whipped sweet potato casserole

a yam by any other name!

The first time I saw sweet potatoes with big puffy toasted marshmallows on them, they were on the dinner table with the rest of the stuff for Thanksgiving dinner!!! I was only five but I knew someone had made a mistake a put one of the desert dishes on the table with the main courses! Well, needless to say I did not wait until the "mistake" was discovered & quickly dug into the still warm gooey awesomeness that was from that moment on one of my favorite holiday side dishes. Oh, the potatoes may be in a pie, souffle, bread pudding, biscuit or soup, & may be mashed, smashed, pureed, or left whole & paired with anything from macadamia nuts, coconut, vanilla beans, orange juice or bourbon but the guest of honor is always the sweet potato!


So here is this year's recipe (or one of them) adapted from Katie Lee:

4 large sweet potatoes (about 4 pounds) peeled & cut into chunks
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
one 16-ounce bag large marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350* & grease a 4 quart baking dish.

Place the peeled & chunked sweet potatoes in a medium pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer & cook until potatoes are fork tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the milk, cream & butter until warm but not simmering.

Return the potatoes to the pot & add warm milk mixture, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg & ginger. Using a handheld mixer, whip the potatoes until smooth & creamy with no lumps. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the marshmallows.

Bake until the marshmallows are golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!