Mashed Honey Sweet Potatoes (and Squash)

( Well hello there, shapeless blob.  What could you be?  A meatball, perhaps?) or perhaps dog leavings?

Mashed Honey Sweet Potatoes (and Squash)

Adapted from Cooking Light

Active Time: 25 min.
Total Time: 1 hr 15 min.

Dish Usage: Low

I yam pretty fond of sweet potatoes (oh yes, I went there), and Beth likes them, too.  Beth is also a pretty big fan of pumpkin pie, or at least pumpkin pie spice.  I found this recipe for mashed sweet potatoes in Cooking Light, and I thought to myself, “Self, what if you could make this taste like pumpkin pie?  Would it add another level of awesome to the dish?”  Turns out that it did.  The potatoes came out creamy and delicious, and Beth proclaimed that they tasted like pumpkin pie without the whipped cream.  However, she was slightly put off by the fact that the mash wasn’t 100% smooth, so if you have the time, you may want to put the potatoes through a ricer after you roast them and before you beat them.  Personally, I liked them just fine the way they were.  Oh yeah, and I threw a butternut squash in with the sweet potatoes because I had one lying around.  It seemed to make no discernible difference.  One other thing to note: this recipe makes a lot of food, so unless you need 6000 calories a day like me, you may want to cut it in half.

(Tom Colicchio thinks that the flavors were well balanced, but it was visually unattractive and poorly plated.)

Ingredients:
6 lbs sweet potatoes (or 3 lbs sweet potatoes and 1 butternut squash, if you’re me)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 deg F
2. Peel the sweet potatoes (and squash) and cut into 1 inch cubes
3. Roast sweet potatoes (and squash) on a greased cookie sheet for 50 min.
4. Put potatoes through a ricer if desired.
5. Throw potatoes into a mixing bowl with butter, honey, and all spices, and blend until smooth.
6. Enjoy pumpkiny/sweet potatoey/squashy deliciousness.

Serves: 12
Nutritionals: 195 calories, 3.9 g fat, 39.8 g carb, 2.3 g protein, 4.9 g fiber