Nurturing my inner... well-hidden antioxidants

Barely into November and I'm prematurely jumping to Thanksgiving.  Because I love the foods, smells and flavors.  I hear there is some age old debate over which is better: the sweet potato or the yam.  My mother says the yam is the real winner.  Of course, I had only sweet potatoes on me, so without comparison, I'm going to say I liked them just fine.  You can let me know of you have experiences to the contrary.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Base
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt

Topping
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
16 marshmallows (or so), sliced in half

What, we're not good enough for you?

I hope I didn't paint the sweet potatoes in the wrong light earlier.  I'm perfectly happy with them.  (Seeing as I never met a potato I didn't like.)  These are definitely not a potato variety to eat with a skin though, so peeling them is the first thing on the to do list.

Feeling exposed? Why yes I yam. Wait,
these aren't yams. You tricksters!

At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted them cubed or if I was going to mash them or what, so I decided to slice them and cook them that way.  Then if I wanted to place them in the dish like this, I had the option.  (I'm a woman.  I like options.)

Make sure you have a sharp knife.

I put on a pot of water and brought it up to boil while I sliced, so it was ready to go when I was done.

Looks like orange frisbees, doesn't it?

Put them into the pan and bring it back up to a boil.



All in. Make sure you have enough water.

It didn't take that long.  About 10 minutes.  Just boil until soft and a fork can go into them easily.

They are done. Not that you can tell by just
looking at them. But you can trust me.

Into a collandar they go and drain.

Ever the artist, I love the orange against the
olive green. What a match!

I put them into a bowl and decided I didn't want to use them in their original disc like format.  So I gave them a light mash with a fork.  I was not going for a pureed texture, just a rough smasharoo.

I wanted a chunky, bumpy texture, so no 
hand mixer for me.

On to prep my baking pan.  I used the same large gratin dish as I used previously for my scalloped potatoes.  It bakes wonderfully and evenly and was surely worth every last penny.

A little butter ensure your surface is nonstick.

I read different options and I liked the ones that added an egg or two.



The one on the left has freckles, just like me!
And I'm a good egg too. (They were farm fresh.
See the downy feathers on the right one.)

Reasearch told me the eggs act as a nice binding agent, so I opted to use them.  They make everything, well, stick together.  Eggs: The glue of the culinary world.  (On second thought, that doesn't sound very appealing.  But I added them anyway.)

Sort of looks like the bowl is staring at me
with two yellow eyes. Oooooh....

Whisk up those eggs, then mix them in with the mashed sweet potatoes and salt, and use a spatula to place them into your baker.

My spatula is orange too, so you can't even
see it. Food camouflage.

Fill the entire bottom of the pan and make sure they are somewhat evenly distributed.



The foundation is set.

Now for the topping.  In a small bowl, add the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.



All items are the same color, so you can't
see what's what.

I bought chopped pecans and used them right out of the bag, but you can
also buy whole ones and chop them yourself.  (If you like extra work.  Which I do not.)

Not toasted, but you can do that. I figured
they would be toasted in the oven.

I never really contemplated using fresh cranberries in this dish, so I don't know how that would change the texture.  Dried was always my preference.

They also come in varieties like
orange flavored.

Add the pecans and dried cranberries into the nondescript brown mixture from above and give it all a quick mix.

Lightly toss. That's all you have to do.

Sprinkle on top of the sweet potatoes.  (I wish there was more to say here, but there is not.)

A little here, a little there.

That already looks like a Thanksgiving head turner to me.  (Where are my pilgrims?  Jebediah?  Abagail?  Horatio?)

Almost ready to go into the oven.

A little melted butter on top to carry the flavor at warp speed to your tongue and you are done, baby!  (Well, nearly done.)

Microwave for just a few short seconds. Don't
overdo it - you can burn butter. This I learned.

Um, but I needed just a little twist to make it even more special.  I decided to add in some good quality vanilla. Now there's the unexpected!

I love this stuff. So many uses. Just you wait.

I added a dash of vanilla to the melted butter and swirled it lightly to blend.

Many layers of flavor in this dish.

Drizzle on top of the brown sugar mixture and then into the oven (finally, for Pete's sake) it goes.

Fat carries flavor. So, you gotta have a little.

Into the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.  And it will look probably a little something like this:

Well, I mean, really now. Smell that
cinnamon and spice.

However, would it really be fresh out of your childhood Thanksgiving memory if it didn't have marshmallows on top?  (Ignore all my teaching about healthy eating and organics for today.  Life should not be about torture.  What fun is there in eating just celery sticks and water if you're skinny, but cranky all the time?!  Eat wisely most days so now and then you can give yourself some treats.)

I didn't have minis, just the regular sized ones.

I thought it would be best to cut them in half, so they didn't look like the Michelin Man had a family reunion in my oven when they met the heat.

Sticky side up, so they didn't stick to the plate.

I put them sticky side down on the freshly baked casserole.  Spaced out.  Because marshmallows puff up when they go into the oven (or microwave).  In the heat, they'll eventually expand to close the gaps.

Not that it wasn't fine before the marshmallows,
but they make it that much better!

Bake about another 10 minutes or just until the marshmallows puff up and are lightly browned.  Definitely do not want to burn them.  (Burnt sugar is yuck!)

Oh, like being by a campfire.

When you first take this casserole out of the oven, the marshmallows will be all poofy and expanded.  In just a short time, they will deflate and disappoint you, but remain just as tasty.  (So, take your picture quickly.)

Another favorite green dish with the orange.
Marshmallows almost look like ice cream!

I froze the left overs in individual cup portions for another day.  (When I heated them up another day, I just had to add more marshmallows.  I couldn't resist!  I mean, who doesn't like marshmallows!  Which do have sugar, so they make you use lots of exclamation points!!!!!)



Ready to go for impressive future side dishing.



Thanksgiving can't come fast enough now.  I already have a taste for all thinks Pilgrimish.  Turkey, stuffing, pie.  And now, my own contribution of the sweet potato casserole.  While not the healthiest day of eating our calendars promise, I do have to mention dried cranberries have antioxidants.  Out of the dried fruit bunch, they contain the highest levels.  (Give 'em props.)  And while the marshmallows have no nutritional value whatsoever, they have many attached sentimental memories and there is no way I'm going without.  So on this special day, I'll allow the cranberries to duke it out with them in my tummy.

God bless us, everyone.  (Even us rogue marshmallow eaters.)