Sweet Potato Corn Bread

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope everyone's weekend was amazing, because mine sure was! I had amazing moments with great people, and wouldn't have changed one thing about it. I even went to the Lady Gaga concert, and was pleasantly amazed at how creative and artistic, as well as entertaining, the concert was. She can definitely sing, dance, interact, and astound everyone! But besides that, I'm looking forward to this new year, new decade, new everything. To start the year off, I back-tracked it to Fall. My dad had a craving for sweet potatoes, even though they belong in the Fall, so what was I to do but try this recipe out for him? I wasn't too pleased with the recipe. It's texture wasn't bread-like; it was more bread pudding-like. It also tasted like a bread-y sweet potato pie. It was too sweet for me. Maybe you all will have better luck with this recipe than I did, which comes from Williams-Sonoma: Bread. The recipe also included a little side note on sweet potatoes.

"SWEET POTATOES: A sure sign of autumn is the appearance of sweet potatoes, plump edible roots that are members of the morning glory family. Some have tan skin and light yellow flesh, while others have darker red-orange skin and flesh. The latter is often called a yam in the United States, although it is not a true yam. It is slightly moister and sweeter than the sweet potato, which has the same texture as a regular potato when cooked and mashed. Sweet potatoes combine well with different flours, especially cornmeal, adding texture, flavor, and moisture to bread."

Sweet Potato Corn Bread
*makes one 9-inch corn bread*

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, about 1 lb total weight, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup fine-grind yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
pinch of ground allspice
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

Directions:
1) Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat, add the sweet potatoes, and cook until tender, 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain thoroughly. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until slightly fluffy. Scrape into a bowl and let cool to room temperature.
2) Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
3) In a small bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, and cinnamon. Stir well.
4) Add the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter to the sweet potatoes and mix well. Then add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined, taking care not to overmix. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Pour into the prepared pan.
5) Bake until the top is golden brown and the bread pulls away from the pan sides, 30-35 minutes. Place the pan on a rack to cool slightly or completely. Cut into squares to serve.