Happy Thanksgiving!

October 9, 2006 /


Seeing as how Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, why not celebrate it twice a year? The second Monday in October is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, and, since Ted was born in Canada (Belleville, outside of Toronto), we decided to make a celebratory feast in his honor last year. This year will be no different, and I’ll make some turkey, stuffing, yams, veggies and cranberry sauce. I’ll be giving thanks for my Canadian born husband, my Canadian conceived daughter, and our neighbors to the north.

I hope that next month, on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., I’ll be giving thanks for good election results. Keep your fingers crossed.

Since this post is way too short, I’m throwing in a bonus for you all. Here is the recipe for Yummy Candied Yams, which is in our New Basics Cookbook.

Yummy Candied Yams

4 small yams
2 tblsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
1/4 cup chicken broth

Peel and quarter the yams.

Place the yams in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until they are just tender but still firm, 20 minutes. Drain well.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the maple syrup and bourbon and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly reduced, 15 minutes.

Add the yams and stir until lightly coated. Then add stock and simmer over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

The only bad thing about this recipe is that yeah, they still taste like yams. Blech. But Ted and Maya love them, and yams have a lot of vitamins, so I make them. 🙂

15 Comments

  • Beenzzz

    October 9, 2006 at 10:01 pm

    YUM! I’m hungry. I really need to eat some breakfast! Yams and sweet potatoes are different thing right? I’ve always been confused about that. 🙂

  • J

    October 9, 2006 at 10:05 pm

    Beenzzz, they’re different, but I can never remember which is which, or which is more nutritous, or what. I buy the reddish ones, and hope for the best. 😉

  • Eternal Lotus

    October 9, 2006 at 11:28 pm

    Okay, quick search on the web showed that sweet potatoes are orangey, moist, and sweet. Yams, ironically, are more like potatoes; starchy and dry.

    One of my girlfriends always celebrate Thanksgiving the day after. It’s now called Hurkey Day. Last year she bought one of those precooked turkeys from a grocery store and it tasted like really good ham. Thus, hurkey.

    I think she should all have a really good feast every other month! There are too many good thanksgiving recipes to wittle them down to one day.

  • Cherry

    October 10, 2006 at 12:19 am

    Now I know why my brother, who lives in canada, was cooking turkey this weekend.

    You won’t find many real Yams in the states. Even if they say Yams on the label at the grocery store, they’re really just different varieties of sweet potatoes. They started being called Yams by Africans as they reminded them of the Yams they grew in Africa.

    I love food anthropology.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • Maya's Granny

    October 10, 2006 at 3:27 am

    Happy Canadian Thanksgiving. What a wonderful idea.

    I like yams/sweet potatoes baked like spuds, with either butter and salt and pepper or salsa to moisten them. Yum.

  • Penguin

    October 10, 2006 at 6:34 am

    I’m not big on Thanksgiving, but I’m happy for you and your husband 🙂 I’m stealing your recipe to make my Thanksgiving more bearable.

    I celebrate 2 Christmas/Yule. I’ll be sure to post a recipe for that lovely holiday!

    Thanks for visiting my blog.

  • Gina

    October 10, 2006 at 7:05 am

    Have you ever grilled yams on the BBQ? Just wrap them in foil and forget about them for a while. They are all soft and pillowy when they are done, add some cinnamon and butter and you are good to go!