I agree, sweet potatoes store very well, as long as they aren't banged around. I've stored them from September until the following February or March, but I always run out before they ever spoil. As has been mentioned, they do need to be "cured" to toughen the skins, I just lay mine out on a plastic tarp for a week or so and let the sun shine on them, then store them. Mine get spread out in wooden boxes, covered with a layer of straw, then another layer of potatoes. We have a root cellar but they keep very well in my basement, which is much warmer than the root cellar. I don't clean them before storage either, that seems to shorten the storage life. So what do I use them for? Well, I like them just baked with butter, salt and pepper and I often take one to work and put it into the microwave for lunch. I like sweet potato fries and I have this bread recipe that calls works well with squash or sweet potatoes. I use my bread machine to mix, knead and rise, then I shape the rolls and bake them in the oven. Butternut Squash Rolls 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees to 115 degrees) 1 teaspoon sugar 2/3 cup warm fat free milk (110 to 115 degrees F) 1 cup mashed, cooked butternut squash 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups whole wheat flour 2 cups all-purpose flour In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes Stir in the milk, squash, butter, brown sugar and salt. Add whole wheat flour. beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in enough all-purpose flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with nonstick cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide into 20 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with nonstick cooking spray. With a sharp knife, make shallow slashes on top of rolls. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. I make this sweet potato salad: Sweet Potato Salad 3 pounds sweet potato, cooked, peeled and cubed 1 cup chopped sweet red pepper 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce In a large bowl, combine potatoes, red pepper and onion. In a small bowl, blend mayonnaise, salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Pour over potato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I also use sweet potatoes or squash in place of pumpkin in pumpkin cake rolls and I use a mix of white and sweet potatoes in regular potato salad. I really like sweet potatoes, but I don't care for them topped with a lot of sweet stuff, like brown sugar or marshmallow. My girls do, however, so they always look forward to that sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving, full of brown sugar and topped with miniature marshmallows. I haven't tried it, but I'll bet sweet potatoes could also be used in that butternut squash ravioli recipe that someone posted here... Annie

I did that sort of thing June 2011. It's a new recipe review. Here are my comments about that and the link below gives an idea of how the skillet cake turn out. It looks much better with sweet potatoes (I just couldn't take a good picture of it, and finally quit, and I only used one potato since it was a trial. You should probably stack more layers, much like Alex did). If you want Ann's sweet potato fry recipe, it's at home. I can get it if you want. _____________________________________________________ "Last, it's a shout out to Ann T. I saw Alex Guarnaschelli make a potato and parmesan cake, but I wanted it to be healthier. Too many starches these days. I wanted to make it with sweet potatoes. And I used the ingredients from Ann T's sweet potato fries she supplied ... Other makers of this cake complained it didn't come out of the pan intact, so I put it in a springfrom plan. Worked wonders. The picture of my cake doesn't do it justice. Layers of goodness. The sweet tasty potatoes, parmesan melted, and the crispy edges. All good stuff. The recipe below is what inspired it, but I wouldn't doubt it's good too. I just used the recipe for tecnique. The rest is all Ann. Thanks!" Here is a link that might be useful: skillet potato cake-Alex Guarnaschelli

I call this Sweetnana. It probably should be classified as a dessert; either way it's on our holiday table each year. Sweet Potato Puree with Bananas and Buttered Pecans 6 pounds (about 6) sweet potatoes 4 ripe bananas, skins on 2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup pure maple syrup ý cup Brandy 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 pound pecans 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons brown sugar Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake until tender, about 1 hour. Roast the bananas, with the skins on, for the last 15 minutes of cooking time. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and bananas, and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until the potatoes are chunky. Add the butter and maple syrup, puree until smooth. Add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt; puree to combine. Transfer to a shallow baking pan and smooth out the surface with a spatula. In a skillet, cook the pecans in butter over low heat and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until well-coated, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Transfer the pecans to paper towels to drain. Arrange pecans on top of puree and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake at 300 degrees F until heated through, about 20 minutes.

When we would grow our own, I found that the white sweet potatoes do not store well, so never grew them again. We never ever called either of them yams. However, growing up, my Grandma and Mother both called green sweet peppers, mangoes and many old recipe books also called them that. So when you know the difference you call them by their right name. Happy Thanksgiving, Sue