It's Crazy Cooking Challenge time again! The challenge presented this month by our hostess, Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking, was mashed potatoes. I immediately thought of mashed sweet potatoes - I love mashed sweet potatoes.
When I came across a recipe for sweet potatoes mashed with maple syrup at Fight the Fat Foodie, I knew that was the recipe I needed to use for this Challenge. I am originally from Vermont, after all, which just so happens to be famous for it's maple syrup. I may have left Vermont behind, but I certainly have not left behind my love for it's purely decadent and delicious liquid gold!! (You can read about this love in my whole wheat waffles post.)
In working with this recipe, I then I had the wild-and-crazy idea to add a maple sugar brulee topping to the sweet 'taters. Yum! Well, the brulee ended up being yum ... but the maple sugar part of the idea, not so much.
Here's how this experiment went down.
First, I whipped up maple-mashed sweet potatoes, following Fight the Fat Foodie's recipe. I did make modifications, increasing the maple syrup and decreasing the cinnamon to really let the maple flavor shine through.
 |
| Mashed up |
Then I spooned the maple-mashed 'taters into individual ramekins. You could just as easily spoon the 'taters into a casserole dish, rather than individual serving-sized ramekins.
 |
| Spooned into ramekins |
Next, I grabbed my trusty granulated maple sugar (love this stuff!!) ...
 |
| Granulated maple sugar - so good! |
... and sprinkled it on top of my 'taters.
 |
| Sprinkling |
And here's where my little experiment went wrong.
You want to know what I learned? Well, granulated maple sugar does not do well being brullee'd! I have no idea why, but rather than making a nice, crystallized sugary top, granulated maple sugar burns and becomes a charcoal-y charred mess. Oops! Oh well, it was a nice idea.
 |
| A charred mess |
On to Plan B.
I grabbed my even-more-trusty light brown sugar. This time when I took my torch to it, I got what I was hoping for ...
 |
| Now that's more like it. |
... a beautifully crystallized, yummy brulee topping. Yes! Brown sugar is the way to go.
So whether you think you'd like these brulee'd ...
 |
| Brulee'd Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes |
... or not ...
 |
| Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes |
... these sweet 'taters are super maple-icious!!
Brulee'd (or not) Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Source: Adapted from Fight the Fat Foodie
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. pure maple syrup (preferably pure Grade B from Vermont!)
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Brown sugar for brulee topping (optional)
Directions
1. In a medium or large pot, just cover peeled potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Strain and return potatoes to pot. (Or, cook unpeeled potatoes in the microwave. I wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave until soft, about 8-15 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. When soft, cut in half and scoop out the pulp into a mixing bowl.)
2. Add milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Mash until smooth and well-combined.
For optional brulee topping:
3. Spoon mashed sweet potatoes into a casserole dish or individual ramekins. Top with a dusting of brown sugar. Use a kitchen torch to melt the brown sugar. Or, place under a broiler (watching closely!) until brown sugar is melted.
Enjoy!
Enjoy visiting the other Crazy Cooking Challenge participants through the links below. Looks like there are some creative mashed potato variations. Hmmm ... which should I try first?
{Click to view my other Crazy Cooking Challenge entries.}
This post is linked with Market Yourself Monday hosted by Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Savvy Homemade Monday hosted by Savvy Homemade A to Z, Mangia Mondays hosted by Shine Your Light, Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, Tuesday Talent Show hosted by Chef in Training, These Chicks Cooked hosed by This Chick Cooks, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters.
It's Crazy Cooking Challenge time again! The challenge presented this month by our hostess, Tina of Mom's Crazy Cooking, was mashed potatoes. I immediately thought of mashed sweet potatoes - I love mashed sweet potatoes.
When I came across a recipe for sweet potatoes mashed with maple syrup at Fight the Fat Foodie, I knew that was the recipe I needed to use for this Challenge. I am originally from Vermont, after all, which just so happens to be famous for it's maple syrup. I may have left Vermont behind, but I certainly have not left behind my love for it's purely decadent and delicious liquid gold!! (You can read about this love in my whole wheat waffles post.)
In working with this recipe, I then I had the wild-and-crazy idea to add a maple sugar brulee topping to the sweet 'taters. Yum! Well, the brulee ended up being yum ... but the maple sugar part of the idea, not so much.
Here's how this experiment went down.
First, I whipped up maple-mashed sweet potatoes, following Fight the Fat Foodie's recipe. I did make modifications, increasing the maple syrup and decreasing the cinnamon to really let the maple flavor shine through.
|
| Mashed up |
Then I spooned the maple-mashed 'taters into individual ramekins. You could just as easily spoon the 'taters into a casserole dish, rather than individual serving-sized ramekins.
|
| Spooned into ramekins |
Next, I grabbed my trusty granulated maple sugar (love this stuff!!) ...
|
| Granulated maple sugar - so good! |
... and sprinkled it on top of my 'taters.
|
| Sprinkling |
And here's where my little experiment went wrong.
You want to know what I learned? Well, granulated maple sugar does not do well being brullee'd! I have no idea why, but rather than making a nice, crystallized sugary top, granulated maple sugar burns and becomes a charcoal-y charred mess. Oops! Oh well, it was a nice idea.
|
| A charred mess |
On to Plan B.
I grabbed my even-more-trusty light brown sugar. This time when I took my torch to it, I got what I was hoping for ...
|
| Now that's more like it. |
... a beautifully crystallized, yummy brulee topping. Yes! Brown sugar is the way to go.
So whether you think you'd like these brulee'd ...
|
| Brulee'd Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes |
... or not ...
|
| Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes |
... these sweet 'taters are super maple-icious!!
Brulee'd (or not) Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Source: Adapted from Fight the Fat Foodie
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes
1/3 c. milk
1/2 c. pure maple syrup (preferably pure Grade B from Vermont!)
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Brown sugar for brulee topping (optional)
Directions
1. In a medium or large pot, just cover peeled potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Strain and return potatoes to pot. (Or, cook unpeeled potatoes in the microwave. I wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave until soft, about 8-15 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes. When soft, cut in half and scoop out the pulp into a mixing bowl.)
2. Add milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Mash until smooth and well-combined.
For optional brulee topping:
3. Spoon mashed sweet potatoes into a casserole dish or individual ramekins. Top with a dusting of brown sugar. Use a kitchen torch to melt the brown sugar. Or, place under a broiler (watching closely!) until brown sugar is melted.
Enjoy!
Enjoy visiting the other Crazy Cooking Challenge participants through the links below. Looks like there are some creative mashed potato variations. Hmmm ... which should I try first?
{Click to view my other Crazy Cooking Challenge entries.}
This post is linked with Market Yourself Monday hosted by Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Savvy Homemade Monday hosted by Savvy Homemade A to Z, Mangia Mondays hosted by Shine Your Light, Tasty Tuesday hosted by For the Love of Blogs, Tuesday Talent Show hosted by Chef in Training, These Chicks Cooked hosed by This Chick Cooks, Sharing Sundays hosted by Everyday Sisters.
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