This recipe is great. I followed this recipe closely, except that I left out the raisins. I'm hoping to make this for Thanksgiving, and my mom hates raisins. It was good when I first tasted it, I liked that the carrots were a little less done then the sweet potatoes, it gave some nice texture contrast. It was, however, a little bland. So I added 1/8th tsp of both cardamom and cinnamon. Wow, did that make the flavor really pop. Next time I might decrease the butter a little, maybe that will give it a slightly fresher flavor.

Reviewed On: Nov. 16, 2009

I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only difference was I cut in half both the cinnamon and the red pepper flake as some reviewers suggested. It was perfect. Sweet, and complex, with just the right amount of spice. Also, it was fantastically easy and fast. I served it over couscous so total cook time was about 30 min, including the 5 min for the couscous. This will become a common dish in my house.

Reviewed On: May 21, 2009

As it was, this recipe was not fantastic hence the three stars. However, with a few tweaks, it disappeared quickly at a game night. First key, beat the cream cheese first, by itself, or when you add the yogurt the dip will have little chunks of cream cheese, even if you softened it first. Second, the spice proportions were all wrong. Ginger is a much stronger spice than cinnamon and there should be far less of it. I tasted the dip after making it with the full teaspoon of ginger and it was not flavorful, it was just kind of spicy. So I turned it into a double batch and added spices until I thought it tasted right. The final verdict: for a single batch, 1/2 tsp ginger(you can go as much as 3/4 tsp if you want a little heat), 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. Even though my yogurt was vanilla flavored, the extra vanilla just helps to bring out the sweetness of the cinnamon a little more. With these changes, and a few hours in the fridge so the cinnamon stopped tasting powdery, this dip was perfect with fresh apple and pear slices.

Reviewed On: Mar. 1, 2009