As I type this I have a chip on my shoulder.
Ugh. It’s almost painful to think about, let alone type it out.
SIGH.
OK.
Here goes.
The Bible study that I’ve been going to every Tuesday at our church here was having a brunch, and everyone was asked to bring a brunch-y dish to share.
Easy, you know? I mean, I cook for a living. I create recipes as my job. Easy peasy. I got this.
Or do I?
So everything was going smoothly. I used my new mandolin to slice the heck out of some gorgeous sweet potatoes; I even Instagrammed it! You know it’s good when you share it on there, right?
I carefully layered them in the perfectly prepared pan. I lovingly made a large batch of bechamel and melted yummy yummy sharp cheddar into it. I tested the seasoning – perfect. I poured the sauce atop the slices of sweet potato and made sure it was all distributed evenly. I covered it with the most perfectly creased foil ever, put it in the fridge and patted myself on the back for a good night’s work.
See, I wanted to make it the night before and then bake it off right before heading to church. Y’all, I calculated the timing perfectly – this isn’t my first rodeo in brunch preparing OR gratin making.
And yet. YET. Oh me, it hurts to say this – it was a total fail! I don’t know what happened, but after the time in the oven the potatoes were still raw and the cheese wasn’t even melted yet.
SAY WHAT?!
Needless to say I didn’t take raw sweet potatoes to church, and luckily everyone else stepped it up and brought a ton so it was OK. But you know the moment I got home I went through the whole thing again and figured out that the refrigeration process must have totally thrown everything out of whack.
‘Cause see here – this stuff is GOOD. It’s creamy and melty and sweet and savory and drool-worthy in the highest regards. Just don’t refrigerate it unless you want to leave it in the oven for the rest of your life!
CREAMY CHEDDAR SWEET POTATOES
Makes 1 9-x-13 dish
- 3-4 medium sweet potatoes, washed and cleaned and dried
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1-1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 cups milk (I used nonfat cow’s milk)
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese + 1/2 cup for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 400. Slice the sweet potatoes very thinly – about 1/8 of an inch – and as evenly as possible. I would HIGHLY recommend getting a mandolin for this – mine is from Walmart and was $10 and totally worth it. Once you get them all sliced up, layer them carefully in a buttered 9×13 baking dish, being sure to leave some space in between them to let the sauce seep into.
In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne and whisk it all together. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds, then carefully pour the milk in while whisking and stir until completely combined. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to cook until it very thickly coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the 2 cups of cheese; pour over the sweet potatoes. Gently shake the pan back and forth and allow the sauce to settle into the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese evenly on top. Cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes at 400. At 60 minutes remove the foil, check the potatoes for doneness, and cook another 10-20 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly. Let it cool for about 20 minutes before serving!
Heather:
The Lord sure watches over us, with our mistakes. There have been many recipes that
I have failed on in the 551/2 yrs. my husband Don & I have been married.
I had back surgery last Sept. & was I. A local nursing home, my sweet husband tried
To keep the laundry done & he bleached out all my clothes. He thought I put bleach
in everything. I could’nt say anything because I have been doing the laundry for the
years we have been married.
Your blog is very uplifting, especially after what our country has been going through
With Boston bombings.
In Christ’s name Margie L.
Thank you Margie 🙂
Well now I’m hungry and totally want those at 1:30 in the morning!! YUM!
Ohhh Heather! That totally sucks!! But your photos have me seriously wanting these potatoes. LIKE REAL REAL BAD!!
HA! Go get you some potatoes then girl! 🙂
Yep, I’ve done that as well on Thanksgiving no less! We’ve all been there, that’s how we learn and get better at what we do.
we all fail… that is what makes us human! I have done that a few times–baked the night before for a co-worker only to realize that it was a complete disaster. Then I do the walk of shame and carry in a store bought breakfast item… sigh!
This looks amazing. Never thought to pair cheddar cheese with sweet potatoes. I’m all over this!!!
Cheddar + Sweet Potatoes = Awesome Love this recipe!
We ALL fail at recipes sometimes!! It’s one of my favorite blogger subject because so many don’t share how much they actually mess things up. Thanks for sharing some of your reality with us 🙂
Oh man, I know what a bummer failed dishes are! This sounds delicious, though, and your re-try looks great!
been there, done that. But we often come back stronger, i mean with a recipe, right?!
TOTALLY 🙂
Sorry about your fail…but it makes me feel better that even the best (i.e. you) have flops. Though I’m pretty sure your flop to success ratio is ridiculously better than mine – and I just use other people’s recipes. My husband loves me anyway (phew!).
This recipe makes me think of my mom’s scalloped potatoes that I LOVED. She made them with Velveeta (I can’t help it, it’s good) and served them with ham and green beans – our Easter dinner every single year.
I will never judge anyone for liking and eating Velveeta – probably because I can’t make queso without it. It’s just tasty!
My mama always says that if your milk isn’t hot, then your potatoes (we call ’em scalloped, not sure why) will NEVER cook. Same concept, I suppose. Ive never thought to make it with sweet potatoes –great idea for Easter!
OH IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN!!! I just never really thought about it – seemed like it would bake off so easily!
Well. I just found your blog, quite by accident, by clicking on a comment somewhere else and then another comment, and blam! There you are. And somehow I landed on your page that said OUR LITTLE MAN TURNED ONE ON MARCH 8th, and listen to this! Our little man turned one on March 5th! And so there you go. We have something in common, which just happens to be toddlers who are three short days apart in age. We probably also have other things in common, like drawers that are constantly pulled open so that the Tupperware can be unloaded onto the floor. Why do toddlers adore throwing Tupperware onto the floor? There should be a government study done on that! Anyway, we do differ in the cooking area, because I abhor the art of cooking. It’s all that standing around in the kitchen and dicing and sauteing and marinating and all. I always tell my husband that if I win the lottery (you know, the one I never buy tickets for), I’d live in the same house… clean it myself… and hire a chef to be here all day long, cooking three squares a day with desserts! But… I really DO cook. I don’t LOVE it, but I do it, because the Department of Family services suggests that letting your children live off of McDonald’s may pose a bit of a health risk. So I do cook them healthy things and I make them eat organic apples. See? Good parenting.
Anyway, I love your blog. Your photography is amazing… your recipes do sound fantastic… and your little man is ALMOST (but not quite!) as adorable as our two boys are! (He’s a close third!) Have a fantastic Wednesday.
(Oh… and PS. When we had a potluck for OUR Bible study… I… ahem… brought… gasp… scones from the bakery downtown. Oh, the shame of store-bought goodies at a potluck! I just asked Jesus to forgive me for not going homemade that day, and I’m pretty sure He did!)
Aw, yay! I love finding out about kiddos that are the same age as Wes! He does love himself a good Tupperware drawer 😉 I loved looking at your blog – The Boy and Thing 2 are absolutely precious 🙂
Oh, I know those failures well 🙂 And it always seems worse to you because you’re all, “I’m a food blogger! This isn’t acceptable!” But we’re all human, right? 🙂 Anyschways, this looks amazing… I kind of want to dunk my face into it. But seriously.
I blow these things way out of proportion – but you live and learn, right?! 🙂