Emily's recipe

Here is my one-day-late edition of What's Cooking Wednesday.

As you know, Emily loves food which translates into loving cooking. Up until recently she has really only stuck to baking and left the savoury stuff to her pretend play. Last week however I discovered a bunch of kids' cookbooks at the library. We checked out a couple and I started allowing her, with supervision of course, to prepare parts of dinner. The best thing she made was Sweet Potato-Praline Marshmallow Casserole.

Yeah, I know.

Not exactly the healthiest way to serve sweet potatoes but what do you expect from a cookbook by Emeril Lagasse? And let me just say this: I have never tasted better sweet potatoes in my life. It tastes like pumpkin pie, which I totally love, but better. If that is possible.

It tasted like dessert, except it was served beside meatloaf.

We ate it for two nights and would have kept eating it, although with a side order of shame, for another night if there were any left.

And now, on to the recipe. Try it if you dare. You won't be sorry. Just a little guilty.

Sweet Potato-Praline Marshmallow Casserole

3 or 4 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup softened butter
2 tbsp cream
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup pecan pieces
2 cups mini marshmallows

Place sweet potatoes in large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil. Cook potatoes until fork tender, about 35 minutes. Drain potatoes and set aside to cool for one hour or so.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut potatoes in half and squeeze potatoes of their skins. Mash in a bowl. Add 2 tbsp butter, cream, 1/4 cup brown sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, allspice and salt to the potatoes and mix well with wire whisk.

In separate bowl, combine remaining 2 tbsp butter, remaining 1 cup brown sugar, and pecan pieces. Stir.

Spoon potato mixture into 9 inch cake pan. Dot top with pecan mixture and arrange marshmallows over nuts. Bake until marshmallows are golden, about 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe notes: We didn't have orange juice so I left that out of the recipe. I suppose it would cut the sweetness a little but I didn't really miss it. He calls for WAY too much brown sugar to mix with the pecans. I would cut that down to 1/4 cup. I ended up with a huge amount of brown sugar in the bowl after I put the pecan pieces on. If I'd put all that sugar on as he suggests it would have been sickeningly sweet.


I know I promised a report on my spa night but I have a very messy basement that needs to be cleaned so I can actually see the carpet to vacuum it tomorrow so the report will have to wait one more day.

Let's just say two things: I don't like to have anyone yank on my big toes and I find it difficult to remain quiet for 3 hours, as was made clear by the spa guy who had to come over and shush me.