Sweet Potatoes

Preparation

1. Bland

   Step 1

   Mash them with ginger (powdered or fresh) or ginger marmalade. Or add almond or peanut butter, with or without some brown sugar or maple syrup. Or orange juice. Or mashed banana. If you prefer a savory sweet potato dish, mash them with butter and thyme. Or butter and soy sauce (and top with sliced green onions).

2. Not enough

   Step 2

   Sweet potatoes pair well with many fruits. You can mix chunks of sweet potatoes with chunks of apples (cooked, perhaps with some brown sugar), and purée them both, if you like. Feel free to use prepared applesauce if you have some. The same thing goes for pears. Or you could layer them with bananas and some brown sugar and cinnamon, splash on some orange juice (rum even), and bake at 375°F until tender (about 45 minutes). Mandarin orange slices are another option.

3. Sweet potato casserole, marshmallows burned

   Step 3

   This is a common problem. If you have spare marshmallows, your best bet is to scrape off the burned ones (everything underneath is most likely just fine), sprinkle on some new ones, and broil just long enough to make them golden. If you don’t have any more marshmallows, you still have options. You can just stir the sweet potato mixture a bit (to mix in the marshmallow goo on top) and serve as is (pretending you were never planning a marshmallow topping anyway). Or you can top the casserole with something else. Marshmallow crème or a meringue spread over the top would work (brown both under the broiler before serving). Or just sprinkle the potatoes with some toasted nuts and drizzle with maple syrup.