Saturday, November 21, 2009

CANDIED YAMS

Ingredients:
5 pounds yams (or sweet potatoes), peeled and cut to large bite-sized pieces
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice
DO NOT ADD WATER

Directions
In a large pot over medium heat, place potatoes. Top with butter, cinnamon, vanilla,lemon juice and sugar, cover and simmer, for 35 to 45 minutes until tender. Gentle stir throughout cooking, until mixture is thick and syrupy. Mixture will thicken slightly as it cools. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Tip:
If sauce looks very liquid, removed the potatoes, as they are fully cooked, and simmered the remaining liquid with the cover removed until it caramelized and then poured it back over the potatoes.
DO NOT ADD WATER

Friday, November 20, 2009

Let's get COOKIN'

The side dish for your Thanksgiving Dinner. I hope you will try and enjoy some of my family favorite recipes.

This year the candied yams recipe is predicted to be the top side dish this holiday season, according to a Black Homeowner News poll. Yams are slowly becoming more common in US markets, the yam is a popular vegetable in Latin American and Caribbean markets, with over 150 varieties available worldwide. Yam are excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium and vitamin C, B6, riboflavin, copper, pantothetic acid and folic acid. My first side for Thanksgiving Dinner will be my grandmothers famous candied yams

Sweet Potatoes or Yams is the question????????????

The true yam is a tropical vine (Dioscorea batatas) and is not even distantly related to the sweet potato.

Yams contain more natural sugar than sweet potatoes and have a higher moisture content and are generally sweeter than the sweet potato. The yam tuber has a brown or black skin which resembles the bark of a tree. The yams are darker-skinned and has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a purple or red flesh, depending on the variety.

Sweet Potatoes are yellow or orange tubers are elongated with ends that taper to a point and are of two dominant types. The paler-skinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin with pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato.

When buying yams or sweet potatoes, choose firm ones with no cracks or bruises. The flavor of raw potatoes might be altered if they're kept in a refrigerator. They should last for two weeks or more if stored in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place and handled with care. If the temperature is too warm -- above 60° F. -- they'll sprout sooner or become woody. Once cooked, sweet potatoes can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Like potatoes.