We love sweet potatoes. Often, after a day of tasting all sorts of foods for THE NIBBLE, we have a simple baked sweet potato for dinner.

Sometimes we’ll eat it plain. Sometimes, we’ll add butter. And sometimes we give it the white potato treatment of sour cream and scallions.

Recipe by Becky of A Calculated Whisk, which focuses on creative paleo and gluten-free recipes, developed this one for the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.

Her toppings are just a start. Add your favorite ingredients to a sweet potato, from rustic Tex-Mex to elegant crème fraîche and herbs.

Add more sweet potatoes to your weekly diet. The Commission has a wealth of savory and sweet sweet potato recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: SWEET POTATOES WITH 6 TOPPINGS

Ingredients Per Potato

Breakfast Sweet Potato

 
Pesto Chicken Sweet Potato

 
Chorizo Avocado Sweet Potato

 
Garlic Shrimp Sweet Potato

 
Spiced Almond Butter & Honey Sweet Potato

 
Apple Walnut Sweet Potato

This recipe is delicious for breakfast.

 
 
Preparation

1. BAKE the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with foil. Pierce each sweet potato several times with a fork and arrange the potatoes on the baking sheet. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when squeezed with an oven mitt on or when pierced with a fork.

2. LET cool for a few minutes, then cut partway through the potato lengthwise and then crosswise, to open it up. Mash the insides a little with a fork if you like. Top as desired (see instructions that follow) and serve hot.

Breakfast Sweet Potato

1. COOK the bacon pieces in a small cast-iron skillet over medium heat until crisp, then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

2. RAISE the heat to medium high. Carefully crack the egg into the bacon grease and cook for 1-2 minutes, carefully spooning some of the fat onto the top of the whites if desired, until the edges of the whites are browned and crisp and the yolk is cooked to your liking.

3. TRANSFER the egg to the paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle the bacon onto the cooked potato, place the egg on top, and sprinkle with chives, salt, and pepper.

Pesto Chicken Sweet Potato

1. TOAST the pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown. Transfer the nuts to a plate to cool.

2. MIX the chicken, pesto, and cream (if using) in a small bowl. Stuff a potato with the pesto chicken and top with pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chorizo Avocado Sweet Potato

1. HEAT the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat with a spatula, until browned and cooked through.

2. TOP the potato with the chorizo, tomato, red onion, cilantro, avocado and a squeeze of lime. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
 
Garlic Shrimp Sweet Potato

1. HEAT the oil and garlic in a saucepan. When hot, add the shrimp and saute.

2. ADD the shrimp to the potato and pour the oil-garlic sauce on top.
 
Spiced Almond Butter & Honey Sweet Potato

[1] You can use a different topping on a baked sweet potato every time (photo © North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission).

[2] For breakfast, top a sweet potato with bacon and a fried egg (photo © Edwards Virginia Smokehouse).

[3] A potato topped with chicken and pesto is a meal in itself (photo © Looby | iStock Photo.

[4] Add a Mexican touch with avocado, chorizo, cilantro and other garnishes (photo © California Avocado Commission)

[5] Add some sweetness with apples, walnuts, maple syrup and cinnamon (photo © U.S. Apples).

[6] Shrimp and garlic are a great topping for anything, from pasta to sweet potatoes (photo © Louisiana Seafood).

[7] Almond butter and honey with allspice and ginger make a nutritious lunch (photo © Good Eggs).

2. DRIZZLE honey into the potato. Top with almond butter and garnish with the sliced almonds.
 
Apple Walnut Sweet Potato

1. SAUTÉ the apples and walnuts in butter, with the cinnamon and salt. When the apples are soft, stir in the maple syrup.

2. TOP the potato with the mixture, and serve with extra maple syrup on the side.

[1] A Pumpkin Bundt Cake, studded with chocolate chips and walnuts (photos #1 and #3 © North Carolina Sweet Potato Commision).

[2] Make sure to buy pumpkin puree, and not pumpkin pie filling. The latter has sugar and spices mixed in (photo © Jessica Gavin | Culinary Scientist).

[3] Looking for something lighter? Try this Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Bread.

[4] Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese Spread is a good complement to sweet breads, including zucchini bread and carrot bread. Heavier spreads (not whipped) that go well with this recipe are Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Spread and Honey Nut Cream Cheese Spread (photo © Kraft Foods).

Whether you want to bake something special for your work colleagues, bring something to your Thanksgiving hosts, or make a treat for your family that can wait in the freezer.

Both the Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cake (photo #1) and the Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Bread (photo #3, recipe below) can be dressed up with whipped cream or served at brunch.
 
 
RECIPE #1: PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT CAKE

This bundt (or tube cake, if you prefer) The pumpkin and pumpkin-friendly spices (cloves, cinnamon, allspice) meld surprisingly well with the bits of chocolate.

