2 of my favorite Sweet Potato recipes!

I mentioned my Mashed Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups the other day so I thought I would share that recipe and also another of my favorites using sweet potatoes.  Here goes!

Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad this stuff is fabulicious!  I make it every year at Father's Day or Mr. Big Ed's birthday (both in June) to serve along side the Copper River Salmon.  We get Copper River Salmon for about 2 to 3 weeks each year, and I would give up eating for the rest of the year if it meant I could eat nothing but that salmon every day that it is available.  OMG!  It is sooooo good.  And this particular salad is excellent served with it.  As usual, the fresher the ingredients the better the outcome.  So when it calls for "corn", please get some ears of corn and cut them off.  It is really good if you roast them first.  I tend to double most of the dressing ingredients, not necessarily the oil, but all the flavorful stuff.  Instead of equal parts sweet potato and white potato, I like it about 2/3 sweet potato and 1/3 white.  And don't forget the peanuts!  They really add that finishing touch.

Here is the Mashed Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups:  Originally from Bon Appe'tit, Nov. 2001 issue.

6 lbs. large yams
3/4 cup marshmallow creme
9 Tbsp. butter, room temp.
6 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 large eggs

9 large oranges
Additional marshmallow creme
36 pecan halves

Pierce each yam all over with fork. Working in 2 batches, cook yams in microwave 15 minutes. Turn yams over, cook until tender, about 12 minutes longer. Cut yams in half; scoop pulp into a large bowl. Add 3/4 cup marshmallow creme, butter and syrup; mash until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in eggs. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, chill.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut a thin slice from the top and bottom of the oranges so that they will sit flat and not roll.  Then cut in halves. Scoop out the pulp; reserve for another use (ambrosia!!).  Place orange cups on 2 baking sheets. Divide yam mixture equally among cups. Top each with dollop of marshmallow creme and 2 pecan halves. Bake until beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.

***My notes:  Now this recipe is fine like it is.  BUT!  When you scoop out all that orange pulp you get a ton of delicious juice.  I like to add some of the juice in place of some of the butter.  Each stick of butter is 8 Tbsp. so I just go with that.  I use Cavender's Greek All=Purpose Seasoning in place of s&p, because it IS s&p, plus garlic and all the good stuff. So a couple shakes of Cavender's is way better!

If you have an extra orange, go ahead and zest it and put the zest in with the juice.  The first time I made this, we had some of our dearest friends over for Thanksgiving and one of them asked for an extra orange cup, and then a third!  When I commented how much he must like sweet potatoes, he said, no he didn't like sweet potatoes and was shocked that this was indeed a sweet potato dish!  I sent all the left-overs home with him.  : )

These are so good and also pretty.  I like to serve them at other times during the year, not just Thanksgiving.

Eat more sweet potatoes!  They are good for you, that's for sure.