Sweet potato pie Oven-baked sweet potato fries

Makes: 8 servings

1 pie crust

1 ½ pounds sweet potatoes 1 cup heavy cream

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup good maple syrup

½ cup granulated sugar 5 tablespoons salted butter, melted

3 eggs beaten

¼ cup bourbon

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pan and poke holes all over with a fork. Line with aluminum foil or parchment paper, weigh down with pie weights or dried beans and bake until edges just begin to turn golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove weights and lining, and cool thoroughly to room temperature.

2. Raise oven temperature to 425 degrees. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, pierce all over with a fork and roast for 1 hour. Remove them from the oven, peel and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.

3. Add the cream, brown sugar, maple syrup, granulated sugar, melted butter, eggs, bourbon, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves, pepper and ginger to the mashed sweet potatoes and stir well to combine. Pour into the prebaked pie shell (you may have some filling left over). Bake 50 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

— Adapted from “My Beverly Hills Kitchen” by Alex Hitz

Roasted sweet potatoes with hot honey browned butter Makes: 4 servings

4 small to medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed 6 tablespoons (¾ stick) butter

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar Salt and pepper

Flaky sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Poke each sweet potato all over with a fork and place directly on oven rack. Roast until they are impossibly tender, with bits of sweet potato sugar caramelizing in the spot they’ve been poked, 60 to 80 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, swirling the pan until the butter starts to bubble and brown, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, vinegar and red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside (this sauce can be made up to 5 days in advance and kept refrigerated; rewarm in a small pot before using).

4. Once the sweet potatoes are out of the oven, slit them down the middle. Warm up the browned butter mixture and pour over the sweet potatoes (alternatively, scoop the flesh out of the skins and transfer it to a bowl or serving dish, then drizzle with the browned butter sauce). Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

— From “Dining In” by Alison Roman

Makes: 6 servings

2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and place in oven. Preheat oven (with baking sheets in them) to 400 degrees.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks ¼ -to ½-inch wide and 3 inches long, and toss them with the oil.

3. Mix the garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Remove the hot baking sheets from the oven, scatter them with the fries in a single layer and return the baking sheets to the oven.

4. Bake until brown and crisp on the bottom, about 12 to 15 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve hot. — Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman in The New York Times