A Zeal for Sweet Potatoes

     The side dish I created last night to go with the pepper stakes was to be mashed sweet potatoes.  It sounded great and in my head I imagined whipped, fluffy masses like little mountains towering above the beef in swirled gelato-like fashion next to a simple Caesar salad.  I mashed away at the boiled tubers and added a few shakes of smoked paprika, 2 generous pinches of sea salt, eyeballed a tablespoon each of half and half and unsalted butter and two good pinches of brown sugar.  I stirred it up and tasted the mush.  The flavor was acceptable for a weeknight sidedish but it lacked that meringue effect I was going for so I scraped it into the mixer and shifted that Kitchen Aid into high gear.
     Despite the whipping motion of the paddle no soft peaks formed.  The vision of the ruddy mush in the mixer evoked a jolt of creativity.  This could be bread.  And without a further thought two eggs dropped into the bowl.  Round and round went the paddle as the mash softened.  Within arms reach I always have my cooking reference compendium The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook knowing it would have the fundamentals for a quick break recipe.  I looked at the ingredients and quickly calculated the ratios as applied to my sweet potatoes in the mixer.  It was going to be a matter of texture, palatableness and science.  I would create my own recipe because what I saw in the cookbook was a good skeleton but I needed to put the meat on the bones. Here is what I came up with.
Time 20 minutes for the potatoes to cook
10 minutes in the mashing and mixing process
60-70 minutes in the oven 

The Recipe for Sweet Potato Bread (exactly how I made it)

1/2 tsp Baking soda (note  I would probably increase this to 3/4 tsp next time just to see what happens)
1 1/2 Cup flour (note: I would probably increase this to 1 3/4 cup flour next time)

3 medium sized sweet potatoes skinned, chopped, boiled and mashed
A few dashes of paprika
A a couple of pinches of sea salt
1 Tbsp half and half
Two big pinches of brown sugar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/4 Cup applesauce
1 Cup sugar (I may do a little more sugar next time)1 tsp vanilla
1/2 Cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bread pan (standard sized) only half way up.
Mix flour and baking soda in one bowl and set aside
In the mixing bowl put the prepared sweet potatoes and add everything up through the butter and mix on medium until mashed.  You can also do that part by hand.  Pretty simple if your sweet potatoes have simmered for a while.  Next add the eggs mix medium high until incorporated.  Add applesauce, sugar and vanilla and mix.  Grab your bowl of flour and baking soda and add that to the wet ingredients and mix in slowly just until incorporated.  Do not over mix.  Then swirl in the pecans (just barely stir them in) and finally pour the mixture into the prepared bread pan.  Bake for 60 - 70 minutes (You know how ovens can be).
Set out on wire rack to cool. Take out of bread pan to cool after about 15 minutes. Eat how you want.