By The week before Thanksgiving. I spent it quietly on the farm, doing the last of the November work: the final mulching of the beds, a check on the firewood supply (ample, as it should be, three years ahead), the barn put into its full winter order. The kind of purposeful preparation that is its own form of contentment. When the work is done and the systems are right, there's a particular ease that comes with that.
Made turkey stock from the neck and giblets I'd bought from the Hendersons along with the turkey — they always give you the extras. The stock went into the freezer; I'll bring it to Connecticut where Sarah can use it for her gravy. Bringing your own stock to someone else's Thanksgiving dinner is either extremely helpful or extremely presumptuous depending on how you frame it. I've decided it's helpful.
Teddy called on Sunday and we spent forty minutes talking through his sweet potato dish one more time. Not because he needed to — he's made it twice and it's right — but because he wanted to. He's starting to use cooking as a form of conversation, which is the same thing I do. You don't talk about the dish because you're uncertain. You talk about the dish because talking about food is talking about other things at the same time. He's figured that out at fourteen. I didn't figure that out until much later.
Carol called to say the pear pie is done and cooling. She sounded very pleased with it. She also revealed the "adult surprise": she's made a batch of apple brandy from the cider she pressed in September. She aged it in a small barrel for six weeks. I have no idea if it will be good. I'm looking forward to finding out.
The dish Teddy and I spent forty minutes on the phone discussing isn’t complicated — that’s part of what makes it worth talking about. Sweet potatoes and apples, the kind of combination that sounds simple until you start thinking about the balance of sweetness, the texture, when to add what. He’s made it twice and it’s right, but we talked about it anyway, because that’s what cooking is for. Here’s the recipe as we’ve worked it out.
Sweet Potatoes With Apples
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 2 medium tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons apple cider or orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.
- Layer the vegetables. Arrange sweet potato and apple slices in alternating overlapping layers in the prepared baking dish.
- Add seasoning. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Sprinkle evenly over the layered sweet potatoes and apples.
- Add butter and liquid. Dot the top with the cut butter pieces, then drizzle the apple cider over everything.
- Cover and bake. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes begin to soften.
- Uncover and finish. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the top is lightly caramelized and the sweet potatoes are fully tender when pierced with a knife.
- Rest and serve. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon the pan juices over the top before bringing it to the table.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 220 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 41g | Fiber: 5g | Sodium: 230mg