Alex, that sounds like a totally legit reason to leave out the anchovies. I just happen to like the little buggers. And I would never trick vegetarian friends into eating 'chovies; I just like toying with the squeamish.

Anyway, here's the Sweet Potatoes with Praline Sauce.

First, make the sauce. Use a small heavy-bottomed saucepan (I have an old heavy cast aluminum pot that I love) and place 1 cup of white sugar in it. Turn the burner to 'medium', and melt the sugar slowly to a brown syrup. I whisk it frequently as it melts to keep it from burning; make sure you have a sturdy stainless steel whisk.

Have ready 1/2 cup of corn syrup and 1/4 cup of water. When the sugar is all melted, without any lumps, turn off the burner and pour the corn syrup into the pan while whisking continuously. The sugar will be very hot, and the corn syrup will bubble and foam. As soon as it is well incorporated, add the water and whisk thoroughly. Careful, it may spatter.

Remove the pot from heat. Let it cool a minute or so. Then stir in 3 tablespoons of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Stir in 3/4 cup of chopped pecans, and let the whole mess cool. Store in a plastic tub until you're ready to use it. It's delicious on ice cream. Hand the empty sticky pot, along with a rubber scraper, to your spouse or a favorite child to lick out.

For the actual dish, peel four large sweet potatoes (the dark orange kind). Cut them into quarters and simmer them in salted water until just barely tender. Spread them out in a baking pan, pour the Praline Sauce on top (as much of it as you can justify) and bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Forget about dessert, you won't need it.