Variations on a Theme: Sweet Potatoes.

So, I don't know if I've posted it or not, but my grandma makes this delicious, total-heart-attack sweet potato casserole every Thanksgiving that's always the (other) highlight of my meal...(I cannot discount my one true love, stuffing).

She makes it with butter, sweet potatoes, crushed walnuts and a buttload of brown sugar. It's effin' delicious, but you just can't eat it every day. Anyway, I decided to make my own, slightly less sweet version to go with a little simple dinner of wild rice (microwave packet from Mom was -surprise!- totally delicious) and wilted spinach, which was purchased with E's food stamps...awesome.

To digress, I don't know what it is about wilted spinach, but I fucking *love* it. I mean, I'll go back for thirds. But it has to have balsamic vinegar on it. I hate fresh spinach (it doesn't CRUNCH the way I want my lettuce to crunch, ok?), but steamed for a bit and splashed with balsamic? Ohhh, yeahhh. My sisters and I used to seriously look forward to wilted spinach as kids. Weird, I know.


ANYHOO...so, I had a few yams and a few sweet potatoes, so I cut 'em in halves and threw 'em in a pot of boiling water for tenish minutes. (This is called blanching, kids, and it's really important otherwise your potatoes will be too hard and won't cook right).
Once blanched, I cooled the potatoes slightly and sliced them into about 1-cm thick slices, which I arranged in a lovely pattern in order to properly mix the yams and sweeties. You can do whatever you want - go ahead, make it ugly. I don't care.

Where G-ma sprinkles butter and liberal amounts of brown sugar between each layer of potatoes, I drizzled a small amount of futter and a very small pinch of brown sugar, coupled with a chopped yeller' onion and some basil flakes.

I was finished after about four layers (I believe I used 4 potatoes to start). Then, I popped the bad boy in the oven on about 375 degrees, and left it for....about half an hour, until the potatoes start to lose form and get soft enough to cut with a spoon.

So, a slightly less bad-for-you version of G-ma's special Thanksgiving Coronary Surprise! Deliciousness!