Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

My bootcamp instructor handed out this recipe the other day during one of our "fun" workouts! It was called the junk-yard workout and we got a "treat/healthy snack" for every exercise we completed. If he is handing this out - it has to be healthy :) Tim and I made them this week and the taste was great! I was thinking that the parboil method would be quick, so I didn't boil the potatoes long enough. Our potatoes were medium to large, so I think that for that size, we should have boilded them about 15 - 20 minutes before putting them on the grill. Will definitely be making this again! Was a great side to our steak!

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes, unpeeled
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Parcook the potatoes: Place in a pot of water and boil until fork-tender; let cool. Slice each potato lengthwise into eighths.
Preheat a grill to medium or place a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Mix 1 tablespoon salt, the lime zest and cayenne in a small bowl.
Brush the potato wedges with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on all sides (including the skin) and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter; immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

Original recipe is from Bobby Flay, for Food Network Magazine.
Photograph by Steve Giralt

Granny's Sweet Potato Casserole

Awhile back I asked my granny for her recipe for her Sweet Potato Casserole. She uses Facebook and has email, so like anyone else, I thought she would just type it up and email it to me or send it in a Facebook message. Nope. She wrote it out on stationary and snail mailed it to me. Of course I lost it for 6 months and just found it, so here it is! Hopefully you enjoy it as much as our family does. FYI - it is not healthy...

Ingredients for potatoes:

1 large can of sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 stick of butter (melted)
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt to taste

Ingredients For Topping:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 stick of butter (melted)
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain and mash potatoes. Mix all potato mixture ingredients in a greased casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix ingredients for topping. Spread on top of potato mixture. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes.

Bourbon-Mashed Sweet Potatoes

In the quest to find vegetables Alex will eat, I thought I would try these mashed sweet potatoes. I had to improvise a little because I didn't have all of the ingredients, so I used half and half instead of the heavy cream, honey instead of the molasses and Southern Comfort instead of Bourbon. They still turned out really yummy and I will definitely make them again - they were very easy!

Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients:

1 3/4 to 2 pounds sweet potatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake until tender and starting to ooze sugary syrup, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, depending on their size. Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.
Cut a slit down each potato and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Discard the skins. Add the cream, bourbon, brown sugar, molasses, and salt and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Cover to keep warm, or gently reheat before serving.

Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Salt and Garlic Mayonnaise

This recipe is from Elizabeth and she says they are awesome!

Cook Time: 45 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch "fries"
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine.

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise alongside for dipping.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis