Sweet Potatoes

I've been out of town for the past week accompanying my husband to his fiftieth high school reunion. The dinner was a buffet on a riverboat. It was prety good fare for a river boat meal. One of the dishes was sweet potato casserole. Many people enjoyed that so much. I think they had never eaten it before. I make several different kinds of sweet potato casseroles. My daddy always said people should eat sweet potatoes everyday.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping

3 lb Sweet potatoes
3/4 c Orange juice
2 Large eggs
2 tb Butter, melted
2 tb Sugar
1 1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
1/2 ts Ground nutmeg

Topping
1/2 c All purpose flour
6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 ts Ground cinnamon
1/4 c (1/2 stick) butter at room temperature
1/2 c Chopped pecans

For sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 350F. Place 3 pounds sweet potatoes in
baking pan and bake until all potatoes are tender, about 1 hour. Maintain
oven temperature. Butter 8x8x2" square glass baking dish. Scrap sweet
potato pulp from potato skins. Using electric mixer, mash sweet potatoes.
Add orange juice, eggs, melted butter, sugar, ground cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Beat until sweet potatoes are smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon potatoes into prepared baking dish.

Topping: Combine flour, brown sugar, and ground cinnamon in medium bowl. Add butter and cut in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in chopped pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture over the top of casserole and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Not all sweet potato casseroles are sweet. They can be savory.

Scalloped Sweet Potato Casserole

6 medium sweet potatoes
2 medium onions
2 tablespoons salad oil
salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In 5-quart saucepot over high heat, heat unpeeled sweet potatoes and enough water to over to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are just fork-tender but not soft, about 20 minutes; drain. Cool sweet potatoes until easy to handle.
Meanwhile, slice onions 1/4 inch thick. In 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, in hot salad oil, cook onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt until tender, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 13" by 9" baking dish. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. In bottom of baking dish, arrange one-third of sweet potatoes; sprinkle with half of onions. Place half of remaining sweet potatoes over onion layer, then top with remaining onions.
Arrange remaining sweet potatoes over onions. In 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt butter; stir in flour, ginger, pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt until blended; cook 1 minute. Gradually stir in milk; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce boils and thickens slightly. Pour sauce over potatoes in baking dish; sprinkle with parsley. Bake 30 minutes or until sauce is bubbly and mixture is heated through.

This is the scalloped sweet potatoes I usually make at Thanksgiving. It's sweet, but not cloying.

Maple Sweet Potatoes

8 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced in 1/8-inch slices
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup maple syrup
1 cups heavy cream
teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Combine butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and cream in saucepan and heat to a boil. Layer thinly sliced sweet potatoes in a casserole dish, sprinkling each layer with spices and sauce.
Bake at 350 for about an hour until potatoes are tender.