“Baked sweet potatoes in a simple, pineapple syrup, pineapple chunks and big, fluffy marshmallows..”
Glitter. Everywhere. It sneaks in on Christmas cards, bows, packages….it’s like Holiday dander. It’s turning up on towels, clothes, Buck the Black Lab, furniture. You name it and it’s got glitter on it. This includes me. After hours of last minute Christmas shopping, I looked in the mirror and noticed a light dusting of silver glitter on my forehead. It must have been on the towel I used after my shower, which was before I left for downtown this morning and now I realize I’ve been darting in and out of shops, on the bus and in numerous, packed elevators looking like a male stripper. Not a hot, young, stud of a male stripper but one of those pathetic, old strippers that doesn’t realize that he’s past his prime. ”How sad”, the strangers thought.
I tried to enforce a holiday embargo on glitter a few years back, but it’s impossible. It seeps through cracks under doors and stealthily enters by attaching itself to the fibers of clothes, hair, shoes and anything it can find as a carrier. I don’t know what its agenda is, but it’s aggressive and will NOT be denied. This has nothing to do with a baked sweet potato casserole. I was just thinking…as I ran the lint roller over my peacoat to get the glitter off of it.
We’ve been making this sweet, gooey casserole for as long as anyone here can remember. Baked sweet potatoes in a simple, pineapple syrup, pineapple chunks and big, fluffy marshmallows that we broil as the last step so they toast to a slightly crisp, campfire brown. One of its more endearing qualities is that it’s not a recipe that requires a lot of exact measures. We pretty much wing it every Holiday and it never fails to come through. We serve it alongside Turkey at Thanksgiving, Beef at Christmas and Ham at Easter. It wouldn’t be a Holiday in our house without it. Make sure to reserve the pineapple juice from canned pineapples, unless you opt for fresh. We’ve got instructions either way. Happy Holidays….Enjoy.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (f)/ 180 degrees (c) and grease a 10X15 glass baking dish with non-stick canola spray. Position a rack in the center of your oven. Yields: 6-8 servings.
Soundtrack: Throwing a little curve ball today and giving you a book recommendation in place of our usual music blurb. Josh, Sam and I got into a conversation about books while we were having bagels and coffee yesterday and Martin Zuzak’s TheBook Thief came up as a favorite for all of us. It’s a look at the life and coping of a young Jewish girl hiding in plain sight of Nazi Germany during WWII. Narrated by the Grim Reaper, it’s one of the most beautiful offbeat love stories you’ll ever read and the prose is absolutely stunning. Great. Now I’m a book reviewer.
Ingredients:
5 large organic sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2X2″ (ish) pieces
1 Cup of fresh, organic pineapple, cut into 1″x1″ pieces OR 1, 16 oz can of diced, organic pineapple.
1/2 Cup pineapple juice (or reserved juice from canned)
1/4 Cup organic granulated sugar
18 large marshmallows
Directions:
In a large saucepan, place the peeled and cut potatoes into boiling water (enough to cover the potatoes) and boil for 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes slide off of a fork when speared. Drain the excess water and side aside.
If you’re using canned pineapple, strain 1/2 Cup of juice into a small sauce pan and discard the rest (or save for some other use but honestly I have zero suggestions for you). Add the sugar to the juice and heat at medium low until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to thicken slightly. About 5 minutes. Do not boil.
Arrange the sweet potatoes in the baking dish, then pour the syrup (juice and sugar) evenly into the dish. Sprinkle the pineapple chunks over the sweet potatoes, then arrange the marshmallows evenly over the top.
Bake at 350/18o for 30 minutes or until the syrup begins to boil and the marshmallows begin to brown. Turn oven to broil to completely brown the marshmallows. This takes only a little bit of time so watch carefully to avoid turning the marshmallows black. Remove from the oven and let the dish cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before serving.
baked sweet potato casserole will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in an airtight container. You can freeze it for up to 6 months (in an airtight container).
