Take the 'sweet' out of sweet potatoes

In the South, sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving is practically a mandate. When we were kids, that meant a "casserole" of mashed sweet potatoes with sugar added and sweet marshmallows on top. It was more like dessert than a side dish. In fact, a lot of heirloom Southern cookbooks refer to this as "candied" sweet potatoes.

Now that we're not kids anymore (and our kids aren't so kidlike either), we've longed for a way to keep the tradition of sweet potatoes without all of the sugar. Today's recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette is a sophisticated take on this traditional vegetable that's a lot more palatable and a good deal healthier, too.

Just slice the potatoes and an onion and pop the pan into the oven to roast. If you have the oven space, this is an easy dish to add to the feast. (And if your space is limited, do these a day ahead, and rewarm after the turkey leaves the oven.)

If the idea of forgoing the oh-so-sweet sweet potatoes is too upsetting, consider serving both versions. They're almost two completely different vegetables, and we'd love to hear which one you like best. Log into our Web site at KitchenScoop.com to join the conversation.

• Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross write Desperation Dinners." Contact them at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. Or visit Desperation Dinners online at kitchenscoop.com.