Bourbon Baked Sweet Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 chubby, red-fleshed sweet potatoes
• Splash of extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1-inch square of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 generous pinches of ground cinnamon or canela
• 1 generous pinch of ground cloves
• Zest of one lemon (orange zest would be good too)
• 3T unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Splash of milk (2T. or so)
• Splash of bourbon (2T. or so)
• 1/4 freshly grated Parmesan (not from the plastic container!)
• Spicy Pecans (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 cups pecans
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon red chile powder
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar