Congratulations to Heather Smith for Winning the 2009 Cookoff

on bringing smiles

The bright orange of the yams is a great fall color. Most people I know like potato salad, but the sweetness of the yams, the smokiness of the bacon, the tanginess of the mustard and the crispiness of the other vegetables really make this stand out. Sweet potatoes and yams are a new "health food". This is a great way to get carnivorous kids to eat a healthy vegetable without the normal heavy doses of sugar and butter.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp FRENCH'S® Spicy Brown Mustard

1/2 cup FRENCH'S® French Fried Onions

7 cup Sweet Potatoes or Yams

1 cup Red Onion

1 cup Celery

1 cup Red or green bell pepper

3 tbsp Mayonaise

8 tbsp Bacon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

Bake or microwave yams until done, but still firm Allow to cool Cook bacon until crisp Finely chop other vegetables and bacon, place in salad bowl Remove skin from cooled yams and cut into 1/2" cubes Gently mix yams into the vegetable/bacon mixture Gently stir in mayonaise until desired consistency is reached Stir in mustard a little at a time until desired taste is achieved May be served warm or cooled. If desired, sprinkle French's Fried Onions as a garnish just before serving
I like a little chunkiness, but cooked yams are kind of mushy and it can end up more the consistency of mashed potatoes. It doesn't matter, so don't worry about it. I rarely measure stuff when I cook. All of the ingredients here are really to taste, but the recipe gives a good starting point. I am sure you can add other stuff that will make this more to your taste. The bacon is definitely a keeper. I made it once without the mustard and it was nowhere near as good. Just add it a little at a time until the taste is right. This is really good when you first make it, but it is even better the next day. Just keep it cold.