fp, as far as I can tell, nobody wants them. Inevitably, the candied yam dish gets passed around with someone occasionally removing a tablespoonful which probably ends up getting scraped into the garbage can.
Toward the end of dinner, the hostess goes into the hard sell mode on them. "Did everybody get some of Aunt Thelma's delicious candied yams?" she says, holding up the dish and brandishing a spoonful of the ungodly mixture. Everyone then mutters something about oh yes they were wonderful but I just couldn't eat another thing, which effectively cuts you off from third helpings of the really good stuff. Then the hostess will still insist on passing the yam casserole around while Aunt Thelma looks crestfallen, and so I generally take yet another disgusting dollop, which I break into sections and merge with other leftovers on my plate.
Can't we all just agree that we don't like the yams prior to Thanksgiving Dinner and suggest to Thelma that she bring something innocuous like jello with grapes in it?