And the winners are...

The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission announced the winners of the 2010 blogger recipe contest. The grand prize of $2,000 went to Joanne Bruno of Eats Well With Others for her Baked Sweet Potato Falafel with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce. Her recipe wowed the judges with its creativity, rich sweet potato flavor and ease of preparation. The moist falafel had just a hint of cilantro and coupled nicely with its tangy dipping sauce. Congratulations, Joanne!

But choosing the runner-ups was also a difficult task. Judges tasted and re-tasted all of the finalists' recipes and awarded $400 each to:

Mandy Heaston of Gourmet Mom On-the-Go

for her refreshing yet creamy Sunshine Sweet Potato Sorbet

Laura Curtis, The Bicycle Chef, for her better burger,

the Sweet Potato Burger

Dara Michalski, the Cookin' Canuck, for her savory

African Tomato & Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato & Chickpeas

Each recipe highlighted different facets of the sweet potato. Whether used for it moist flesh, its ability to take on sweet or savory flavors or to be the underlying taste, our finalists' recipes were creative without losing the essence of sweet potato. Way to go runners-up!

And a big thank you to everyone that submitted an entry. We asked for outside-the-box and we got it! From Sweet Potato Pho to Sweet Potato Herbed Dumpling Soup, you opened our eyes to the sweet potato's endless possibilities. We hope you enjoyed developing your adventurous creations as much as enjoyed tasting them.