Tis’ the season when Dirty Laundry Kitchen turns into Thanksgiving central starting off with this recipe for Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze. I can’t take credit for this recipe, it’s one that I use almost as written by Marcia Miesel for Food and Wine. It’s one of the Thanksgiving recipes that I’ve made more than once, and that’s saying something. I like to try new things every year, and if I come back to something, it has to be really good. I made it originally as part of my Thanksgiving 2011 menu, but it has definitely come up again since then. The Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze is an interesting dish, because the baking time is really long. The first time I made it I thought it might even be an error. I intended to change that part of the recipe for sure, but as it turned out, it’s really good. They definitely don’t seem mushy and overcooked and the dish is gorgeous, so it’s fun to include on the table. It’s a dish that should be served in the pan it’s baked in, so if you have a really beautiful oven to table pan, this is the dish to use it on. I used a regular pyrex and while it’s not beautiful, it does lead to some cool shots where you can really see the side view. I also like this dish because it hits on two of my favorite Thanksgiving ingredients at the same time: sweet potatoes and cranberries. Added bonus, I love these Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze as dessert, or on top of next day pancakes or waffles. Also, while I haven’t altered the ingredients much, I have given you a solution to the classic make ahead problem of Thanksgiving. While the original Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze doesn’t really allow for making ahead, with a few modifications, you absolutely can make it a day ahead, so let’s get to it. And Happy Thanksgiving month one and all.
- 4 pounds sweet potatoes
- 1 cup water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup bourbon
- Sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup cranberries
- ⅓ cup brown sugar (I’ve used both light and dark; both are good)
- ⅛- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (I like the “more”)
- dash of cinnamon
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them crosswise about ¼- inch thick.
Butter a large shallow baking dish (3 quart oval or 9 x 13 work). Arrange the sweet potatoes in concentric circles in the dish, overlapping the slices if you have an oval, or in stripes if you have a rectangle.- Pour ½ cup of the water over the sweet potatoes.
- Cover with foil and bake for about 40 minutes (just tender).
- Increase the oven temperature to 425° F.
- In a small bowl, mix the melted butter and bourbon and spoon over the sweet potatoes.
- Season with salt and black pepper and bake 25 minutes basting once until bourbon mixture absorbs/evaporates.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the cranberries, remaining ½ cup of water, and the brown sugar and boil over moderately high heat until the cranberries start to burst (10 minutes).
- Drain the cranberries, but reserve the liquid.
- [Make ahead STOP]
- If you’re going to make ahead, remove from the oven at this point and cover with foil. If you’re making a day ahead, store in the fridge. It’s important that when you start the final steps, you are starting from room temperature, not cold. Let sit out at least an hour to come to room temperature. If you’re making same day, but early in the day, just cover with foil and leave on the counter.
- [When you’re ready to... RESUME]
- Whisk the cayenne and cinnamon into the cranberry liquid and spoon it over the sweet potatoes.
- Bake at 425° F for 15 minutes until the potatoes are nicely glazed and most of the liquid has been absorbed (baste once or twice).
- Remove from oven. Scatter the cranberries on top.
- Bake 5 more minutes. Serve hot or warm.
As you know, I don’t cook. 🙂 However, I made this recently, and it was easy and delicious!
Glad to hear it went well. Thanks for sharing. I really love this one, and I’m glad you enjoyed.