Sweet Potato Banana Mash

Many, many, many, many.....did I mention many.....years ago I ate at a restaurant that had this fabulous sweet potato mash as a side dish.  Little did I know when I ordered it that it was going to have banana in it, which was probably a good thing because at that point in my life I wasn't a very adventurous eater, so if I had realized there would be banana in it I probably wouldn't have gotten it.  However, it was love at first bite.  Literally.  I have thought about that side dish numerous times over the years since then.

So, it stands to reason that at some point I would attempt to make it.  However, no one in my house is the least bit interested in trying it so I put it off for a long time.....but I never forgot about how much I loved that dish.  I finally decided to make it, even if I'm the only one that eats it.  I could eat this stuff for breakfast, lunch or dinner - that's how much I love it!

It's been so long now since I've had it, so I am not sure anymore if this concoction of mine is even close to the one I had so long ago.  It doesn't matter though because this is so darn good....I've fallen in love all over again!  If you love sweet potatoes and bananas you HAVE to try this dish!  Don't turn up your nose.....give it a try because there's only one way to find out if this dish is for you.

Sweet Potato Banana Mash

4 large sweet potatoes
1 small banana, with a slit cut into the peel
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp of half & half

Wash the potatoes and pierce with a fork, then wrap in tin foil and cook in the oven at 350 for about an hour or until tender and cooked through (or you could cook them for about 10 minutes in the microwave, just omit the tine foil).  During this time you want to also cook the banana in the oven for about 15 minutes (it will be pretty black).

Scoop out the insides of the potatoes and banana into a large bowl.  Add the butter, brown sugar, salt, pepper, half & half and cinnamon to the potato banana mixture.  At this point you can use a masher or an electric mixer to combine and mash everything together.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.  Serves about 8.