Name: Sweet Potatoes With Orange Bitters
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1½ cups (350 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (the juice of 4 to 5 oranges); ⅓ cup (80 g) brown sugar; ¼ cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar; ¼ cup (60 ml) Angostura bitters; 1½ tablespoon olive oil; Salt; 4 to 5 sweet potatoes, unpeeled, halved crosswise, each half cut into 1-inch- (2.5-cm-) wide wedges (3⅓ pounds; 1.5 kg); 2 red chiles, halved lengthwise; 3 sage sprigs (½ ounce; 15 g); 10 thyme sprigs (⅓ ounce; 10 g); 2 heads garlic, unpeeled and halved horizontally; 3 ounce (90 g) chèvre (goat cheese) log, broken into pieces

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Sweet Potatoes with Orange BittersJonathan Lovekin

One of my greatest idols is Ruth Reichl, a clever writer who delightfully manages to approach food with just the right balance of weightiness and sense of humor, the latter often a rare commodity among "serious" authors. I love Reichl's recipes, I love her storytelling, and I always benefit from her vast knowledge. This recipe-a rhapsody for sweet, bitter, and salty-is based on one of hers, published in Gourmet Today, a selection from the sadly defunct Gourmet magazine, which Reichl edited for many years.