Thursday, November 1, 2007

Sweet Potato Apple Bake

No pictures of this one yet. Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, but I was hoping I might start a trend of sharing recipes before the holiday, in the hopes of something new gracing my table this year. There's a bit of a story behind this one. When I was a kid, one of the annual arguments about Thanksgiving dinner was whether or not to add pecans to the mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows. I liked nuts but my sister always objected. I wouldn't have minded holding them back if it meant one more dish on the table she enjoyed, but she didn't like the potatoes either way! Instead I would hit the leftovers only to find them missing all the marshmallows the next day. It drove me nuts.

Anyway a few years ago someone gave her a baked sweet potato or something and she realized that what she really objected to was the syrup that came with the canned ones we always mashed. That year I was with my in-laws for thanksgiving, so I didn't need to adapt our recipe to fresh potatoes. But my mother-in-law put the following dish on the table which was possibly even easier to make (a big plus for Thanksgiving) and absolutely fabulous. I have high hopes for settling the sweet potato battle with it this year. Anyway, it's a bit unique compared to the ubiquitous casserole so I thought I'd share this recipe in preparation for the holidays.

Sweet Potato Apple Bake

4 microwaved sweet potatoes
1 cup sliced tart apples
1/4 cup tightly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Peel and slice potatoes. Place layer in greased baking dish,
cover with 1/2 the other ingredients, continue layers and finish with
potato slices and few dots butter or margarine.
Bake, covered, in 375 F oven 30 minutes; uncover, and continue cooking
until apples are perfectly tender and top potatoes nicely browned.
Serves 4.
Note: with apples that have little juice it may be advisable to add 2
tablespoons water before baking.