November 27 Meal: Potatoes, Sweet!

Time for some more potatoes.  This night we were at my in-law's house.  On the menu were steak roll-ups and kale, so I decided to make the Perfect Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping, and some Honey-Chipotle Pecans to munch on.

Perfect Mashed Potatoes
These potatoes were delicious!  I usually make mashed potatoes with sour cream and maybe a little bit of milk.  This recipe uses Yukon Gold potatoes, garlic, whole milk, and butter.  The potatoes and garlic are boiled together.  The garlic gets soft enough to bled in with the potatoes.  Whole milk and butter do a great job of making these potatoes rich and creamy.

Yumminess: 10 out of 10
Cost: Approx $5 for 8 servings
Time: Bon Appetit said 30 minutes for prep and 50 minutes total.  It took me about 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes total.
Was it worth it?: Definitely.  These are really good mashed potatoes!  Possibly perfect.

Sweet Potato Pudding with Pecan and Gingersnap Topping

Unlike most sweet potato casseroles, this one has a very light and airy texture.  Even the name "pudding" might be wrong for this dish.  When I think of pudding I think thick and creamy, but this was more fluffy.  First, bake the sweet potatoes.  Scoop out the flesh and mash with half and half, orange juice, orange marmalade, brown sugar, and butter, then pumpkin pie spice and egg yolks.  The next part is a little bit more challenging.  Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until peaks form.  Fold together the egg whites and the sweet potato mixture.  The topping made form gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and butter.  The topping adds a nice crunch to the airy texture of the potatoes.

Yumminess: 9 out of 10
Cost: Approx $8 for 12 servings
Time: Bon Appetit said 45 minutes for prep and 2:15 hourstotal.  It took me about 30 minutes of prep and 2 hours total.
Was it worth it?: Yes, this is a nice new way of eating sweet potatoes.

Honey-Chipotle Pecans

I'm pretty sure I did something wrong with this recipe.  Nowhere in the recipe does it say that you should be able to put all the pecans in a bowl, turn it upside down, and they stay there.  At least they tasted good.  Just bring honey, sugar, and ground chipotles to a boil, add pecans, and cook until the syrup gets dark.  Turn out onto foil and add kosher salt and aniseed.  Maybe I didn't let it cook long enough?

Yumminess: 7 out of 10
Cost: Approx $6 for 2 cups
Time: Bon Appetit did not provide a time estimate, but it took me about 10 minutes.
Was it worth it?: Yes, these are tasty nuts.  (Waiting for the "That's what she said" joke.)