Sweet potato dish. Is it a side dish, or dessert?

Here's another favorite from the old folks home cook book:
I never was a big sweet potato fan, at least until I tried these.
I still haven't figured out if they are supposed to be a side dish, or dessert.

Sunday Sweet Potatoes

3C peeled, boiled & mashed sweet potatoes
1C sugar
1/3C milk
1/3C softened butter
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla

Mix & spread in glass baking dish.

Topping:
1C chopped nuts
1C coconut (I use a second Cup of the chopped nuts instead)
1/3C flour
1C brown sugar

Mix. Spread over top of potatoes
Pour 1 stick of melted butter over topping

Bake at 375F for 20 minutes

That sounds good. To me it would be a dessert.

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Originally Posted by pworley1

That sounds good. To me it would be a dessert.

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This question has caused me a fair amount of head scratching.

I've served it both ways, and keep leaning more and more towards a dessert.
But the idea of having sweet potatoes for dessert just seems wrong.

Especially when I know there's cheese cake in the refrigerator.

You could call it a side dish and put whipped cream on top for a dessert.

Is it a side dish, or dessert? YES

I wouldn't care when it was served, just as long as it was served.
I like sweet taters.
Will have to try it with some fresh pecans.

2 cups of sugar to 3 cups of taters????? Uh......I'm going with dessert.

Add a pie crust and some marshmallows .....

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Originally Posted by redneck1

Add a pie crust and some marshmallows .....

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Yeah, that's darn close to a sweet potato pie. Dessert.

To me that is a desert, as is any dish that involves sweet potatoes and marshmallows.

Side dish is half a roasted sweet potato nothing added or removed. Squeeze the wonderness out of the shell, add a pat of butter. If you really want to crank it up a teaspoon of brown sugar. Now that is good food, and good for you. We have been loving on the Ruby Reds the last month.

When I bought the property where I am now living, there were sweet potatoes growing on most of the property. After they were harvested there were truckloads of them still on the ground. I filled a couple of large boxes to take to my condo and eat.

One helping for dinner, and a second for dessert! What's the problem?

When it's Warm ... it's a side dish .

But ...When it's Cold (out the frig.) ... I call it dessert .

Heck ... it's all good and my sister-in-law makes the best Sweet Potatoe Casserole and she's fixing a big pan for Thanksgiving ... side dish , dessert yes sir !

Lets start a war ... top with Marshmallows or Pecan and brown suger topping ?
Gary

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Originally Posted by gwpercle

Lets start a war ... top with Marshmallows or Pecan and brown suger topping ?

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Pecans and brown sugar- that's the only way to go.

My Mom made that pan of them with marshmallows on top when I was a kid and I hated it.
And never ate it again after I grew up.

Whenever I see the stuff, I'm reminded of Pres. Bush.
Years ago, Pres. Carter made the comment he was watching his weight, and didn't want to eat potatoes.
All the potato farmers got in a tizzy, and he caved.
Potatoes were back on the White House menu for every meal.

A few years later-- Pres. Bush said something about how he didn't like broccoli. All the broccoli farmers got in a big tizzy......
He said his Mom made him eat it when he was a kid, now that he was the President of the United States,
he still didn't like it, and wasn't going to eat it.
And that was the end of that.

"Lets start a war ... top with Marshmallows or Pecan and brown sugar
topping ?
Gary "

I go with both.

If you can get the old Porto Rico Variety You won't need any sugar. The ones they grew up here were Beauregard. OK, but not the sugar of the Porto Rico.

I love them baked with butter on the side, cinnamon butter is a plus. They are sweet enough to eat as is.

However they're cooked, they're good. Maybe I'm an outlier; I like them with the marshmallows but that's probably easier to do wrong than right. I also like them with butter and cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg; no brown sugar required.