Sweet Potatoes

From chef Brandon Frohne of Mason’s in Nashville by way of the James Beard Foundation.

Sweet potatoes! I’m very excited. Sweet potatoes! (Did I already say that?)

Last year I think it was the end of October before we had sweet potatoes in our box. This is truly the vegetable that says “fall” to me. I got home too late tonight to do anything with these beauties, but I’ll be making my traditional start of fall meal tomorrow just in time for the autumnal equinox at 5:05am on Friday morning. (I think I’ve made the calculation about the time right …)

I’ll be sautéing my sweet potatoes with some of those beautiful apples in a little bit of butter, and then adding honey or maple syrup, depending on my mood. This is a fall favorite in my household. Sometimes I add some sausage, sometimes I add some greens …. however it’s fixed we absolutely love it. And the smell of those sweet potatoes cooking tells me fall has arrived.

The complete contrast will be the cold salad of steamed spaghetti squash tossed with olive oil, a little lemon juice and lots of chopped tomatoes, then seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper that I’ll also be making. It’s that time of year when what you want to eat can go in any number of directions.

Just on the chance that more sweet potatoes are in our future (and maybe another cool snap), here’s a soup recipe from “Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners” (Simon & Schuster, $35). The recipe calls for 4 sweet potatoes, but if your box, like mine, had just 3 sweet potatoes, that will work fine as well. And feel free to substitute a jalapeno or two for the chipotles. Chipotles are just ripened, smoked jalapenos so you’ll still be getting the heat but not the smoky flavor. If you substituted bacon for the Canadian bacon, it would all even out. If you have an immersion blender, this recipe is even easier. Not a fan of rye bread? Just make plain croutons.