Sweet Potatoes: It's a sweet time of the year

Sweet Potatoes: It's a sweet time of the year

The arrival of what passes for fall in our part of the world caught me by surprise.

That's not really hard to figure, though, since the arrival of autumn's often very hard to spot. It usually happens on a Thursday afternoon, right about 2 p.m. when everybody is at work, then it is gone inside about 20 minutes.

No, if you're a new arrival to the humid subtropics, fall is not what you call a protracted. Summer --- that lasts forever. Fall is not so much a season as a transition from Indian summer to Mardi Gras.

But one sure sign of the arrival of fall in our neck of the woods is the appearance of farmers and other independent contractors selling sweet potatoes by the sack-full on the side of the road. Hand-lettered signs proclaim the arrival of Baldwin-grown sweet potatoes.

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Speaking only for myself, I'd much rather eat a fresh sweet potato than put on a sweater and enjoy a modify in the season.

My favorite way to enjoy this is the simplest, baked with just a hint of butter and cinnamon for flavoring. If they are especially sweet, then I skip the butter and the cinnamon and eat them as nature intended.

But there comes a time when you crave something more from your sweet potatoes, when you want to raise the bar a bit and make them something extra special.

As has been habit for the past several years, I was latterly asked to help judge the Baldwin County Sweet Potato Recipe Contest. It is open to middle and high school students in the county and is one of the highlights of my year.

The ingenuity these young cooks show and the recipes they concoct are always a very good.

The winning recipe in the junior division was from Jarrod Shreves of Central Baldwin Middle School. You have to like a man who gives credit to his mama.

Mom's Best Sweet Potato Casserole

3 cups boiled sweet potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 stick butter

1/2 tablespoon vanilla

For topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter, softened

Wash sweet potatoes and cut into pieces. Put sweet potatoes into water and boil for about 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Drain potatoes and cool. After potatoes have cooled enough, peel off the skin.

In a large bowl, mix sweet potatoes with the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla with a mixer on medium speed. Put sweet potato mixture into a 2-quart dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, make the topping.

Mix together completely topping ingredients with a mixer on medium speed. Remove sweet potato mixture from oven and put the topping on top and bake an additional 25-30 minutes.