WRAL reporter Brian Shrader and our own Lisa Prince feature seasonal recipes in their Got to Be Good Cookin’ segment using ingredients grown and available right here in North Carolina.
Sweet Potatoes on the Half Shell is not the easiest recipe Brian and Lisa have prepared this month, but the extra work has a tasty pay off. That’s what happened to Michael Hodge of Raleigh who took first place at the 2011 N.C. State Fair with this recipe in the Anything But Ordinary! Sweet Potato Recipe Contest.
Essentially, these delicious treats are sweet potato skins stuffed with a sweet potato cheesecake batter. The foundation of the dish is made with seven sweet potatoes cut in half and scooped clean to the skins. Then a crust consisting of ginger snap cookies, N.C. pecans, sugar, salt, butter and bourbon is added. That is followed by a filling of sweet potatoes, sugar, heavy cream, cream cheese, eggs and spices blended in a food processor. The stuffed sweet potato shells are placed in an oven and cooled before serving. Finally, the shells are garnished with caramel and pecan halves.
Have you tried this dish or another dish from our In the Kitchen posts? If so, what did you think? We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a comment below and tell us about your favorite recipe from the series.