This is an easy recipe where you just mix it all together…I promise you, you will LOVE these. They don’t taste sweet-potatoey at all, more like a lovely, moist, little spice cake. They came to me in a dream. Seriously. I wondered, if pumpkin cupcakes worked, these wouldn’t be that far off. They turned out better than the pumpkin ones, then again…the marshmallow topper is KEY.

ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter melted, cooled
2 large eggs – beaten
1 cup roasted sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon maple syrup
3 TB orange juice

If you haven’t already done so – roast two sweet potatoes (prick them with a fork) on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for one hour. When they come out the skin will peel off easily and they can be mashed – you don’t even need a food processor. Set aside 1 cup for later.

Preheat the oven to 350. Prep your cupcake pan with liners and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, white sugar, butter and add the eggs. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Stir in the sweet potatoes, syrup and orange juice.

Divide batter evenly among the cups, it should fill 12 easily about 2/3 full. Bake for approx 20-25 mins depending on your oven. Let cool on a wire rack.

Now for the topping so it’s just like REAL sweet potatoes! No involved frosting here (although I have a recipe for that if you like) no, I was going for more of the traditional sweet potato side dish look – by simply topping it with a roasted marshmallow. But how?

Take 2-3 marshmallows and put them in a microwave safe glass dish. Microwave for just 20 seconds. They should come out nice and puffy. Using an offset spatula I carefully lifted one whole puffy marshmallow on top of the cupcake. I did that for each, then put them on a baking sheet, and broiled until the tops were just bruleed.

Lovely. Toasty. Delish.

I am not a fan of leftovers but after a HUGE holiday meal, you can’t really help it. My tradition has always been to make a day-after-the-holiday breakfast.

ingredients (leftovers):
garlic mashed potatoes
butter
ham, chopped
one egg
dash of milk
garlic salt
pepper
rolls
cheese

Take your leftover mashed potatoes and shape them into small patties, about the size of the palm of your hand. Heat some butter in a skillet on medium high heat. Place the patties in the pan and don’t move until the underside has browned. Then flip them over and brown the other side. Remove to a plate and set aside.

In a small bowl crack your egg, add a dash of milk and some garlic salt and little pepper. Add the chopped ham and scramble up with a fork. Add a little more butter to the pan, then scramble the egg. It will sit a little better on your roll if the egg is more firm.

Place the egg scramble on the roll, top with a small slice of cheese and serve with your potato pancake. A lovely homey holiday breakfast.

Soaking a turkey in brine is the best way to make it moist and delicious. The salt soaks into the meat and tenderizes the bird. Here’s how you do it.
ingredients:
1 gallon vegetable broth
2 TB molasses
1 cup salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TB black peppercorns
1/2 TB allspice berries
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 gallon iced water

Get a giant pot for the stove top. Combine all the brine ingredients (not the iced water) to a boil then cool down to room temp. Now add the iced water to the brine, and mix.

Get a large CLEAN bucket and pour in half of the cooled brine. Make sure you only put half! The weight of the turkey will make the water level rise.

Then lower the bird into the bucket – partially filled with the brine…Now pour in the rest of the brine, covering the turkey as best you can. Cover with foil and place in the fridge overnight. Approx. 8 hours.

In the morning, remove the bird from the brine and pat the turkey dry. Mix up a rub of garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and rub it on the outside – don’t forget the inside too…very important for flavor!

Now to add even more aromatics, chop an apple in half and throw it inside the cavity. We just happened to have an apple but you can use an orange or an onion just as well.

Throw that sucker in the oven. The best way to test to see if a turkey’s done is to use a probe thermometer. When it reaches approx. 165, you’re pretty good to go.

Here is the lovely finished product. Make sure you let the turkey rest for at least 20 minutes before you carve it, or else you will lose all of those vital juices.

Now eat up, you deserve it.