It’s rich enough to serve unfrosted, but you can add some whipped cream or ice cream for dessert.

Prep time is 10-15 minutes, and bake time is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

NOTE: If you have pumpkin pie spice blend, you can use 1-1/2 teaspoons instead of the separate measures of allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger.

Thanks to our friends at King Arthur Flour—your source for the best ingredients—for this recipe.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10″ Bundt or tube pan.

2. BEAT the eggs in a large bowl until foamy. Stir in the pumpkin, oil, and bran cereal; combine well. In another bowl…

3. SIFT together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix gently, until just combined. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

4. SPOON the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. REMOVE the cake from the oven and cool them in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before slicing. (Don’t slice until you’re ready to serve.)

6. STORE, loosely covered, at room temperature for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
 
 
RECIPE #2: SWEET POTATO CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD

This Sweet Potato Chocolate Chip Bread is a healthier option for your sweet tooth. It was created as a better-for-you option by Created by Bucket List Tummy, for the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.

That being said, we enjoyed it with some Philadelphia Whipped Cream Cheese Spread.

Made with whole wheat flour and oat flour, the loaf is soft and fluffy. It’s less sweet than cake but is studded with chocolate chips.

Prep time is 10-15 minutes, and bake time is 40 minutes.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F and grease a 9″ x5″ inch loaf pan.

2. ADD the egg, mashed sweet potatoes, coconut oil, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup to a bowl. Whisk until combined. In another bowl…

3. ADD the whole wheat flour, oat flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix the dry into the wet ingredients, folding the chocolate chips in last. The batter should be thick.

4. ADD the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

5. LET cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing. If you won’t be eating it immediately, wait to slice until serving time.
 
 

Our favorite cake is probably the Mille Crêpe Cake from Lady M Confections, a cake boutique with six locations in Manhattan and more around the country.

We say probably, because if you put us in front of a cake buffet, the first thing we’d eat would be the Mille Crêpe Cake.

The name translates to “thousand crêpes cake,” although there are only 20 layers.

Other pâtisseries and recipes call it Gâteau de Crêpes, for “cake of crêpes.” Some recipes use 30 crêpes or more.

We call it Crêpe Cake for short.

This classic French cake requires no oven: It is composed of layers of paper-thin crêpes made on the stove top.

(American “cake cousins” include the 12-layer, oven-baked Smith Island Cake and Thousand Layer Cake (also called Twelve Layer Cake).)

Lady M’s Crêpe Cake is ethereal, light and lush, all at the same time. It’s like eating the food of the angels—a heavenly experience (not to disparage Angel Cake/Angel Food Cake, which is delightful without achieving heavenly heights).

Lady M’s Crêpe Cake became so popular, that it is made in every flavor one could wish:

 
Although we have had six of the flavors flavors—and would gladly accept a gift of all of them—we keep returning to the original Signature as our favorite. It’s Crêpe Cake in its purest form.

Lady M’s repertoire is not limited to Crêpe Cakes. There are layer cakes, mousse cakes and Gâteaux Nuage, or “cloud cakes,” light and dreamy cheesecakes.

And, great news: They’re all sold online!

[1] Lady M’s Green Tea Mille Crêpe Cake (all photos © Lady M).

[2] Lady M’s Signature Mille Crêpe Cake. It’s the plainest-looking, but it’s our favorite flavor. The top is gently caramelized until golden.

[3] Lady M’s Chocolate Mille Crêpe Cake, topped with chocolate curls.

Lady M Mille Crêpe Cakes are available in 6″ ($55) and 9″ ($95) sizes. Order the big one: It may be more expensive, but you’ll be very happy if there are leftovers.

Head to LadyM.com.

[1] Pie and ice cream: Think outside the box for your à la mode (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Apple pie with honey ice cream (photo © Golden Blossom Honey).

[3] Talenti Vanilla Cinnamon gelato, great for apple pie. Talenti also makes Vanilla Caramel ice cream gelato, Brown Butter Caramel gelato, and Caramel Apple Pie gelato (photo © Talenti Gelato).

[4] A holiday favorite: Rum Raisin ice cream (photo © Häagen-Dazs).

Thanks to Brian Klonoski of Good Eggs for this inspiration for à la mode on Thanksgiving pies.

Here’s our own tip: Turn vanilla ice cream into boozy vanilla. Soften the pint and stir in 2 tablespoons of bourbon or rum. Return it to the freezer until you’re ready to serve it.

(Of course, you’ll need to test out a few pints first—bourbon versus rum, 2 tablespoons vs. 1/4 cup [4 tablespoons] etc., etc. wink, wink.)

> The history of pie à la mode is below.
 
 
PUMPKIN PIE & SWEET POTATO PIE

Pumpkin pie is traditionally topped with whipped cream instead of ice cream because the pie filling is so rich and custardy.

But how about trying ice cream this year?

 
 
APPLE PIE

Warm up the apple pie, and pair the spiced apple filling with:

 
 
PECAN PIE

 
THE HISTORY OF PIE À LA MODE

Pie à la mode, French for pie “in the current fashion,” is a slice of pie with a scoop of ice cream on top or at the side.

The dessert did not originate in France but in the U.S.

The term à la mode has been used in English since the mid-1600s as an adjective to mean fashionable. In food circles, it gave its name to Beef à la Mode,” braised beef with vegetables and wine, served in a rich sauce [source].

But pie à la mode?
 
Although the dish originated in the relatively-recent timeframe of the 1890s, there is no one clear written record.

 
At The Cambridge Hotel

At some point in the 1890s, a guest in the dining room of the Cambridge Hotel, Professor Charles Watson Townsend, ordered a slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream.

Apparently, pie served with ice cream was a new concept!

Mrs. Berry Hall, a diner seated next to Townsend, asked what it was called. He said it didn’t have a name, and she promptly dubbed it Pie à la Mode. Townsend liked the name so much he asked for it each day by that name [source].

Townsend subsequently ordered it by that name every day of his stay.

He ordered it by that name at a later visit to the Delmonico Restaurant in New York City. They hadn’t heard of it, of course.

The professor then chastised him. He was quoted as saying, “Do you mean to tell me that so famous an eating place as Delmonico’s has never heard of Pie a la Mode, when the Hotel Cambridge, up in the village of Cambridge, NY serves it every day? Call the manager at once, I demand as good service here as I get in Cambridge.”

Delmonico’s, not wanting to be outshone by any other restaurant, immediately put it on the menu.

The newspapers immediately picked up the story of the dessert, and in short order, it was on menus across the nation [source].

The Cambridge Hotel placed an information folder in each guest room, that included a page entitled “The History of the Pie à la Mode.” Here it is.

Townsend died in 1936 at the age of 87, and his New York Times obituary (which we were unable to access) notes that he “inadvertently originated pie à la mode.” He would have been in his 40’s when he “invented” it.

Apple Pie Trivia

“As American as apple pie” is an oft-heard expression. While Americans love their apple pie, the dish itself isn’t American. Apple pie was long-made in Britain, and variations were made across Europe, wherever apples were grown.

The French had a long investigation of apple growing, and the Norman Conquest of 1066 brought their skills—and many new apple types—to Britain.

There were no apple trees in America before British immigrants brought seeds or rootstock and planted orchards. The first apple orchard on the North American continent was planted in Boston by Reverend William Blaxton in 1625.

Feel free to change the saying to, “As American as apple pie à la mode.”

What a treat it was to be able to wake up on a Sunday morning, weary of the usual weekday cycle of granola-eggs-granola-eggs, and pop a bagel into the toaster!

A gluten-free bagel.

Little Northern Bakehouse offers a selection of gluten-free/vegan/non-GMO bagels. The texture, though unremarkable straight from the bag, evolves into the perfect blend of crispy, pillowy and chewy once toasted.

The bagels are pre-cut and available in varieties that cover all the bases:

 
 
WHAT’S ON YOUR BAGEL?

As a vehicle for cream cheese bagels are quite serviceable, with a flavor that is only slightly sweet, but very compatible with a sliver of tomato.

The same applies to Little Northern’s Everything bagel. It may be a bit heavy on the garlic for those four people who don’t particularly love garlic; but toasted, these bagels will fill your house with a pungent, earthy aroma and provide a savory compartment for your choice of fillings.

My gluten-loving husband used his on an egg sandwich and was quite content, even recommending we seek these out as a regular addition to our repertoire.
 
 
MORE LITTLE NORTHERN PRODUCTS

Bagels are not just for breakfast anymore, as any of us who have had (or seen) a lunch sandwich on a bagel, knows.

But Little Northern also offers a selection of breads and buns that will carry you through the day and the week.

There are seven different sliced loaves, including white, seeded, whole- and multi-grain.

Thought my tastes land a bit more on the buckwheat spectrum, their Sprouted 7 Grain bread is a good multi-purpose option.

I have high hopes for their buns, which I can’t wait to take to my favorite local burger and egg sandwich spots.

The company also sells GF artisan pizza crusts and a variety of rolls and buns.

[1] Gluten-free cinnamon raisin bagel (all photos © Little Northern Bakehouse).

[2] Blueberry bagels.

[3] A gluten-free hamburger bun.

Here’s a store finder.

Also look online, at Amazon, Fresh Direct and other e-tailers.

Discover more at LittleNorthernBakehouse.com.

— Georgi Page-Smith