Smashed Sweet Potatoes for Two

In my effort to make more side dishes for dinner, I tried this recipe for Smashed Sweet Potatoes by Ina Garten. These were delicious! They have a prominent orange flavor from the orange juice, which I didn't mind, but I think any light colored juice would work - like apple or even pineapple. I scaled the recipe down for two, but the original make much more, so it's an easy recipe to adapt for as many people as needed. These sweet potatoes go great with turkey meatloaf muffins!

Smashed Sweet Potatoes for Two

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon orange juice

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon heavy cream or milk (I used skim)

2 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

dash of ground nutmeg

dash of ground cinnamon

kosher salt, to taste (approximately 1/3 teaspoon)

freshly ground black pepper, to taste (approximately 1/6 teaspoon)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

1. Scrub potato and poke several times with a knife or fork. If desired, place on a plate in the microwave for about 5 - 10 minutes to get a head start on the cooking process.

2. Bake sweet potato in oven for about 1 hour (if you pre-cooked in the microwave, this may be as little as 30 minutes), or until very soft when pierced with a knife.

3. When sweet potato is cool enough to handle, carefully cut the skin and peel it off, scraping the insides into a large mixing bowl.

4. Using a stand fitted with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer or potato masher), combine the cooked sweet potato with the orange juice, cream or milk, butter, brown sugar, spices, and salt/pepper. Mix to desired consistency.

5. Transfer potatoes to a small baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until heated through.

Source: Adapted from Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa