I think all of us siblings are in agreement--can't look a
sweet potato or yam in the face either.

I discovered that without additional sweetening
they can be okay - especially cut at least 25%
with butter.

Sweet potatoes take well to both chilies and curry, but not sugar and certainly not marshmallows. I am very fond of spicy sweet potato

Thought: I wonder what savory marshmallows would
be like, and would they go? Sort of a solider sort
of mousse, maybe lemon.

fries (grease, salt plus liberal use of cayenne .... what could be
wrong!), mashed with butter (I use less than you do, about 1 tb per
cup) plus a modest amount of whole milk or light cream, garlic and
any number of chile powders including chipotle, cubed and smothered
in a spicy tomato sauce, in a tomato or yogurt based curry sauce or
extending those last two concepts, a tomato or dairy based soup.

Tomatified sweet potatoes, they're not my thing.

I'd say I use thyme more than twice as often as anything else.

I use thyme and basil about equally, the choice depending on both
the dish and my mood. Oregano, less and less as time goes by.

I ODed on basil some decades ago, likewise with
oregano, though there's nothing so weak and wimpy
as a pizza without it. I think sage might be a
distant #2 as far as green herbs go. Question: why
don't people use cumin leaves?

Onions don't count, because I use them in almost all savory
dishes of whatever claimed nationality.

Same. Along with all the other alliums (except uber-expensive
shallots). A recent meal featured onions four ways: in the bean soup,
in a cucumber relish, in the stir fried vegetables and in the
pot roasted meat's gravy.

I was cooking for my friends and discovered that
they had neither onions nor garlic, nor any dried
herbs from this decade (some fresh chives and
rosemary, I think, though these were in a sort of
alcove above the sink, so I couldn't see them).

Title: Onions in Madeira
4 lg Red onions; sliced
1/4 c Beef stock; fresh or canned
1/4 c Madeira
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Comments: This is really an amazing dish in that it is so mild and so
flavorful at the same time. It goes well with any red meat course.

It's onion soup sans soup.

Recipe Source: THE FRUGAL GOURMET by Jeff Smith

Okay, that makes sense.

... "Sweet Potato" is neither sweet nor a potato.

Well, no and yes and no. The ones we get under that name
are usually reasonably sweet, especially now, and whether
they are potatoes is open to discussion, see below.

The English word potato comes from Spanish patata (the
name used in Spain). The Spanish Royal Academy says the
Spanish word is a hybrid of the Taÿno batata (sweet
potato) and the Quechua papa (potato). The name
originally referred to the sweet potato although the two
plants are not closely related. The 16th-century English
herbalist John Gerard referred to sweet potatoes as
common potatoes, and used the terms bastard potatoes
and Virginia potatoes for the species we now call potato.
In many of the chronicles detailing agriculture and
plants, no distinction is made between the two. Potatoes
are occasionally referred to as Irish potatoes or white
potatoes in the United States, to distinguish them from
sweet potatoes. - Wikipedia

Sweet Potato Casserole With Madeira
categories: side
servings: 12 to 18

5 lb sweet potatoes (6 lg)
7 Tb butter, softened
1/2 c half-and-half
1⁄/2 c madeira or sherry
1 Tb grated orange rind
1/2 ts ground cinnamon
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts nutmeg
h - Optional toppings
1 Tb cold butter
chopped pecans or walnuts

Jab the potatoes in several places with a fork and
lay them on the rack of a 375F oven for 1 hr (put
a cookie sheet on the rack below to catch drips).
They are done when a knife slips in and out easily.
Meanwhile, butter a 9-c baking dish and set aside.
When the sweet potatoes are done, hold them under
cold water and pull off the skin. Use a mixer or
food processor to whip the potatoes with the
butter, half & half, Madeira, orange rind, and
spices. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Plop the mixture into the baking dish, level with
the back of a spoon, and top with chopped nuts or
dot with slivers of butter. Cover and refrigerate
if you are making this in advance.

Bake uncovered for 25 min at 350F. (Plan on 45 min
if the casserole is cold.)

Chef Emanuela on geniuskitchen.com
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)