Sweet Potato Recipes From Food Network's 'Chopped' Champion, Danielle Saunders

Once you've worked for P. Diddy, no challenge seems too great. In fact, it was Danielle Saunders' two-year stint as Diddy's personal chef that she says prepped her for her win on Food Network's cooking competition "Chopped."

"When you work for someone like P. Diddy and get a call at four in the morning, and it's time to do a full-on breakfast for 60 people ... pressure is something [you get] used to," Saunders says.

That isn't to say that the high-speed cooking competition was a cakewalk. In addition to the obvious challenges the "Chopped" competitors faced, Saunders says that she was underestimated as a female African-American chef. "It's funny to watch and see how people kind of discount you as the underdog," she says. "And being an African-American female, we get that in a lot of different careers."

To beat the odds, Saunders summoned not only her impressive culinary experience, but her familial ties to food as well. "My dad's from New Orleans, my mom's from Charleston, South Carolina -- two places that are known for really, really good food, and my grandfather was a chef for 35 years," she says. The collection of handwritten recipes that Saunders' grandfather left for her might've been her secret weapon during her run on "Chopped."

HuffPost Black Voices put her to the test to share how she'd cook a favorite fall ingredient: sweet potatoes.

SWEET POTATOES vs. YAMS
There are many varieties of sweet potato, but the two most widely grown are a pale sweet potato and the darker-skinned variety Americans erroneously call a 'yam' (the true yam is not related to the sweet potato), according to The Food Lover's Companion.

BUYING TIPS
When buying fresh sweet potatoes, look for ones that are small- to medium-sized with smooth, unbruised skins. At home, keep them in a dry, dark place around 55 degrees F (but not in the fridge). Under the right conditions, sweet potatoes can be stored for three to four weeks. Otherwise, you'll want to use them within a week of purchase.

THE SWEETER SIDE OF SWEET POTATOES
"[Sweet potato] is versatile," Saunders says. "It can be savory, it can be sweet. You can mask it in things, you can make soups out of it, you can make purees ... It's just a really lovely ingredient."

Saunders, who also runs a natural convenience store and juice bar in New Jersey, is also undoubtedly partial to sweet potatoes for their superior health benefits. The orange-hued root is a rich source of beta-carotene, or vitamin A, an antioxidant that has been shown to ward off cancer-causing free radicals and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Comments

[Jahbundance]

05:49 PM on 11/13/2011

My late mother-in-law made the best sweet potato pie ever! The "secret" recipe was passed down from her grandmother (born a slave) and is currently held by my wife. This recipe has never changed because you can't improve perfection. At church bake sales, her pies would sell first and highest. The old folks knew some things that today's folks haven't learned.

[allaboutlydia]

08:37 PM on 11/13/2011

so whats the secret ingredient?

[Jahbundance]

09:35 PM on 11/13/2011

Don't know... she doesn't trust me, but our daughter knows. I'm told it's more than one ingredient and the way she lets it "sit up" ("set up"?) before cooking. She's also an excellent pastry maker, which helps. It's a Virginia country matriarchal family secret.

[hjo4]

11:41 AM on 11/13/2011

I watch CHOPPED religiously and must say that it's the fairest cooking competition show on tee vee. I was pulling for Ms Saunders and was happy she won. I don't think she was thought of as an underdog, I believe most of the CHOPPED contestants are not aware of how creative African Americans can be with food. Our deep roots in this country is the cause of that as Ms Saunders proved. I hope she as well as other African American chefs get the attention and props their counterparts receive too, many of them are more talented.

[queenietoo]

01:49 PM on 11/13/2011

Any African American that had a grandmother or grandfather or a mother or father that could take next to nothing and make something out of it will know what to do. lol lol we've been doing this for generations Ms. Sanders gets an A+ she's been paying attention lol lol work magic Sista:)

[hjo4]

02:15 PM on 11/13/2011

Amen. You know that!

[cafemocha32]

10:07 PM on 11/13/2011

I was so proud when she won, you would have thought I knew her! African Americans are the best chefs around, they can take one item and make it the best you ever had. Any African American who has ever spent time in the kitchen with an elder knows how to make dishes that will have people begging for the recipe!