Given the right situation, a person can find out his/her strength. They can learn what they are capable of and what they can do without. I always thought that I couldn’t cook anywhere except my own kitchen, with my own things, and most importantly my own privacy. It has been a while now that I don’t have my own place where things are my own to call and organize. But now I know that cooking is something that I can do anywhere as long as I have ingredients to work with. I made these sweet potatoes while I was helping someone house-sit. I looked around and found these sweet potatoes and got inspired and put together a meal within an hour for 6 people. Sometimes, it really takes one little spark to ignite an idea and you just have to run with it. I’ve made these a few times since then, they will not be crispy but they are delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Butter (melted)- 3 Tbs
  • Olive Oil- 3 Tbs
  • Rosemary crushed- Dried 1/4 tsp, fresh 1/2 tsp
  • Sweet Potatoes- 3 lbs, (3-4 medium, peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Shallots- 1 (peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Kosher salt- 1 dash
  • Black pepper- 1 dash

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2.  Combine melted butter, oil and crushed rosemary in a small bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of butter-oil mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in the dish. Add a sliver of shallot between every few slices of potato. Brush top with remaining butter-oil mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3.  Cover dish with foil and roast for 1 hour, covered, until potatoes are tender (If your potato slices are thicker than shown, you may need to increase cooking time). Increase oven heat to 450 degrees F. Remove foil and roast another 10-15 minutes until tops of potatoes are browned and crisp.

Crispy Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

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The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular reason for being happy except that they are so.
-W.R. Inge
Clergyman and Writer
I try very hard to remember that but if all else fails I simply cook. That makes me happy. Here is a recipe from that weekend of fun cooking.
INGREDIENTS
  • Sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1inch cubes) – 2 1/2 pounds
  • Light brown sugar – 3/4 cups
  • Butter (softened) – 1/4 cups
  • Salt – 11/2 tsp
  • Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp
  • Ground cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
  • Nutmeg – 1 pinch
  • Pecans (chopped and divided) – 1/2 cups
  • Cooking spray
  • Marshmallows – 2 cups

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot with 1/3 cup of cold water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Let cool slightly.
  3. Transfer sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, butter, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 cup of pecans. Mash sweet potato mixture with a potato masher.
  4. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the sweet potato mixture into an even layer. Add remaining pecans and top with marshmallows. Bake for 25 minutes or until marshmallows is toasted. Remove from oven. Scoop and serve.