Fiery fall food

I think of sweet potatoes (or yams, if you must) as the quintessential fall food. They're comforting, homey, and can very well be dessert on a plate, if you make my family's decadent Sweet Potato Casserole. What they've never been for me, though, is exciting, much less spicy. Sweet potatoes just aren't that kind of food. Until, that is, I made this NYT recipe for Fiery Sweet Potatoes.

I always have red and green curry paste in my fridge and coconut milk in my pantry. Nothing saves a boring chicken breast and vegetable dinner like a quick and delicious curry with rice. So combining some of my Asian staples with one of my favorite down-home vegetables? Perfect! Go pick up some sweet potatoes, or turn those Thanksgiving leftovers you're now dreading into something else entirely. (And if you're calorie-conscious, skip the butter/brown sugar topping - it's delicious but unnecessary, if you're worried about that kind of thing.) Enjoy!

Fiery Sweet Potatoes

Time: About 2 hours

5 pounds sweet potatoes

1 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon salt.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake potatoes on a baking sheet until very soft, about 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, peel and mash.

2. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk with curry paste over low heat. Mix coconut milk mixture, half the sugar, half the butter, and salt into potatoes. Keep warm until ready to serve, or cover and refrigerate up to two days.

3. At least 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 425 degrees. Put potatoes in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover potatoes, dot with remaining butter and sugar and broil until brown and crusty on top, checking often to prevent scorching.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

PS: My latest post is up on EAD: "Outfitting the Recession Kitchen"