SWEET POTATO BUTTER

2 garlic cloves
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 sweet Potatoes
Fine sea salt. to taste
2 medium carrots
2 T. chopped parsley
1/2 to 3/4 c. vegetable broth
2 T. chopped cilantro (Optional)
1 T. olive oil

Put unpeeled garlic cloves on aluminum foil and bake at 350* F. about 10 minutes, until soft. Microwave or boil unpeeled potatoes until done. Peel carrots, cut into large chunks and microwave or boil until soft. Drain carrots, peel potatoes and put both in a food processor. Squeeze in the baked garlic. Add 1/2 c. broth and blend. With motor running, add oil and keep blending, adding more broth until puree is fairly smooth and full.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Dip can be made as long as a day in advance, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature for serving and stir in the optional herbs right before serving with raw vegetables and bread sticks.
Makes 6 servings.

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

6 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 c. sugar or brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. water
3 T. butter

Scrub sweet potatoes thoroughly. Drop them in enough boiling salted water to cover sweet potatoes. Cover pan. Lower heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes. Drain; peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Put into buttered baking dish. Combine sugar, water and butter. Boil 2-3 minutes, then pour over cooked, sliced sweet potatoes. Bake at 350* F. for about 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Spoon syrup over sweet potatoes several times while baking. Lemon juice or lemon slices on top of sweet potatoes while baking will improve flavor and help retain their bright color. Yield: 6 servings

RISOTTO WITH SWEET POTATOES

2 medium sweet potatoes
¼ c. olive oil, divided
4 c. hot vegetable stock, divided
½ c. finely chopped onion
1 T. minced garlic
1½ c. arborio rice (12-oz. pkg.)
¾ c. white wine or chicken broth
1 T. fresh rosemary or 1 t. dried
1½ t. thyme leaves
3 T. butter
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1 t. salt
¾ t. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350* F. Peel sweet potatoes and cut in half. Cut half the sweet potatoes into ¼-inch diced and set aside. Cut the remaining sweet potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Toss with 1 T. olive oil and roast until soft, about 30 minutes. Puree in food processor with ¼ c chicken stock. Reserve. In large saucepan heat remaining 3 T. oil, and saute onion and small diced sweet potatoes over medium high heat. Cook about 3 minutes until softened but not browned. Add garlic and arborio rice and cook 2-3 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in wine or chicken broth. Cook, stirring until completely absorbed. In the same manner add hot stock, ½ cup at a time, stirring until each addition is completely absorbed and stock is used up. Add sweet potato puree, rosemary, thyme, butter and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 4-6.

Almost-Instant Pizza

2 tablespoons olive oil -- plus additional for drizzling
2 cups refrigerated hash brown potatoes (about 10 ounces)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large cloves garlic -- minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes -- halved
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
10 ounces store-bought fully-baked thin pizza crust (1 package)
8 thin baked ham slices -- cut in half and then into 1/4-inch-wide strips (about 8 ounces)
4 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and season with the salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, for about 4 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to turn golden. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the tomatoes, parsley and oregano.

Spread the potato mixture over the pizza crust, leaving a 3/4-inch border all around. Top with the ham strips and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the cheese and drizzle with oil.

Bake the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the cheese melts. Cut into wedges and serve.

AMERICAN POTATO CUTLETS

You can use leftover mashed potatoes for this. If they've been salted, adjust the amount of salt accordingly.
If you're cooking the potatoes just for this recipe, use 1 pound. Peel and cut them into chunks, and boil until soft. Drain very well, and mash until smooth.
You can make and coat the patties up to a day in advance, storing them on a plate, tightly covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. Dredge them again in bread crumbs just before frying.

YIELD: About 4 servings (2 patties each)

1 1/2 cups cooked, mashed russet potatoes**they work best because they are dry and meaty and mash well
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup finely minced scallion
1 hard-boiled egg, minced or grated
3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 to 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
A little butter (optional)

Place the mashed potatoes in a medium-sized bowl. Add the mustard, dill, garlic, scallion, hard-boiled egg, salt and pepper. Mix until everything is thoroughly blended.

Break the egg onto a dinner plate, and beat it with a fork until smooth.

Place the bread crumbs on another plate. Use your hands (wet them if you like, for easier handling) to form the mixture into 3-inch patties, using about 1/4 cup for each.

Carefully dip both sides of each patty in egg and dredge them lightly in the bread crumbs to coat on all sides.

Place a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. After a minute or two, add the olive oil, wait for about 10 seconds, then swirl to coat the pan. If you like, you can also melt in some butter.

When the pan is hot enough to sizzle a bread crumb, fry the cutlets about 5 minutes on each side, or until golden and crisp. Remove the cutlets from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack over a tray to cool. (This retains their crispy texture.) Serve hot or warm.

VARIATION: Broccoli-Potato Cutlets
Follow the main recipe with these adjustments. Add to the potato mixture:
1 1/2 cups finely minced broccoli (florets and peeled stems)
For a touch of color, replace the scallion with: 1/2 cup finely minced red onion.