Savory Sweet Potatoes and Left over Crepes: A Guest Post!

savory sweet potato crepes by my SIL Diana!

At this time of year when we are all so thankful for the wonderful things in our lives and the wonderful people, I thought it would be fun to ask some of my most special people to do a guest post on my blog and share some of what makes them special to me, with you! My baby brother Matt is married to a wonderful girl named Diana Karas who is fun, creative, easy going and most of all loves family and good food. She jumped at the chance to guest post and so, without further ado, thanks Cha cha Di di for the lovely recipe and for the treasures you give me by being in my life! Love you!

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Thanksgiving is certainly a time of tradition in my family. We?ve had the same menu since I can remember when, which is delicious, but certainly doesn?t reflect my sister and I moving into adulthood, being married, and the both of us having kids now! My mother is truly a baker at heart so most of dishes tend to be on the sweeter side. This year I asked my Mom what I could bring for Thanksgiving. In recent years I?ve been able to bring a desert (my addition to my Mom?s assortment of at least 5+ different things!) but this year I really wanted to make things easier on her and bring a side. The house is chock a block with crock pots, other cookers, range overloaded, and the oven packed to the rim.

I told my Mom I could take over the sweet potatoes and/or the butternut. Both of these dishes are normally slathered in brown sugar and maple syrup. (Forget turkey, we?re put into a sugar coma at my family!) For my recent 4 year anniversary I had a delicious meal that included crepes stuffed with savory butternut squash. Needless to say I really wanted to reproduce it for Thanksgiving! The restaurant ? Not Your Average Joe?s ? has these as butternut for winter and sweet potato for summer time. I was willing to try either at home and bring my bounty to Thanksgiving!

I gave it a try and here?s my take on Savory Sweet Potatoes (and Leftover Savory Sweet Potato Crepes!)

The recipe below was sized to accommodate for two adults and my 20 month old daughter.

2 sweet potatoes (~1.5lb)

5-6 oz Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

2 tablespoons butter (or to taste)

Nutmeg optional

Variations:

Thyme

Sage

Cumin

Curry Powder

Boil the sweet potatoes until tender. Reserve some cooking liquid. Puree the sweet potatoes, I used an immersion blender for ease, adding the cooking liquid as necessary. Once it?s a smooth texture add in the ricotta cheese and butter. Generously add in fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste, and nutmeg if using. You can stop here, it?s very tasty on it?s own or add in one of the following items: Thyme, Sage, Cumin, or Curry Powder. Add any one item at small increments and taste often, thyme and sage can over power it quickly.

It was very tasty, and we had a lot of leftovers. For breakfast I decided to make crepes with the sweet potatoes.

Makes about 3-4 crepes using a 1 oz. ladle, recipe can be increased to make more

3 tablespoons flour

1 egg large

Pinch of salt (optional)

Milk

The above recipe is for one serving or about 3-4 crepes. It?s just a simple ratio of 3 tbl flour: 1 egg. Add the flour and egg together and whisk into a paste. Add milk in small increments, whisking the batter until smooth and thin. You want it to pour off a spoon. The milk amount will vary every time, it really depends on the egg size.

Preheat the oven to 200-225 degrees, and have a glass pan to hold the finished crepes while you make the rest. Heat the non-stick pan on medium heat and add a small pad of butter to coat the bottom. I use a one ounce ladle to spoon in the crepe batter. No need for a crepe maker, just tilt the pan around and smooth the batter with the ladle or spoon. Cook until light golden on the bottom ~1-2 minutes, and flip. Add in the reheated sweet potatoes filling. Fold over the sides when the bottom starts to brown, ~ 1minute. Set the made crepe into the glass dish and keep warm in the oven as the make the others.

Drizzle with maple syrup for a sweeter breakfast treat.

We really enjoyed it both as a side and as breakfast! So did my daughter Evelyn!

Evie numming on the crepes!

I described the successful try and it’s delicious outcome to my Mom hoping this would let me bring something. Needless to say tradition won over and my Mom will yet again be making everything. I was allowed to bring a salad and soup that will likely just be eaten with leftovers. It was an attempt at least and I found a way that my husband enjoys sweet potatoes!

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Thanks again Diana, and remember everyone. It feels SO very good to let people know how much they mean to you! Try it if you don’t believe me! I am thankful for all of you wonderful readers and hearth felt bloggie friends and I look forward to tons more good times, laughs, support and most of all good food shared with all of you! Enjoy your Thanksgiving no matter where you spend it!

This recipe is a part of Real Food Wednesdays and Vegetarian Foodie Fridays.