This particular recipe found its way into my family through a recipe book. Not actually a book. My mom had a container full of cards, like the ones they have (used to have?) at Publix. My mom and her mom both had these containers with a plastic, transparent cover. I think they got a couple of recipe cards in the mail each month.
I grew up in a great neighborhoodin the West End of Louisville, Ky. Nearly “everyone” already knew how to make Kentucky bourbon sweet potatoes. It’s Kentucky, right? But I’m not a natural with the culinary arts. I need instructions and can’t just wing it by adding a “pinch” of this or a “little bit” of that, so having a recipe was a big help.
My parents and grandparents served it often, usually around special family dinners like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter. And I personally took a greater interest in this recipe after my parents moved to Delray Beach in 1990. That’s when I started making it myself.
I’ve shared it with many coworkers, at office potlucks and at church. For some reason, I get more feedback on the bourbon than the sweet potatoes.
RECIPE
Ingredients
3 1/2 pounds of Bruce's yams (Or just get one 40 ounce can and one 29 ounce can. Of course, you can get the real deal sweet potatoes and peel and cook...)
1 cup of brown sugar (The original recipe calls for white sugar but I switched to brown sugar a few years ago. Also, it calls for one cup but I've ramped that down a bit)
1/3 cup of bourbon (The quantity of bourbon varies depending on the audience...)
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
About 2 cups of mini marshmallows
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cook potatoes 6 minutes in the microwave
3. Drain liquid from potatoes
4. Add sugar, bourbon, butter, vanilla
5. Mash potatoes if you like them more homestyle or beat them in a blender for a creamy texture
6. Put mixture into 2-quart dish
7. Put marshmallows on top
8. Bake 25-30 minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown
