Jill wrote about accompanying pecan-crusted trout:

> BBQ sauce would be a big no-no. And frankly, the idea of apples in
> cornbread muffins leaves me cold.
>
> Hmmm. Nothing wrong with a good baked sweet potato; (treat it like a
> regular baked potato, none of that sugar and pie spice stuff). Or sweet
> potato shoe-string fries. Or a simple brown rice pilaf (celery, carrots,
> like that) and the spinach. Nothing too complicated. You want an
> accompaniment, not an overwhelmer. The pecans on the trout will handle
> the rest.

The notion of apples in cornbread muffins came from my mom. I'm not sure
where she got it. She grew up in northwest Iowa (Merrill, if anybody here
lives in that area), but moved to Florida before I was born. She picked up
some Southern cooking customs (e.g., hog jowls and black-eyed peas on New
Year's Day), but I don't know if the apple-cornbread muffin was one of them.
The apples lend moisture and a bit of fragrance to the muffins, but are
fairly unobtrusive.

Wnen you wrote "the spinach," were you referring to sf's mention of creamed
spinach, or were you thinking about your beloved deep-fried spinach?

At any rate, baked sweet potato *does* sound like it ought to go well.
Thanks!

Bob