Thanksgiving is upon us, and there’s no time when booze is more essential. Volunteer to make the side dishes and you can be drinking your dinner with Cognac Sweet Potatoes in Orange Cups. They look awesome and taste even better.
I’ve been making Thanksgiving dinner for the past 8 years because I’m too selfish to go spend the weekend at home. I’ve tried dozens of different recipes over the years, but I always come back to this recipe. Normally the only excitement comes from sweet potatoes is when your crazy aunt adds marshmallows, but these really kick it up a notch. That seems fitting considering the recipe comes from Emeril Legasse.
You don’t need much to make this happen, and you probably already have all of the ingredients except potatoes and oranges. I used Conjure because I wanted these to be Ludacris, plus that’s what I had on hand. The original recipe actually calls for brandy, which will taste about the same and likely be cheaper.
Admittedly I don’t know the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, and I don’t care enough to Google it. Just buy the damn sweet potatoes and move on.
Turning oranges into cups is a bit of a pain in the ass, but no more than you’re used to dealing with at this time of year. If you have a grapefruit knife go ahead and use that. I only like grapefruit in Greyhounds though, so I just used a paring knife and a spoon to get the job done.
Try to find ones that have pretty flat on the ends if possible. You can shave the bottom so it lies flat if need be though.
This isn’t a very pretty process. You smash the potatoes then mix in the rest of the ingredients. It ends up looking like an orangish-brown version of the food from The Matrix. Forgive me for not showing you pictures along the way. Luckily no one but you is going to see the unfinished product.
Once you have your Soylent Brown ready to go, scoop it into your artfully carved orange cups and have it crest over the top like a gloriously poured Guinness. Oh yeah, are you drinking right now? Because you should be. I forgot to mention that. You can’t cook without cocktail, everyone knows that.
These only take 20 minutes in the oven (after the initial hour to cook the potatoes), so you can wait until right before dinner to put them in the oven. Or you could eat them for breakfast like I did yesterday. What do you think happens to all the food I make for the Guyism Grill. It gets eaten at whatever ridiculous time it’s done. I’ve had Bacon Cinnamon Rolls for dinner and Peanut Butter Oreo Cheesecake Bars for breakfast in the past month.
These are a modified version of an Emeril Legasse recipe. Look out for more boozy Thanksgiving side dishes in the net few days. I’ll want to help you drink dinner whenever possible.
Ingredients:
- 7 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
- 4 large oranges
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup Conjure cognac
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Bake potatoes on baking sheet until tender, about 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and let rest until just cool enough to handle.
- Lower the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the orange cups by cutting the oranges in half and scooping out the pulp, leaving only the shell. Set aside.
- While still somewhat hot, peel the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Discard the skins and tough, stringy fibers. Add the butter, and with an electric mixer, beat out the lumps.
- Add the sugar, eggs, orange juice, heavy cream, and brandy, and mix until smooth.
- Ignore ugly color, you judgmental ass.
- Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, and mix well. Re-season, to taste.
- Spoon the sweet potato mixture into the orange cups, mounding and smoothing the top.
- Bake until puffed and slightly golden, about 20 minutes.