Monday, November 22, 2010

Now The Song Is Complete



Parsley!

To go with my sage, rosemary and thyme.


Although, honestly, I think parsley is one of those useless herbs.  It's a weed.  I really only bought the parsley because I wanted to be able to say that I had parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Don't worry, I didn't go to the store with the sole purpose of buying parsley; I went to get non mutant sized sweet potatoes.  As luck would have it, the grocery store near my gym had sweet potatoes on sale for .33/lb.  Score!  Except, when I did the self check out thing, they scanned .59/lb and I didn't do anything about it.  Some things, including a .26/lb price difference on sweet potatoes, just aren't worth the added hassle. 

I learned something today:  sweet potatoes aren't very photogenic.


Lumpy, bumpy



blemished


and hairy.



Thankfully their insides reveal a much more eye appealing, smooth orange flesh.  Nutritious, vibrant sweet potatoes, best served with a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon.

I'm vehemently against the Thanksgiving staple marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole.  Well, vehement is a strong word.  I actually like it okay and I wouldn't turn it away if offered because I'm polite like that, but once I started making a sweet potato casserole with a crunchy, brown sugary, buttery topping,  I can't go back to the old school marshmallows. 

I'm a recent convert to that type of Thanksgiving sweet potato dish.  For many years, I did as my mom did and made marshmallow topped sweet potatoes.  I'm not sure what caused my marshmallow defection, but all I know is that I first made my now beloved, crunchy topped sweet potato casserole on our first Thanksgiving in Georgia (2005?).  Craig invited one of his young soldiers and his wife over for dinner and all I remember is that the guy LOVED the sweet potatoes and kept saying "it's like a cookie on top."     That totally made my day.

It's just the three of us this year and I'm the only one who eats sweet potato casserole, but you better believe that it'll be on our Thanksgiving table this Thursday.  Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without sweet potatoes.  You can quote me on that.  ;)

How about you?  What are your thoughts on sweet potatoes?  Marshmallows:  yay or nay?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE sweet potatoes! One of my all time favorite foods! My mom makes a sweet potato casserole like you do without the mallows, way better that way and oh so delicious! Can't wait for Thursday! Happy Thanksgiving to the Smith Family!

Love,

Cousin Jen :)

Alison said...

Well, that mom of yours sure knows her stuff. I knew she was my favorite for a reason. :)
Happy Thanksgiving to the Fiamengos and Watsons!

marcey said...

Your recipe looks VERY tempting, but I got mine from my sister-in-law's grandma, so I think I have to "stick" with the marshmallows for a few more years!

Alison said...

Marcey--when family is involved, it's probably best to stick with tradition. There's no use causing drama at the Thanksgiving table when the marshmallows suddenly go missing from grandma's casserole recipe. :)

Jennifer Fiamengo's "tee tee" said...

I love sweet potatoes! Since we go out for Thanksgiving, the sweet potatoes are most often prepared with orange juice, which I don't love.
I salivate over sweet potayo casserole with cookie-like topping! Alas, when I fix sweet potatoes now, I roast them and serve them with sour cream and red pepper flakes so they're more savory than sweet.
P.S. Your sweet potatoes look like manatees.
:)

Hilary said...

Have you seen pioneer woman's sweet potatoes?they sou d right up your alley.

Alison said...

Mom--I'm opposed the the orange flavor in sweet potatoes, too. Same thing with pumpkin bread. I ate some one with orange zest in it and I didn't like it. It was yucks.
Last year at Sarah's, she made a similar sweet potato recipe, but it had orange zest in it, too.

I roast sweet potatoes with cinnamon, chili powder, salt and a sprinkle of sugar. Yum.

Potatoes do resemble manatees.

Hilary--the Pioneer Woman is incredible. Did you see her Throwdown with Bobby Flay? I drool over her food photography. She's like a more modern Paula Deen with her liberal use of butter and cream.