A Thanksgiving Recipe for Bourbon Glazed Sweet Potatoes

For me, Thanksgiving is a holiday of food. It's a day on which I can make unapologetically decadent food to serve to the people I love. I think anyone can make delicious gourmet food to pamper their loved ones. All that is needed is a bit of care in selecting fresh, quality ingredients and attention to preparation.

This Thanksgiving sweet potato recipe is an indulgent expression of my love of family, friends and food. The bourbon gives a jolt of flavor to this sweet side dish which is mellowed nicely by the butter and dark brown sugar.

Ingredients:

About 2 to two and a half pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled

One third of a cup of water

One quarter of a cup of bourbon

One whole stick of salted butter, approximately 4 tablespoons

One cup of dark brown sugar, tightly packed

One half teaspoon of salt

One teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Method:

Slice the peeled sweet potatoes into disks about a quarter of an inch thick. Put the sweet potatoes in a ten inch skillet in a single layer if possible. Add the water and salt and turn the heat on to medium.

Cook the sweet potatoes uncovered until the water is almost boiled off, turning and flipping them frequently. It should take should take between five to ten minutes to boil off the excess water and to make the sweet potatoes tender. Watch the skillet carefully as the water can boil off quickly and allow the sweet potatoes to burn. As soon as the water is almost gone immediately reduce the heat and add the butter, stirring until the butter melts.

Allow the sweet potatoes to cook in the melted butter until soft and lightly browned. Then add the brown sugar and the bourbon. Be careful as the bourbon is flammable! Don't spill any on the burner. Pour the bourbon into the center of the skillet to avoid potential flare ups. If the bourbon flames up, cover the skillet with a lid until the flames stop. If the bourbon has caught fire, all is not lost, once the flames subside just add a few teaspoons of water and proceed as directed.

Cook the mixture of sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar and bourbon until the sauce has thickened and begins to stick to the slices of sweet potato.

Pour the sweet potatoes and their bourbon glaze into a serving dish and dust with ground cinnamon. To serve, spoon onto plates and drizzle with the glaze adding another dusting of cinnamon if desired.

This dish serves six to ten - depending on how much everyone likes sweet potatoes!