This is another recipe from my childhood, one that we learned from a family friend, Yvonne Francis, who hosted us at her Cranston, RI home for a memorable Thanksgiving when I was in elementary school.
Using a stockpot, bring about 12 cups of water to a boil, adding a little (about 1 tsp) salt. To prepare the sweet potatoes: trim the ends off of 6 large, orange-skinned sweet potatoes, but leave the skin on. Cut each sweet potato into 3-inch rounds (about 3-4 pieces per tuber). Add the sweet potato chunks to the boiling water, cover, reduce the heat to medium/medium-high for an active boil (but not a furious one), and cook until chunks are fork-tender (about 18-20 mins). Drain in a colander, then remove the skin from each chunk (I do this using two forks to manipulate the skin off the flesh) and place each peeled chunk into a large, high-walled mixing bowl. Separately, heat about ½ cup milk (I microwave high on high for 1 minute). Add about 3 Tbsp of unsalted, room temperature butter to the sweet potato mixture. Using a handheld mixer, mix on medium-low the mixture until most lumps are gone. Slowly fold in ¼ cup of hot milk. Then fold in about 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp black pepper. (You can continue using the handheld mixer on low or switch to a large silicone spatula when adding the seasonings.)
Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning as needed. If the mixture does not seem creamy enough, add an additional 1 Tbsp butter and the remaining ¼ cup of hot milk. (Note: I find that sweet potatoes retain more moisture than regular potatoes, and that is why I use less milk for this recipe than for classic mashed potatoes. But I also find that it needs a little more butter than regular mashed potatoes.)
You can either serve immediately, or make ahead the day before Thanksgiving; this dish reheats well in the microwave. (Nov. 2015)
Cooking Adventures 