Mealtime Magic: Calafia Gingered Mashed Yam

Charlie Ayers, chef/owner of Palo Alto, California’s Calafia Café is author of the cookbook, Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. He was with Google from the start, having won the position in a cook-off in 1999 that was judged by the company’s then 40 employees. While with Google, the number of employees ballooned and Chef Ayers was serving up 4000 lunches a day. Under his leadership, Google earned accolades as having some of the best and healthiest at-work food around. He's got some great recipes and ideas for feeding a crowd (if he handled 4000, his recipes can certainly work for a Thanksgiving gathering with dozens of people).

Here's one idea - a tasty take on serving yams.

Prep time: 15 mins cook time: 20 mins

Serves 6

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup pickled ginger
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp butter unsalted organic
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 cups sour cream (organic low fat)
• 2 lbs organic yams, peeled and cut into even sized discs

Method
• Steam yam with sliced picked ginger pieces in stove top bamboo steamer or in counter top electric steamer until tender (about 10-15 mins, depending on the size.) Drain.
• Place in a large-ish bowl and mash with potato masher or pass through a vegetable mill or potato ricer, the later of the three options will produce a fluffier and smoother end result.
• Add butter and sour cream. Mix well with rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Season with salt and nutmeg and fresh ground pepper blend.