A baked potato is cut in half on a plate
Sweet potatoes and yams come in a variety of shapes and colors. People love to use sweet potatoes as a side dish, in soups and even in delicious desserts. They are very healthy, loaded with antioxidants and many are naturally sweet so no extra ingredients are necessary.

Sweet Potato Puree   

This is a wonderful recipe I developed while preparing for the CMC exam. It's great to serve with duck, goose or poultry and can be piped into shapes with a pastry bag or molded for beautiful presentations. The brown butter & reduced poached pear juice are especially delicious.

I serve this for Thanksgiving every year... it's a family favorite.

Prep Time: 45 min

Cooking Time: 40 min  

Ingredients

Yield: 10 portions                                                                                                                     

6 ea.           Sweet potatoes, skin on, washed well                                                                   

3 ea.           Pears, peeled and diced                                                               

1 pt.            Apple cider                                                                                                 

2 Tbsp      Honey       

4 oz           Butter, browned                                                                          

1/4 tsp.    Chinese Five Spice                           

1 Tbsp.    Cognac                                                                                         

t.t.            Salt & Pepper                                             

How to prepare Sweet Potato Puree

Step 1

Simmer the diced pears in cider until tender, cool and strain; reduce the cider to 1/2 cup & reserve.                     

Three purple potatoes are on a white plate
Two baked sweet potatoes are cut in half on a pan
A blue and white plate topped with mashed potatoes

Step 2

While the pears are cooking, wash the sweet potatoes, prick each one with a paring knife (about 20 times around the potato) so the potatoes don't explode in the oven!


Bake the sweet potatoes until tender, peel and discard the skin. (I love to eat the skins with a little melted butter).






Pass the sweet potato through a sieve, fold in the remaining ingredients and taste, adjust seasoning to your test.     

Place the sweet potato puree into a casserole and heat in the oven. Can be made a day ahead.


If you prefer, simply split the baked, sweet potato and enjoy as is or with butter melted on top. It's also great to simply peel the sweet potatoes, simmer in water until tender and drain. I like to sprinkle some Chinese Five Spice on for flavor-the Japanese yams are exceptionally sweet.              

New Title

Gazpacho & Summer Tomatoes

By Tom Griffiths • September 4, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 6 Gazpacho & Summer Tomatoes

Summer Corn: Soup, Grill, Roast or Fritters?

By Tom Griffiths • September 4, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 5 Summer Corn: Soup, Grill, Roast or Fritters? 

Summer Eggplant

By Tom Griffiths • September 4, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 4 Cooking Summer Eggplant

Cooking Spare Ribs

By Tom Griffiths • August 11, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 3 Cooking Pork Spare Ribs

Beginners recipe: Pork Spare Ribs

By Tom Griffiths • August 8, 2026
Years ago I traveled around the south for a few weeks researching some of the amazing foods of each region. In Charleston, I was introduced to a local pig farmer, Tank Jackson who manages Holy City Hogs. Tank and his wife raise heritage breed pigs and distribute the pigs around the country. He offers on-site cooking whole pig roasts, primal cuts and sausages, and I believe he produces the best pork in the country.

Seafood; Griddled Swordfish Steak

By Tom Griffiths • August 8, 2026
Years ago, while working as a chef in a busy continental restaurant, we featured grilled, fresh swordfish on the menu—finished with a generous spoonful of herbed compound butter and capers. It was popular and delicious. One afternoon, a seafood purveyor stopped by with a sample of frozen swordfish steaks, fully thawed and ready for evaluation. Curious, we grilled it side by side with the “fresh” swordfish we had been serving—fish we believed to be of high quality. The result was surprising. The frozen swordfish was superior—firmer, cleaner in flavor, and more consistent in texture. In contrast, our “fresh” fish, likely several days out of the water, lacked the same integrity. It was a defining moment and an important reminder: in many cases, properly handled and quickly frozen seafood can offer better quality than fish labeled as fresh. For chefs, understanding sourcing and handling is just as critical as technique—especially with a product as prized as swordfish.

Cooking Rice: creating the socarrat

By Tom Griffiths • August 8, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 2 Cooking Rice: creating socarrat—

The Biggest Mistake People Make When Cooking Scallops

By Tom Griffiths • August 6, 2026
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 1 The Biggest Mistake People Make When Cooking Scallops 

Eggplant Caponata

By Tom Griffiths • July 27, 2026
The name "caponata" itself has a fascinating origin story. One popular theory suggests it derives from capone, the Sicilian word for mahi-mahi. Historically, wealthy Sicilian aristocrats enjoyed a sweet-and-sour fish dish. Because seafood was too expensive for the working class, local home cooks substituted fish with affordable, meaty eggplant. Over time, this creative peasant food evolved into the beloved antipasto we celebrate today, often rounded out with celery, olives, and capers.

Children's lunches cooked by Chefs

By Tom Griffiths • July 23, 2026
From Talk to Action: A Chef’s Challenge for School Lunches