Make the perfect sweet potatoes
By Leah Eskin
Chicago Tribune
Consider the cook’s conundrum: Many a dish is best celebrated on occasion, at the big occasion. And yet, practice makes perfect. How to reconcile rare with well done?
The puzzle comes to mind in fall, the runup to Thanksgiving. Eyeing the sweet potatoes lolling in their bin, we wonder how early we can call preseason. Will premature puree dampen enthusiasm for the big day?
We boil a batch, mash it fine, season it sweet and spike it with rum. The golden mound with its buttery bite brings to mind the fall feast, but it holds its own on the weeknight plate. Maybe for the potato, practice is perfection.