John, There are a lot of ways to cook sweet potatoes and making french fries or chips out of them is one good way, but the recipe that I plan to try this year has bananas in it and I haven't made that one before. I'll link it below.

BTW, That food they are calling a yam, is not a yam, and is really a sweet potato. It has gotten so confusing that I think USDA has both names put on the can. A yam is the tuber of a different plant and can grow as long as eight feet in length. I think the meat is normally white but can be yellow, pink, or purple. It is a common food in Africa and my son, who lived in Nigeria for a few years, is extremely allergic to it, but he is not allergic to sweet potatoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tyler Florence Sweet Potatoes

Well bananas and sweet potatoes wouldn't fly with my crew....about half are banana haters.
My daughter says she is making something called Kahlua sweet potatoes....which sounds awful to me....so I will be watching this thread with interest.
Linda C

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crunch Topping - totally yum. Increase the brown sugar though and candy the pecans before hand in a little butter in a skillet with granulated sugar plus a dash or two of salt.

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Food Network Sweet Potato Pecan Crunch

IâÂÂm leaning toward the Yams & Banana mixture myself, but this dish by Tyler FlorenceâÂÂs late grandmother has caught my eye. IâÂÂve not made it - I just like the way it looks. I like that it is not mashed.

LindaC, I'm one of those banana haters, so I wuldn't go that route either.

My girls love that sweet potato casserole with all the brown sugar and marshmallows, Elery and I prefer our sweet potatoes plain. This year I'm going to make a less sweet batch of sweet potatoes and then make a marshmallow topping that can be poured or drizzled by those who wish such a thing. A local restaurant served a marshmallow dip with sweet potato fries, and I thought that was a good idea.

I haven't really decided on "recipes" yet, I'm thinking I'll just wing it, unless I find a great recipe here!

Annie

I'm rethinking the deep frying idea. Realizing that we'll have three cooks in my small kitchen plus 6 kids running around, I don't think I want a pot of hot oil, or a time-sensitive cooking process. The candied pecan recipe sounds good. Or a scalloped sweet potato dish, if I can find one. I recall Alton Brown had a show on sweet potatoes, maybe I'll watch it.

I have a tight, small kitchen - a 4 burner gas range and one oven. I use the microwave as ancillary when I cook Thanksgiving dinner and sweet potatos are easy. I peel them and cut them into chunks - put in a covered dish and cook them on high, stirring occasionally until they are tender. No need to add water - they have enough moisture to cook well on their own as long as they have a tight lid.

Then I mash them with a big fork or a potato masher, add salt, pepper and butter and some orange marmalade. I like them on the rustic, savory side. If you use a nice dish, you can put them right on the table from the microwave.

seagrass

My neice made this one year when she was living with me. I thought it was very good and have made it every year since.

3 c. mashed Swt. Potatoes
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sugar (granulated or Brown)
2 eggs

Mix together and put in casserole dish.

Topping:
1 c. chopped nuts
2/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour

Bake 350 for half an hour.

My secret ingredients are bourbon and cardamom. Sometimes I'll toss in a dollop of orange marmalade as well.

Same as Nancy and Stuartwanda.

This is the dish I am required to make whether the meal is at my house, my sister's house or my mom's house.

Eggless Sweet Potato Casserole
"Sweet potatoes are mashed with sugar, spices and evaporated milk, then baked under a buttery brown sugar and pecan crust in this side dish serving eight"

Ingredients:
6 sweet potato -- cooked, peeled and mashed
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
****
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 2 quart casserole dish and set aside.

2. Blend together the sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, orange juice, vanilla, sugar, salt, 3 tablespoons butter, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into prepared casserole dish.

3. Prepare the topping by mixing together the 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar, flour and pecans. Sprinkle over casserole and bake for 45 minutes or until hot.

Here is a link that might be useful: the recipe

I guess we are all old-timey traditionalists here.
We prefer our sweeet potatoes just baked in the oven, in their skins.
Serve halved on a serving dish.
Each person slathers theirs with butter, salt & pepper,
to their own taste.

Some of the younger ones do like the dish with the spices
and little marshmallows on top.
So we usually do a small dish like that.

And sweet potatoes cut like French fries,
battered & deep fried are wonderful!

But I can surely understand your reluctance to try that in your Thanksgiving circumstances.

Rusty

John, I plan to make KatieC's:

SWEET POTATO AND CARAMELIZED ONION CASSEROLE

2 Lg. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 Lg. onions, sliced
1 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
1 T. dark brown sugar

Drizzle onions with oil and cook on low heat until caramelized, stirring occasionally.

Layer 1/2 sweet potato slices in a shallow 1 qt. casserole dish. Cover with caramelized onions. Layer remaining sweet potato slices over onions. Dot with butter. sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about an hour or until casserole is browned on top.

There will only be 10 of us, close family, and this is just an extra dish I'm taking in addition to dressing and green beans. I figure it will be a good chance to see how it appeals to everyone. Who knows, I may be asked to bring it again next year.

jude

I like mine roasted.
Just cubed into 1"chunks, toss with olive oil.
Spread on a parchment covered cookie sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and just a hint of cayenne. Simple and mindless for a busy day.
I chop and toss with oil in a ziploc bag or plastic container and pop in the fridge until time to cook.

You can also roast ahead of time (day before) and reheat in micro or oven.

I don't like marshmallow anything so I don't make the sticky sweet ones. IF my adult kids request it, I'll make a glazed version with just butter and brown sugar...very light on the sugar!

Deanna

Thanks everyone. I'm off to the store to get my yams!

Are the casserole dishes do-aheads? Can I bake the yams, mash them, mix the eggs and whatever, and store in the refrigerator overnight, so that tommorrow all I need to do is add the topping and bake?

Last year we were looking for a new way to fix sweet potatoes and found this one, posted here by jojoco (My Page) on Tue, Nov 24, 09 at 19:20:
"I've never cooked sweet potatoes, but want to include a dish on TD. My friend gave me this recipe. I want to make it in a cast iron skillet and finish it in the oven to make it crispy on the bottom. Does this recipe look okay?
Delicious Sweet Potatoes
6-7 sweet potatoes
ý stick butter = 4 Tbsp
1/3-1/2 c. maple syrup
ý c. brown sugar
ü c. Grand Marnier or your favorite cordial

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes in round pieces about þ of an inch thick. Place in a bowl, cover lightly and microwave 5-10 minutes. Potatoes should be slightly soft but not mushy.
Melt the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in a skillet. Add potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes are soft (approx. 30-40 minutes). Add Grand Marnier and cook 5 more minutes."

Jessyf suggested using bourbon and cardamom, so we made two batches -- one with Grand Marnier, and one substituting good bourbon for the Grand Marnier and adding a healthy dash of cardamom. The bourbon version won hands down and will be repeated tomorrow. We didn't attempt to make it crispy on the bottom as jojoco mentioned, but it was yummy, and made a sweet potato lover out of one sweet potato hater.

Hey Alice glad you liked it. Looks like you created your own dish out of two recipes - 'Alice's Sweet Potatoes'!

I'm late to this party, but I bake the SP until tender. I then cut them in half, scoop out the inards and mix with a tad of butter, some minced chipoltes and a bit of the adobo sauce, s & p. Stuff back into the shells and broil until golden on top.

If you prefer your SP sweet, mix with butter, crushed pineapple, brown sugar and cinnamon.

You can make these ahead.

Not exactly a classic Turkey Day sweet potato recipe, but you might want to try it now that sweet potatoes are plentiful! Take care to keep your "fries" uniform in size. Small ones will burn before larger ones get done, otherwise.

I like the seasonings in this recipe!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 lb peeled sweet potatoes cut into 1/4" match-sticks
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
1/8 tsp black pepper

*you want 1lb sweet potatoes after they are peeled, sliced, etc. If you weigh them at the store make sure you have a little more than a pound to allow for the peeling, and tossing of small pieces.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, parsley, and pepper.

Place sweet potatoes in a pile directly on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Use hands to toss until all pieces are well coated. Sprinkle seasoning mixture on top and toss again with hands to coat.

Arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer so that pieces are not touching each other. Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Use a metal spatula to gently flip fries and then return pan to oven. Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes or until fries are starting to lightly brown and crisp. Remove pan from oven and cool 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

We felt like experimenting and tried this one yesterday. Another one that's non-classic for TDay but very good. We'll be making these often, only with more cayenne (I peeled and cubed them and left off the herbs).

* Exported from MasterCook *

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Recipe By :Personal Chefs Network ~Blue Plate Specials~ Forum
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 large sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 dash cayenne pepper -- (or more)
basil or thyme (or any fresh herb)

Scrub potato, do not peel. Slice into 1/2-inch medallions. Place on a foil covered jelly-roll pan sprayed with non-stick spray.

Mix the brown sugar, honey, vinegar, oil, and cayenne pepper together and whisk. Drizzle over the potatoes. Sprinkle fresh or dried herbs over the potatoes.

Roast in a 350 oven for 15 minutes, then turn them over. Roast for another 15 minutes.

Joan C, TNT

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