Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes

If you know me, you know I love sweet potatoes.  So, when it came time to create a Thanksgiving menu, the question wasn’t whether I was going to serve sweet potatoes, the question was simply what recipe to choose.

I wanted something fairly simple to make, but that would nonetheless impress.  I also wanted it to be something unique and fun.  This recipe met all my requirements.

Vanilla Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 1 hour 20 minutes
YIELD: Serves 6

WHAT TO GRAB:
3 large sweet potatoes
3/4 cup cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 cup candied pecans, for garnish (recipe here)

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Preheat the oven to 420 degrees.

2.  Place the three potatoes on a baking sheet covered with foil, and roast for 1 hour 20 minutes.  Once done, remove the sweet potatoes from the oven.  Pierce the skin to allow the heat to escape, and allow the potatoes to cool for about 15 minutes.

3.  While the sweet potatoes are cooking, pour the cream into a medium saute pan.  Scrape the caviar from the bean, and add the caviar and bean to the cream.  Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the cream has thickened slightly and the vanilla is fully incorporated.

4.  In a medium bowl, combine the meat from the sweet potatoes with the vanilla-cream, salt, and butter.  Mix well.  Serve warm with candied pecans!