Candied yams

Add a couple quarts of cold fresh water to a pot and stir in two rounded tablespoons of salt.

Peel the sweet potatoes, trim the tips, cut two pieces off either end, split lengthwise and cut across into one and a half to two inch pieces, as uniform as possible.

Transfer the pieces to the cold salted water, bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce and simmer until almost but not quite tender, testing with a knife.

For the glaze, add butter, light brown sugar, maple syrup, freshly squeezed lemon juice, cinnamon, ground ginger, cayenne and a generous pinch of salt to a large non-stick skillet.

Cook the glaze over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until everything melts and bubbles, then a couple more minutes until it thickens and looks sticky. Turn off the heat.

When the yams are about 90% tender, lift them with a strainer into the glaze.

Crank the heat to high and cook, stirring or flipping occasionally, until the yams are tender and the glaze is thickened to a shiny thick glaze, not a gloppy caramel.

Transfer to a serving dish, spoon over all the extra glaze and sprinkle with chopped pistachio.