Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Parmesan

Another successful Thanksgiving come and gone. Enjoyed time with my family? Check. Ate to the point of pain? Check. Had a tryptophan-induced nap after dinner? Check.

I really do love this holiday. It's every foodie's wildest dreams: cook for hours and eat til your body simply cannot take anymore. And as you digest, you take time to be thankful for what you just ate and for all of the great people surrounding you. Oh and then comes Black Friday, a day when I get to be thankful for great deals and less-than-normal damage to my bank account.

This Thanksgiving, Rona came home with her boyfriend, and together we fought for counter space with our dad as the 3 of us ran around the kitchen preparing food. The first dish that I made was actually a recipe given to me by my coworker during our office's Thanksgiving potluck. It's incredibly simple to make and is as delicious as it is easy. 

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

3 tablespoons olive oil 

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Kosher salt and black pepper

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or dry for the flavor)

pinch of cayenne pepper

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a medium sized baking dish with oil.

2. In the baking pan, toss the sweet potato rounds with the Parmesan, 2 table spoons of oil, salt, and black pepper so the potatoes are evenly coated. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes.

3. While the potatoes are baking, combine the pecans, sugar, thyme, cayenne, remaining tablespoon of oil, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Cayenne pepper is very spicy so make sure to only use a pinch.

4. After 30 minutes, remove the foil from the baking dish, sprinkle the pecan mixture over the potatoes, and continue to bake, uncovered, until the pecans are toasted, approximately 10-15 minutes.

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And continuing on that Thanksgiving spirit, Rona and I have randomly selected a winner for our Chloe & Isabel giveaway. We are thankful for our readers and appreciate all of your incredibly nice comments!

Using Random.org, we have selected #21--Carly of http://www.thirtysomethingfashion.com as the lucky winner! Thanks Carly & everyone else for making our first giveaway a success. 

~Alyssa