Question - How do I make sweet potatoes?????

[slo]

Here's some history behind this.....

My Grandma (god rest her soul) always made the sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. This is our first year w/o her and I am taking on the challenge of making her sweet potatoes.

She always had them in a pyrex bowl w/ brown sugar, butter, and colored marshmallows. But what I don't know is if I'm suppossed to boil them first, or just bake them from a raw state Do any of you know what I should do? If I boil them first, do I peel them first, or boil them with the skin on?

I know I will never make them as good as she did, but I want them to at least be edible. If you have any suggestions, I would really appreciate it

Thanks!!!!

 

[va32h]

I peel them and boil them first. Kind of like apples for an apple pie. And I wait to add the marshmallows in the last few minutes of the cooking time because they melt and brown really fast.

That might just be my oven though!

 

[tar heel]

There's a zillion different recipes, so I'm not sure which you want. You definitely boil them first, though, and I've always peeled them before.

 

[debbiedoo]

http://www.mccormick.com/recipedetail.cfm?id=10651

I have used that recipe for about 4/5 years it is awesome!! I just add extra marshmellows

 

[beck0321]

If you want some TRUE sweet potatoes like your gandma made em, bake them in the oven. Poke holes in them with a fork and cut the pointy off each end. Bake them at 400 degrees for about an hour or until the center is soft. It's just like you bake a regular potato in the oven. I'm not sure if the more you bake the longer they go. That may be the case.
Then you scrape out the insides and add sugar, cinnamon and butter. I like to "cream" mine with PET milk.


ETA: You have to "oil" the potatoes before they go in the oven (with skins on). Use vegetable oil. One site says you can cook four potatoes in 450 degrees for 45 minutes. It depends on the size, the bigger, the longer. This is how my mawmaw used to make them and they were AWESOME! You can't beat a real baked potato!

 

[missypie]

What we like best (though we don't do it for Thanksgiving) is to bake them (in foil, like a regular baked potato), then pass butter and brown sugar.

What I usually do is to puree cooked sweet potatoes and add maple syrup, orange juice and cinnamon to taste. It's good hot, cold, or at room temp.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Candied Sweet Potatoes

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 pounds sweet potatoes
Kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur (recommended: Kahlua)
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 (10.5 ounce) bag mini marshmallows

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to grease a 2 quart oven-proof baking dish.

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them 1/8-inch thick. Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Season with salt and sprinkle over 1/3 of the pecans. Repeat 2 more times. Pour the coffee liqueur and cream over the potatoes. Spread the brown sugar evenly over the top and dot with the remaining butter. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake until the sweet potatoes are tender when poked with a sharp knife, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and turn on the broiler. Remove the foil and cover the sweet potatoes evenly with the marshmallows. Put the dish under the broiler until the marshmallows are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Let cool a bit before serving.

You can always leave out the pecans and liquor

 

[Hedy]

I'd check out allrecipies.com until something looks familiar/adaptable, myself.
Good luck-DM is attempting her mother's stuffing for the first time since she died 2004.

 

[Goofyluver]

My recipe sounds like your grandmothers. I bake mine in the oven until they are tender. The skin peels right off. Then, I add butter (about a stick...I never said this was healthy), brown sugar, cinnamon, and some milk to make it creamy. I spread this in a pan and reheat in the oven. When the sweet potatoes are hot, I pull them out and top with mini mallows. Stick it back in the oven until they are melted and crunchy on the top! Yummmmmmm.

 

[dizluvr71]

My recipe sounds like your grandmothers. I bake mine in the oven until they are tender. The skin peels right off. Then, I add butter (about a stick...I never said this was healthy), brown sugar, cinnamon, and some milk to make it creamy. I spread this in a pan and reheat in the oven. When the sweet potatoes are hot, I pull them out and top with mini mallows. Stick it back in the oven until they are melted and crunchy on the top! Yummmmmmm.

We do the same! However, don't make the same mistake I did. I grocery shopped over the weekend and apparently there's more than one kind of colored marshmallows. DS saw them in the cupboard last night and asked me why I got the fruit flavored ones. I said "they're not flavored, they are just different colors." He argued with me, until I finally went and looked and sure enough they are colored/fruit flavored marshmallows and they aren't very tasty either. So after work I'm off to the store, again!!

 

[SC Minnie]

I cook mine in the microwave.

 

[Goofyluver]

Made the same mistake this past weekend! (We had an early thanksgiving with extended family) Not even the kids would eat the marshmallows!

 

[hlbtimes2]

Boil, cool, then peel. If you cook them first the skins will come off really easy. Just cook them whole, like you would potatoes for potato salad. Dont cook them until they are super soft- they will continue to cook for a while after you remove them from the water, then cook more after you add the brown sugar and bake them.

 

[TurboKitty]

I always just bake mine, poked with a fork and wrapped in foil. I add a little pat of butter when their ready, but I think they are sweet enough naturally so I don't add any sugar. I may top them with a few pralines this year though, for a change.

 

[Chilehead Too]

I peel them and boil them first. Kind of like apples for an apple pie. And I wait to add the marshmallows in the last few minutes of the cooking time because they melt and brown really fast.

That might just be my oven though!

Pretty much how I do it too.

To the OP what are colored marshmallows?

 

[slo]

Thanks everyone for the help!!!


Chilihead - Colored marshmallows are just miniture marshmallows that come in pastel colors. I don't know why my Grandma used them - I guess she just liked the way they looked

 

[slo]

We do the same! However, don't make the same mistake I did. I grocery shopped over the weekend and apparently there's more than one kind of colored marshmallows. DS saw them in the cupboard last night and asked me why I got the fruit flavored ones. I said "they're not flavored, they are just different colors." He argued with me, until I finally went and looked and sure enough they are colored/fruit flavored marshmallows and they aren't very tasty either. So after work I'm off to the store, again!!

I can't thank you enough for posting this because I bought the same type of marshmallows this afternoon w/o knowing they were flavored. I just saw colored marshmallows, so I threw them in my cart. I guess I'm off to the store tonight again too

 

[Chilehead Too]

I have never seen colored marshmallows. Maybe it's a regional thing?

 

[disdanny]

On the Mrs Pauls box, it says:

"Pierce plastic film, microwave on high for 4-6 minutes, remove plastic film, stir and serve."

I don't know nuthin 'bout baking, boiling, and adding all those ingredients listed in the above posts.

Good luck.

 

[disney4us2002]

I make candied sweet potatoes in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop. We all hate marshmallows so we've never made those casserole dishes but they are very simple stovetop.

Peel and slice to about 3/4" thick, add to one stick of melted butter and 1 1/2 cups of dark brown sugar in the skillet. Add enough water to just cover the sliced potatoes, simmer for 25 minutes, flip the potatoes over and simmer another 25 minutes. If the sauce isn't thick enough, remove the potatoes to a serving dish and continue simmering the sauce til desired consistency then pour over the potatoes. SOOOOOO delicious!