Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon

     There seems to be no middle ground on sweet potatoes, you either like them or you don't.  Everyone in my family likes them and my son insists it isn't Thanksgiving if you don't have sweet potatoes.
     When I went on my pre-Thanksgiving dinner shopping trip I couldn't find the canned sweet potatoes I usually buy.  I like a certain brand which I doctor up and everyone is happy.  The store had a sign which said not only did they not have any, there weren't any in the area.  I didn't have time to test whether that was true, so I went home, looked online at different recipes, and decided how I could make sweet potatoes from scratch my family would like, hopefully, and I could eat.
     I needed four yams and an orange.  I had everything else at home.  My husband was going to be out the next day and I asked him to pick up these items for me.  Since I had let him read the recipe to see what he thought, I thought we had communicated clearly.
     What my husband remembered more than the recipe or the list was that I had said in the store I didn't want to make yams from scratch.  So when he went to a different store and found cans of sweet potatoes, that's what he bought.  We were have two guests for Thanksgiving, and even though he didn't think it was right, he stuck to the list and brought me four large cans of sweet potatoes and an orange.
     After I got over that shock, I realized he actually helped me because the first two steps of the recipe were to peel the yams, chop them up and cook them on the stove for about 20 minutes.  Now he had saved me prep time and cooking time on Thanksgiving.  Who wouldn't be grateful for that?

                                                                 Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon

2 cans 29 oz. ea. cut sweet potatoes
1/2 cup light brown sugar (you can use Splenda brown sugar)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. maple flavoring
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. orange extract
2 tsp. orange zest
1 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup bourbon
2 tblsp. stick margarine

      Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
      Drain the liquid from the potatoes.  In a large pan combine the potatoes, brown sugar, water, orange zest, nutmeg, and salt.  Bring the liquid to a boil, then turn the flame down and simmer for about five minutes.
      Spoon out the potatoes into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with vegetable  spray.  Add the bourbon to the sauce with the flame off.  Turn the flame back on and simmer until the syrup is thickened.  This should take around fifteen minutes.  Pour the syrup over the potatoes and bake for ten or fifteen minutes.  This is basically to make sure the potatoes and syrup are both warm.  If your oven is occupied, you can put this in the microwave and adjust the cooking time down to just make sure the potatoes and syrup are hot.  Remove from oven or microwave and gently stir in margarine.  You can make these ahead and reheat before serving dinner.  You may need to add more liquid.  Serves 4-6.
     If you want to make these from scratch, buy fresh yams, peel and cut them.  Cook them with the brown sugar, orange zest, nutmeg, and salt.  You may need to add more water.
     I have been watching some DVD's of Julia Child's cooking shows on PBS and been inspired to make some of her more simple dishes.  Next week I'll share my version of an omelette.  See you then.