Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so what better time to celebrate sweet potatoes! Check out these recipes from North Carolina Sweetpotatoes!
Sweet Potato Bourbon Spritz
Ingredients
2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 oz Aperol
1 tsp sweet potato simple syrup plus more if desired (see method below)
½ tsp fresh lemon juice
4 oz Prosecco
1 ea. can club soda
1 ea. maraschino cherry
Orange slice for garnish
Method
- In a wine glass, add bourbon, Aperol, sweet potato simple syrup, and lemon juice over ice. Top with Prosecco and then club soda to fill glass. Add maraschino cherry. Garnish with orange slice. Serve chilled.
- Store leftover sweet potato simple syrup in a jar with cinnamon stick and store in the refrigerator for up to one month.
Ingredients for the Sweet Potato Simple Syrup
1 ea. sweet potato peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ea. star anise
2 ea. cinnamon sticks
Method
- Add sweet potato, 1 ¼ cups water, turbinado sugar, vanilla extract, star anise, and cinnamon sticks to a medium saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then immediately reduce to a simmer. Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved and sweetpotato is fork tender, 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and allow sweetpotato to steep in syrup for 1 hour.
- Strain syrup through a mesh sieve. Save sweet potato for later use (oatmeal, in a smoothie, or on toast). Transfer syrup to a jar or airtight container.
Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
Ingredients
1 ea. pie crust
2 ea. swee tpotatoes Medium (approximately 1 lb.)
¼ cup butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk ( NOT evaporated milk)
1 tsp grated orange rind
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs
Ingredientst for Pecan Topping
1 egg
3 T dark corn syrup
3 T light brown sugar firmly packed
1 T butter melted
1 tsp maple flavoring
1 cup chopped pecans
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- In a large mixing bowl, beat hot sweet potatoes with butter until smooth.
- 2 sweet potatoes,¼ cup butter
- Add the next ingredients and mix well.
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk,1 tsp. grated orange rind,1 tsp. vanilla extract,1 tsp. ground cinnamon,1 tsp. ground nutmeg,¼ tsp. salt,2 eggs
- Pour into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes
- 1 pie crust
- Remove from oven and spoon Pecan Topping evenly over the top.
- Bake an additional 20-25 minutes until golden brown
Ingredients for Pecan Topping
1 egg
3 T dark corn syrup
3 T light brown sugar
1 T butter
1 tsp maple flavoring
1 cup chopped pecans
Method
Combine In a small mixing bowl
Sweet Potato Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
2 cup shredded sweet potatoes
½ cup chopped pecans
1 T coconut oil
1 clove grated garlic
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamo
1 lb ground white turkey meat
1 cup BBQ sauce use your favorite
Method
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Coat a mini muffin tin generously with cooking spray.
- Shred sweet potato and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the pecans, coconut oil, garlic, paprika, salt and cinnamon. Add the
- sweet potatoes and ground turkey. Mix well, using your hands.
- Working with one tablespoon and a half of mixture at a time, form 24 balls (we like to use a small ice cream scoop, so they are all even in size). Place them in the mini muffin tin and bake them for 30 minutes.
- Right before serving, heat BBQ sauce on low heat. Add the sweet potato meatballs and until warm and coated with the BBQ sauce.
Friday Night Lights Thanksgiving Bites
Ingredients
2-3 ea. large NC sweet potatoes
½ cup milk
2 T maple syrup
2 T butter
½ tsp cinnamon
½ lb cooked cubed turkey
1 3-oz block cream cheese – softene
½ cup diced onion
½ cup dried cranberries
1 ea. refrigerated pie crust
18-24 mini marshmallows
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 350̊
- Begin with cooled baked sweet potato (oven or microwaved baked)
- Peel baked sweet potato, add milk, maple syrup, butter and cinnamon, beat with a band mixer into a smooth puree
- In a separate bowl, mix together cubed turkey, cream cheese, onion and cranberries
- Spray muffin pan with cooking spray
- Unroll pie crust; using a biscuit cutter, cut rounds of dough slightly larger than the cups of your muffin pan
- Line muffin cups with dough rounds. Spoon in turkey and cranberry mixture evenly.
- Top each cup with a generous spoonful of sweet potato puree
- Bake in preheated oven, 12-15 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is heated through
- Add 3 mini marshmallows to the top of the sweetpotato layer on each serving and bake an additional 2-3 minutes to brown marshmallows.
Spiced Maple Bacon Candy Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes peeled
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
Ingredients for Maple Bacon Candy
8 oz thick cut smoked bacon
2 T thinly sliced ginger
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1 cup maple syrup
2 Ts lemon juice
Method
- Bring a 4-6 quart pot of water up to a boil. As you wait, slice sweet potatoes into 1 inch thick rings. Drop the potato discs into the boiling water and cover. Boil for about 8 minutes. Remove one of the smaller rings to test for tenderness at its center. Note: You do not want these potatoes to be cooked all the way through. Rather you are looking for firm potatoes with a little give. There is a short window you’re trying to isolate. At 8 minutes, the smallest potatoes should be done. At 10, they should all be done
- Transfer sweet potato discs to a baking sheet in a single layer without overlapping. Once they are cool enough to handle, press them between two sheets of parchment paper or foil. If they are overcooked, the discs will break apart. If they are in that perfect window, they will give slightly and smoosh out around the edges. You are looking for something that is only slightly thinner than what you started with, maybe 2/3 of an inch after smooshing. Refrigerate the discs till you’re ready to fry them. Cold discs will hold up better when dropped into the oil.
Meethod for the syrup
- In a 10-inch saute pan or skillet, fry the bacon until almost crispy. Set aside and pour off (and savall but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.
- Add the ginger to the bacon fat and let sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add the 5 spice and toast until fragrant, about 15 seconds.
- Stir in the maple syrup and bring to a boil. Let the syrup cook down for about 8 minutes. It should reduce by 1/3 and thicken slightly.
- Stir in the bacon and the lemon juice. Bring it back to a simmer just before serving.
Method for Frying the Sweet Potatoes
- In a 12-inch heavy bottomed skillet, heat oil over medium heat.
- Pinch off a tiny bit of sweet potatoes and drop it in the oil. If it starts sizzling immediately, go ahead and gently place the discs in the oil. Do not crowd them and make sure they are in a single layer.
- Fry until the cracks and crevices on the bottom are a caramelized, crispy brown, about 6 minutes. Gently flip the potatoes over and do the same on the other side.
- When both sides are browned, drain the discs on paper towels and season both sides with salt.
- To serve, stack the sweet potatoes on top of one another and spoon the bacon syrup over top. Serve like hotcakes.
