Yammed if you do. Damned if you don't.

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows do have a whole lotta vintage charm - but I worry about enough things sticking in my teeth at the turkey table. So I channeled Betty for a sweet plan b. Here's what she had for me in Betty Crocker's All-Time Favorites (c) '71 The best recipes - by popular demand. If you're like me, you demand second, third, hell - when no one is looking fourths - on Thanksgiving. And you'll be licking the china where this sweet side sits.

[that shadow is me lurking over your shoulder, wanting to snatch your sweet potato bake]

Sweet Potato-Applesauce Bake
1 pound sweet potatoes or yams (about 3 medium) or 1 can vacuum-pack sweet potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (8 ounces) applesauce
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

If using fresh sweet potatoes [I did] or yams, cook unpared potatoes until tender, 30 or 35 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Slip off skins.

Heat oven to 375. Cut each sweet potato lengthwise in half. Place halves in an ungreased baking dish, 8x8x2 inches. Sprinkle with salt and spread applesauce on potatoes. Mix sugar, nuts and cinnamon and sprinkle over the applesauce. Dot with butter and cover with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Your ratio of turkey to sweet potato shopping should be 1:1. If you pick up a 15lb bird, tote home 15lbs of yams. The recipe is that easy. And that tasty. The flavors are sweet without being syrupy and the pecan is such a petite, non-offensive nut [unlike Bruno's pair] that its crunch adds to the crave of this dish. It will be amazing as the base of a left-over casserole. So hold a bit back because leftovers are not likely. And on this Thanksgiving, give thanks to Betty. Where would we be without her?