Bourbon Butter Sweet Potatoes with Smoked Sea Salt and Fried Sage

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Divide the sweet potatoes between two roasting pans, coating each sliced sweet potato with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt. Roast them for 30 minutes. Then, remove the pans from the oven, turn the potatoes over, give them another light coating and sprinkling of olive oil and kosher salt, and return them to the oven for another 30 minutes.
2. Just as the potatoes are finishing up, add the bourbon and cinnamon sticks to a sauce pan over medium high heat. Let the bourbon simmer for about ten minutes or long enough so that it's reduced by half.
3. Discard the cinnamon sticks. Add the butter, Chinese five spice, fresh nutmeg, apple cider vinegar, and vegetable stock to the sauce pan.
4. Once the sweet potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a nice, remove them from the oven add them to a large bowl. Reduce the oven temperature to 350.
5. Pour the bourbon butter sauce on top, and mash the potatoes. {I find an immersion blender is much more effective than a potato masher.} Add enough salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of the smoked sea salt.
6. Meanwhile, add about a quarter cup of olive oil to a skillet and bring to medium high heat. Add the sage leaves to the oil once hot, and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute on each side or until crisp. Line the sage on some paper towels and set aside.
7. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and line with with fried sage. Sprinkle with the smoked sea salt and serve.