Apricot-Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving week. We are doing it at Ma's this year, the same as every year, because Ma is not going to host fewer Thanksgivings while she has knees and a pulse and a turkey. Patrick is bringing Colleen and Sean III. Meghan and Brian are bringing Aidan and Siobhan, who is two and a half months old now. Danny is in New London and not coming this year — too short notice, too many shifts, the Coast Guard does not care about pumpkin pie. He will FaceTime in.

I am bringing two pies. Pumpkin and apple. The pumpkin is from a recipe Sean's mother gave me one year and I made every year after. She died in 2024, six months after Sean. The pie is hers. I think about that as I am rolling the crust Wednesday night. Ma's recipes will outlive Ma. Sean's mother's pie has outlived Sean's mother. The recipes are the way the women come back into the kitchen.

Clinic Monday and Tuesday: light. People are traveling. People are putting off appointments until next week. I caught up on charting.

Group Tuesday. Bernadette back from Florida with her postcard for the wall. The granddaughter was beautiful. Everyone cried at the bat mitzvah. The shrimp at the kiddush was excellent. We laughed.

Wednesday Kettle: nine quarts. People take time off Thanksgiving week. The need does not, but the cooking can. I delivered to four families on Wednesday morning before clinic. Mrs. Hagerty did not answer her door. I left the soup with her neighbor who said Mrs. Hagerty was in the hospital. I called the daughter. The daughter said Mom is okay, just dehydration, will be home Saturday. I will go check Sunday. I will bring more soup.

Thursday — Thanksgiving. Ma's table groaned. Turkey, two stuffings (sausage for the men, oyster for Dad), mashed potatoes, gravy thick enough to coat the spoon, green bean casserole that is not health food and is correct, my pies, Meghan's bread, Colleen's cranberry sauce that has bourbon in it, three kinds of olives because Ma believes in olives. Twelve at the table. Sean III ran around the apartment shrieking. Siobhan slept through dinner in the bouncer. Aidan and Liam negotiated dessert plates. Nora drew turkeys on the back of the place cards. Dad gave a toast that was three sentences long and got Ma's eyes wet. He said: We are still here. We have lost some. We are grateful. The table held.

Saturday pancakes. Burned the first. Quiet morning. Quiet weekend.

Food of the week: turkey, all of it, every bite. Sandwiches Friday. Soup Saturday. The bones in the freezer for Wednesday's Kettle stock.

There was no room left on Ma’s table for anything that didn’t belong — not this year, not with twelve people and two stuffings and Colleen’s bourbon cranberry sauce taking up real estate. But sweet potatoes have always made the cut, because they do what good side dishes do: they hold steady, they’re sweet without being fussy, and they make the turkey look even better. This apricot glaze is the version I come back to every November, simple enough to do Wednesday night when I’m already rolling pie crust, beautiful enough for the groaning table Dad toasted over.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 8

Ingredients

4 medium sweet potatoes (about 3 lbs), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Fresh thyme or flat-leaf parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange sweet potato cubes in a single layer in a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish.
Make the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine apricot preserves, butter, brown sugar, and orange juice. Stir until butter is melted and mixture is smooth, about 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, ginger, salt, and pepper.
Coat the potatoes. Pour the apricot glaze over the sweet potatoes and toss gently to coat evenly.
Roast. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil, stir gently, and continue baking uncovered for 18–20 minutes more, until potatoes are tender and the glaze is caramelized and bubbling at the edges.
Finish and serve. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fresh thyme or parsley if desired. Serve warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Apricot-Glazed Sweet Potatoes — The Side Dish That Earns a Place at Ma’s Table