“One year I was asked to bring the sweet potato casserole to our large extended family Thanksgiving. When you are asked to bring the sweet potatoes to Thanksgiving dinner, it’s like being asked to bring old Aunt Sally, the distant aunt that always wears the same dress and makes the same trite comments. I felt a challenge was in order. Then I came across this recipe in Bon Appetit. It sounded intriguing, but of course as I made it, I had to alter it to my tastes. I was surprised at how wonderful the flavors came together! … Everybody tried them, oohs and ahhs went round the table, second helpings were necessary, and it was quite the buzz that year. So I warmly pull out this recipe each year, maybe play with it, but will always remember the surprise and delight that it brought to the table.”
½ cup of heavy cream
¾ cup of butter
⅓ to ½ cup of real maple syrup
⅓ cup of bourbon, or to taste
1½ tsps. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
1½ cups roasted pecan piecesPreheat oven to 350. Bake yams until tender, 1 to 1½ hours. Cool slightly. Peel and compost skins. Mash yams.
Heat the cream and butter on low until the butter melts. Add to yams, along with the maple syrup, bourbon and spices. Adjust the amount of maple syrup and bourbon to your taste. Season with salt and pepper. Top with roasted pecans. Warm in a low oven (275 degrees) for 30 minutes.
One of the former owners of Ninth Street Bakery Café, Mo first learned to cook creatively from her mom, who liked to alter things. She started cooking at a vegetarian cafe in Cincinnati in the ’70s and also at San Francisco Zen Center. She left the bakery in 1996 to start a sewing business.
