This recipe has sticktoitiveness-the ability to stick to anything it touches and not let go. Since it uses a cane syrup, it sweetens everything in its path along the way. What's not to love. It helps that I love sweet potatoes and finding new things to do with it. Oh, and mom and grandma's marshmallow covered sweet-potato casserole, step aside. There's a new sophisticated dish in town that the kids will want to eat too.
Sorry, Grandma, I still love your pineapple upside-down cake, your hugs when I'm hurt, and I wish you were here. Now, back to the recipe.
This is almost too easy, but don't worry, it's not. Its still worth it though. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch rounds. Buy thinner sweet potatoes, otherwise you will have to half the sweet potato lengthwise in order to get through it. The potatoes I got weren't too bad, just don't buy the rutabaga size.
I drizzled the Grapeseed oil in the pan, which James was kind enough to share with me this past weekend (I was going to barter cumin he wanted, but he had already bought some a couple of weekends ago). Then I arranged the sweet potato slices in a single layer and salted them. Next, I turned over each sweet potato and drizzled a little more Grapeseed oil (Canola oil can be used instead), and salted side 2, then I placed them in the oven at 400 degrees. Next time I will start the oven when I start peeling potatoes, not as I'm arranging slices in the pan. It wasn't bad though. However, I've never carmelized sweet potatoes before, and they didn't look quite done at the half-hour point. I should have checked the bottoms, or turned them half way through cooking. I let them cook five minutes more.
They did end up black on the bottoms, but I went on with the recipe. While the sweet potatoes caramelized, I put together one of the sweetest combinations I've ever seen. 1/2 a stick of butter, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup of cane syrup, and a cup of pecan pieces. Emeril recommends Steen's Cane Syrup, which was not at meijer. He also suggested you can use a combination dark corn syrup and molasses. I found another brand of cane syrup in the world food aisle at Meijer, Lyle's Golden syrup-ingredient: cane sugar syrup. It smells very sweet when you pour it. I stirred the mix and set it aside until the sweet potatoes were ready.
I pulled the sweet potatoes out of the oven, slightly more charred than the picture shows, and since they were what I had and I was out of pecans, it was what I was working with. I placed the potatoes into the casserole dish and poured the syrup mix over the potatoes, turning to coat well. I put the casserole dish back in the oven for another half hour, and pulled it out when it was done. It almost reminded me of a praline pecan sundae, but orange.
I let them cool five minutes, and scooped out a bowl of them. If you are making this for a family, make two batches. You will need it. I had to walk away and was grateful for a phone call from an old friend from college or I might have eaten the entire dish.
I was also surprised that this dish didn't come across as overly sweet, but it is nice as a treat, but on a regular basis, this dish could ruin any diet. And yet, there is enough nutrients in sweet potatoes, that its worth killing the diet for once in a while.
I will definitely make this dish again. I like the sticktoitiveness, and even when I screwed up the sweet potatoes, they accepted the syrup with grace and made for a delicious side dish with dinner, yet were good enough to be a main event on their own. Next time, the sweet potatoes will get to caramelize for only 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Bon Appetit!
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