I was a half assed tomboy growing up.  I played softball, climbed trees and if a tennis ball went into the sewer, I lifted up the manhole cover to retrieve it.  I loved to play on the railroad tracks in the small Illinois town I grew up in.  A rock quarry near the tracks with detached flatbeds was my playground.  We nicknamed it the Dinky Dumps and the further apart the company lined up the trucks, the better we liked it and the more tempted we were to make the leap yelling midair until we stumbled, sometimes safely, sometimes not, to the next flatbed.   While we named our playground, we really weren’t supposed to be there.  I admit to diving a couple of times behind my grandmother’s flower bed to escape the long arm of the law as they chased us off the property.

Mind you, I grew up in a booming metropolis of 7,000.  The police knew exactly who I was when they turned on their lights and sirens prompting us to break into a run and they knew exactly where to find me hidden amongst the jonquils and ferns.  They probably enjoyed scaring me as much as I enjoyed thinking I had gotten away with something.

I share this with you so you know I am not really a frou frou girl.   The garnishing kit I bought with knifes and DVD is still sitting in the plastic pouch it came in.    I can’t make radish roses nor do I use lemon curls and useless parsley on the sides of my plate.  But these cups are just so adorably cute!  Cute as … well …. cute as twice baked sweet potatoes in orange cups can be!  If you want to dress up your next meat and potatoes night, this just might do the trick. 

TWICE BAKED SWEET POTATOES IN ORANGE CUPS

4 oranges

1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

3 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp golden raisins

3 tbsp butter, melted

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

3 tbsp heavy cream

1 egg, separated

Preheat oven to 300.  Cut 3 oranges in half.  Juice each orange half, reserving juice.  Pull the inner membranes from orange peel with your fingers creating a smooth orange cup.  Set aside.  Grate the peel of the last orange and reserve the orange for another use.  

In bowl, combine sweet potatoes, 3 tbsp of the orange juice, grated peel, brown sugar, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cream and egg yolk.

Beat egg white until stiff and fold into potato mixture.  Divide mixture among cleaned orange cups.  Place each cup into a muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes or until heated through and puffy.

TIP:  Freeze additional orange juice in ice cube trays for another use.