New Thanksgiving Recipe

On Sunday I made a full Thanksgiving meal for me and Tim.  Since we are going to our respective family homes, I thought it would be nice to celebrate the holiday a bit early, together.  I cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce, cranberry relish and a pumpkin pie.

The spread

I really enjoyed making all of these different foods, and will be sharing the rest of the recipes tomorrow.  But tonight, in case you don't have your Thanksgiving menu set I wanted to introduce you to a delicious sweet potato recipe.

I found this recipe, Brandy and Orange-Mashed Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups, on Food Network, courtesy of Emeril Lagasse.  I was intrigued because my family has traditionally favored the very sweet, canned yams with brown sugar, butter and marshmallows.  Because Tim is open to trying new foods, I thought this more savory sweet potato recipe would be fun to make.

Here is what you will need to make this delectable side dish:

• 7 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
• 4 large oranges
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup brandy
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

And here are the step by step instructions, along with some of my observations from cooking:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and put the sweet potatoes, whole and with the skins on, on a baking sheet in the oven for an hour.  I recommend turning the sweet potatoes over about halfway through the cooking process.  Take the potatoes out, let them cool just long enough to be able to remove the skins.  

At this point, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.  Take your four oranges, halve them, and scoop out the insides.  I recommend using a grapefruit spoon (with the sharp edges) to scoop out the inside of the oranges.

While the sweet potatoes are warm, cut them in half and remove the skins and any stringy fibers. 

Yams after one hour in the oven

Put the sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl.  Make sure the bowl is a pretty good size because you will be adding quite a bit of liquid to the sweet potato mixture.  Add the butter to the sweet potatoes and blend with an electric hand mixer until you remove all the lumps.  It's important at this point that the sweet potatoes are warm so the butter melts and eases the mixing process.

Definitely should have used a larger bowl, so many ingredients

Add the sugar, eggs, orange juice, heavy cream, and brandy, and mix with the electric mixer until smooth. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix again, making sure all the ingredients are incorporated throughout.  Fill the orange cups with the sweet potato mixture, filling the cups to a bit overflowing and smooth out the tops.  Place in a baking pan and cook in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and enjoy while warm!  If you decide to add these potatoes to your menu, you will not be disappointed.  They are worth the extra work and will bring new and surprising flavors to your Thanksgiving meal.

Since sweet potatoes are my most favorite food, what is your secret family sweet potato recipe?

-Wishing everyone safe travels tomorrow!