Cooking Lesson #372: Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casserole With Bourbon Pecans

The Thanksgiving Collection

How you doin’? It’s just a couple of weeks until Thanksgiving Day and you are probably surveying the kitchen and all the things you’re going to need to pull off the most important family dinner of the year. Now it’s time to pair what you’ve got and what you need with a cooking schedule. You might already know that you have to go to Target, Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table to pick up some additional serving ware. But that won’t solve for the fact that after checking it all out you find that you are 3 burners and an oven short.

​What is an industrious holiday cook to do? Take a look at what can be cooked in your air-fryer, Instant Pot and wait a minute… that slow-cooker Aunt Rose gave me for my wedding 10 years ago. Where did I put it? Once you find it (check the box in the back of the kitchen closet behind the waffle maker), you’ll discover that cooking sweet potatoes in a Crock Pot frees up space on the stove—plus you can serve it straight from the crock. All you need to do is plan ahead—about 8 hours ahead.
 
While eating your holiday dinner invite your guests to play a game of Trivial Pursuit. Ask your invitees if they know where sweet potatoes originated. The stock answer is Central and South America. WRONG!!! According to radiocarbon dating, some archaeologists have found prehistoric remnants of sweet potato in Polynesia from about A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1100. However more recent research suggests the sweet potato family of plants actually originated in the late Paleocene epoch in the East Gondwana land mass that became part of Asia 57-milion years ago.
 
Sweet potatoes were first brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus. He discovered them on his journey in 1492. He liked the vegetable so much that on his fourth voyage, he took some home to grow in Europe. As sweet potatoes were very well accepted in Spain, the Spanish conquerors took them on their journeys from that point forward.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Crock Pot cook time:  7 hours on low—3-1/2 hours on high (that’s why it’s called a SLOW cooker—that’s no crock)
Yield:  12 servings:
 
Ingredients
Non-stick food spray
4 to 5 pounds sweet potatoes (or yams)
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons American bourbon
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to suit your taste
 
Directions

1. Spray the bottom and sides of a 6-quart (or larger) Crock Pot with non-stick food spray.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice 1/4-inch thick.
3. Layer the sweet potatoes in the slow cooker.
4. Add orange zest, orange juice, 2 tablespoons each butter and brown sugar, the vanilla, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and the nutmeg. Stir to combine.
5. Cover and cook the potatoes until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 3 hours on High or 6-1/2 hours on Low.
6. Mash with a potato masher until smooth.
7. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until foaming.
8. Add the pecans, bourbon, and cayenne and the remaining 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a serving dish, if desired, and sprinkle with the pecans.

ChefSecret:  Plan ahead and do your prep early. You can refrigerate mashed sweet potatoes for up to 3 days. Store pecans airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Quip of the Day:  Marriage Tip #2—When sitting on the front porch drinking a beer and your wife is mowing the lawn, it’s not the best time to ask her when dinner will be ready.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Have a wonderful safe and healthy holiday. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. 

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                                          ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

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