Salted Honey Butter Yams

I’ve prepared yams every which way, and I have yet to find a method I’m severely disappointed by. I’ve steamed them and spooned the soft sweet insides into batter for my morning muffins and pancakes. I’ve sliced and roasted thick wedges with coconut butter and ghee as a side for my lunchtime panini, I’ve most definitely baked them into pie for dessert, and for dinner I can think of at least 4 different ways I've made them. Sliced in ultra thin rounds and broiled crisp with cumin and garlic. Stirred into risotto with asparagus and pine nuts. Pureed into fluff under a layer of crunchy pecan topping.

I was eating yams when I went into labor with my daughter. Fat chunks basted in a dark syrup of butter, brown sugar, whole cinnamon and cloves. The recipe from Justin Chapple intrigued me with its toasted meringue topping. My mother never went for the toasted marshallow thing, so neither did I. This seemed like a more elegant alternative while still retaining the whimsy--though I never made it that far before having to dash out the door to the hospital. Thanksgiving eve and those glistening orange gems in my wonky Montes Doggett ceramic dish, the fireplace warming our otherwise drafty 100 year old Hollywood apartment, earth shattering contractions. I’ll never forget it.

My longtime friend Liz Redd refers to sweet potatoes as nature’s candy, and she’s not wrong. It's the thing I keep coming back to--how perfect they are on their own. For a while there they were trendy, even. They keep well in a cool dark place, waiting patiently as you lead your busy life. They can be fancy or humble. Like a beautiful woman dressed to the nines, she is ravishing without any makeup at all. It's not a matter of which I like best, but rather which one I am in the mood for at the moment.

For those times you want comfort without fuss, bake them directly only the oven rack at 350F, wrapped individually in foil. Leave them be for a solid hour, maybe an hour and a half depending on the size, until they cave to the gentle press of your fingertip. I'm not suggesting mere tenderness here--boldly take them to the point of utter collapse. Baked whole and un-rushed in this way, their natural sugars caramelize and flesh turns to silk. Once cooled to a comfortable handling temperature, all they need is to be sliced open, poofed up like a throw pillow, and stuffed with a cloud of salted honey butter. A sprinkle of warm spice as a final touch is not out of place, though totally optional. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice work well.

Salted Honey Butter

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup honey

good pinch of sea salt

METHOD

Whip butter and honey together until light and fluffy. Add 1/8-1/4 tsp sea salt to taste and blend well. For that billowing round shape, serve the salted honey butter using an ice cream scoop. If you don't have one, they are a worthwhile investment for your kitchen tool arsenal. They come in several sizes and work in a variety of applications. They're especially useful for scooping cookie dough into perfectly uniform portions.

Piazza Ice Cream Scoop