she cooks…he cleans

We recently became enamored of the Japanese sweet potato, or satsumaimo.  These potatoes are dark red-skinned, almost purplish, and have a creamy white inside.  They are very sweet – particularly if you roast them – and have a denser flesh than the orange potatoes we are used to.  I decided to try mashing them for a new take on “Bangers and Mash”.

Since these potatoes are so sweet already, I used fresh sage to add a more savory aspect to the mash, along with copious amounts of cream and butter (of course).  We really liked the combination of the grilled sausages with the sage and the sweet potatoes – and the caramelized onions were like the cherry on top of a banana split.  Yum!

This is a hearty dish, probably best suited for colder weather.  However if you have the urge to grill some sausages, any time of year is good for bangers and mash!

Ingredients (about 3 servings)

• 2 large Vidalia onions (or other sweet variety of onion)
• ~ 2 tablespoons butter (pastured)
• ~1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• heavy cream or half and half
• more butter
• ~1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped fine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 Bangers

Preheat oven to 325F.  Cut the onions in half and discard the skin.  Slice into thin slices.

Using an oven-safe skillet or saute pan (with lid), melt 2 tablespoons of butter with the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions; saute for several minutes, tossing occasionally, until the onions are soft.  Cover pan and place in oven.  Cook for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the onions are deeply browned (sorry, I forgot to write down the time).  Remove from oven and set aside.

Place the cut-up sweet potatoes in a medium-size sauce pan and cover with cold water.  Bring to a boil, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender (can easily be pieced with a fork).  Drain into colander, then return the potatoes to the pan.  Throw in a few dollops of butter (~2 tablespoons to start with) and a glug of half and half.  Using a potato masher, blend the potatoes with the cream and butter to the desired consistency, adding more cream and butter as needed.  Stir in the sage, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

While the potatoes are cooking, grill the bangers – on an outdoor grill, or stove-top grill or grill-plate.

Serve the bangers over the sweet potato mash, topped with caramelized onions.

Two from the Wayback Machine today (bonus points if you know what I’m referring to!). Two incredibly influential pioneers of rock and roll. Without them, you probably don’t have the Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, etc. First up, the first album from the wildman from Macon, Here’s Little Richard. Nobody else sounds like Little Richard, and this one is loaded with hits- “Tutti Frutti”, “Long Tall Sally” and more. Amazing what a 28 minute record achieved!

Next up, Bo Diddley. “Who Do You Love”, “Mona”, and his signature song- literally! Bo was a great songwriter, guitarist and performer, and still making great records into his later years, including a terrific live set with Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Here’s a great collection of all the hits. Road Runner: The Chess Masters 1959-1960 Bo Diddley, Bo Diddley, have ya heard…