Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are different from yams. If you go to walmart, they don't make that distinction, because in the south, sweet potatoes and yams are considered the same. But they are very different. Winco has both kinds...sweet potatoes and yams. Sweet potatoes are the pale yellowish root-looking potatoes. Yams are the red/orange root potatoes that are often canned under the name of sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes

3-4 large sweet potatoes

1 cube butter

Canned milk if needed

Do yourself a favor and do not try to peel these before you boil. What a colossal pain that is. Wash them well and cut into 3"-4" sections. Boil in a pot of water for about 30 minutes until a fork pierces the center easily. Drain carefully. Peel the hot potatoes at this point by slitting one side with a sharp knife and pulling the skins free.

Place a cube of butter in the bowl and plop the peeled sweet potatoes on top of it to melt it. When they are all peeled, mash them with a masher and blend them up with the butter. You can use an electric mixer if the potatoes are a little stringy or lumpy, but usually a masher works well. Add canned milk a tablespoon at a time if the potatoes appear dry. These kinds of potatoes can vary in consistency...different crops can be dry or moister, depending on the growing conditions.

Keep warm until ready to serve. The flavor of these is like a slightly sweet mashed potato but not as starkly sweet at candied yams. Yes, I make both on holidays....my husband likes the yams and me and my daughter like the sweet potatoes. Enjoy!

Candied Yams

Mashed, candied yams like Trent's mom used to make. Can be made before hand, just don't add the marshmallows until they are reheated and ready to serve.

2 cans Princella Cut Sweet Potatoes in light syrup (29 oz each)

1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup condensed milk

mini marshmallows

Drain potatoes but don't rinse. Mash in a 4 qt saucepan. Add melted butter, brown sugar, and canned milk. Cook on low/med stovetop until sugar is dissolved and incorporated. Don't be afraid to use an electric hand mixer to mash and blend, these can be slightly lumpy and stringy so an electric mixer is the way to go.

Place into a serving dish, a casserole, or foil pan (the round foil ones like they give at Bajio's work perfect.) Cover with foil and bake at 350 or so until the potatoes are heated through. Cover with a layer of mini marshmallows and bake until the marshmallows are puffy and very slightly browned.

Corn and Cream

This is my sister Rae's famous recipe for a delicious corn side dish. It's Corn with Cream. NOT to be confused with creamed corn, which is disgusting in my opinion! This is yummy yummy yummy, I get requests for the recipe every time I make it.

A Thanksgiving/Christmas staple dish at my house! This makes a very full 13x9 dish, can be halved if you don’t need that much.

48 ounces frozen baby kernel white corn or equivalent (three 16 oz pkgs)
1 Pint Whipping Cream
1 Pint Half and Half
2 Teaspoons Salt
½ Teaspoon Accent (optional)
4 Teaspoons Sugar
½ Teaspoon White Pepper or Cayenne
4 Tbsp melted Butter
4 Tbsp Flour or tapioca flour
About ½ Cup Parmesan cheese for topping

Thaw corn in the package in warm water before beginning or you end up with a frozen lumpy corn-sicle!

Mix Corn, Cream, Half and Half, Salt, Accent, Sugar, and Pepper together in a large pan. Mix Thoroughly and bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

While simmering corn mixture, mix together the melted butter and flour. Add to corn and cook until the mixture is thick. Be careful not to scorch it.

Fold finished corn into a 13x9 casserole dish. Cover the top with a layer of parmesan cheese, as light or as thick as you like. I use an even layer that covers the corn about 1/8” thick.

Broil the dish under the broiler in your oven, watching it carefully. Broil until the cheese will browns a little but doesn’t burn!