Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Thanksgiving recipes, #1: sweet potatoes anna

I think we're gathering with friends this year for Thanksgiving, so I'm starting to think about the various fabulous sides and desserts I can bring. This one has been a family tradition on my side of the family for over a decade now, I think: I just tracked it down in an email from 1999, at which point we'd been making it for a while. It is for those people who prefer their sweet potatoes savory--I have another terrific sweet potato recipe for a more dessert-like concoction--and it does take some time, but it's well worth it. Here it is:

Sweet Potatoes Anna

5 sweet potatoes, peeled
2 leeks, whites only
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Slice potatoes very thinly (1/8"); cut leeks in half lengthwise and slice those thinly as well. Butter a round, shallow 10" baking dish. Arrange a layer of potato slices in the pan in overlapping circles. Brush with 1/4 of the melted butter, top with half the leeks & thyme, s&p. Repeat with another layer of potatoes, the remaining leeks & thyme, then a final layer of potatoes. Brush the top layer with melted butter. (Yes, you are using a lot of butter. It's worth it.) Cover the pan with foil, and weight it with a heavy skillet to bake for 30 minutes. Remove the skillet & foil, baste with the remaining butter, and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes and then turn out of the baking dish onto a plate before serving, and prepare for compliments.

5 comments:

Caroline said...

This is so delicious, and yet I think this year, for the first time in a while, I won't be making it! My fellow T'giving cooks and I just added up all our "must haves" and we'll have enough food for twice our number -- something had to go!

Sean Carter said...

Hey this sound too delicious...think i'm gonna trey this one out this year...and hey for more such related stuffs and resources just drop by my Thanksgiving Blog sometime and find out all the amazing things i've posted there....well visit soon and have a great time on Thanksgiving!!!!!

Anonymous said...

This might sound really dumb, but do you use the potatoey (white) sweet potatoes or the yammy (orange) sweet potatoes? Does it matter?

Libby said...

If it does matter, SW, I've never noticed it. So go ahead and use whatever you've got.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for writing back! I've got a ton of the orange type of sweet potato, so I'll try it with those.