SCALLOPED CHIPOTLE SWEET POTATOES

This is my moms Recipe. it is our families FAVORITE way to have sweet potatoes. MMM



2 cups heavy cream
1 heaping tablespoon chipotle pepper puree (this is a canned chipotle pepper in a red tomato sauce, you can buy it in the Mexican food section. I have tried chipotle salsa's, and it's not the same. You only need a little. Just take this can and put it in the blender, and use 1 Tablespoon, for medium to mild heat. Adjust a little if you want it hotter)
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick Salt and freshly ground black pepper (try to get sweet potatoes that are the same diameter so they cook evenly, and try slicing them the same thickness)
I also added shredded Parmesan or a combination of Parmesan/Reggiano cheese, about 2 cups or so.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Whisk together cream and chipotle puree until smooth.
In a 9 by 9-inch casserole dish, arrange the potatoes in even layers. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the cream mixture and season with salt and pepper. Add shredded cheese,
Repeat with the remaining potatoes, cream, shredded cheese and salt and pepper to form several layers. (the last time I made it, I also grated a little fresh nutmeg on top, that's optional)
Cover and bake for 30 minutes, remove cover and continue baking for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cream has been absorbed and the potatoes are cooked through and the top is browned.
Leftovers (but there probably won't be any!)
1. Put all the leftovers in the blender, and add your leftover cream, milk, or chicken stock to get a good consistency. Since this dilutes the original sauce quite a bit, add a little more of the pureed chipotle sauce to give it a kick. This makes an amazing soup. Serve it with croutons (use you leftoever french bread or rolls, cut them into cubes, brush with olive oil, and bake until browned)
2. Pasta. Puree the leftover soup. Add milk, cream, or chicken stock (or a combination of all three)and leave it kind of thick, like a tomato pasta sauce consistency. You will need to add a little more of the pureed Chipotle sauce to heat it up a bit since it will be diluted from the additional liquid.
Serve over ravioli (make it easy on yourself and buy the frozen ones) or serve with bowtie or penna pasta. Add additional Parmesan/Reggiano cheese on top to serve. Leftover chicken or asparagus? Throw that in too. It's awesome. Do I sound like Robin Miller?
One meal morphs into the next! Remember to adjust the heat carefully. It's nice to have a good zing, but don't make it so hot the kids won't eat it. OK, the kids won't eat it anyway because it looks weird.