 45 minutes, depending on your oven. You just want to warm the potatoes thoroughly and get the brown sugar/butter/flour mixture to get nice and crispy on top.



Mmmm...see that right there? That's all the sugar you need...a perfect complement to the sweet potato!

Serve it up with your turkey and dressing and cranberry sauce and that weird pink gelatin salad thing with the mandarin oranges in it.

Or just throw it on a plate with a salad and some pumpkin bread and call it Tuesday night dinner.



Yes. I know that's how we served up the zucchini...but when it works, it works!