(sweet) potato salad

we eat a lot of sweet potatoes in our house. i can't remember the last time i bought a "regular" potato. one of our favorite recipes is this one from smitten kitchen, and my newest creation is basically the exact same thing, just re-configured to look like a traditional potato salad. it makes a good, hearty one-dish meal for us, and it's equally good hot or cold.

(Sweet) Potato Salad

4 small or 2 large sweet potatoes
handful of craisins
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, whatever you have
1-2 celery stalks (if you have it- i usually don't)
1/4 of a large yellow onion
olive oil
honey mustard
apple cider vinegar
crumbled goat cheese
kosher salt and black pepper

*use measurements as a starting point- i didn't measure anything the other night and am trying to go by memory/visualization. oops!

1. pre-heat your oven to 450.
2. dice the sweet potatoes into 3/4-1" chunks, toss them with a splash of olive oil, and spread them out onto a baking sheet. sprinkle kosher salt and pepper over them.
3. put them on your lower oven rack for about 12-ish minutes. after that, take them out and turn the chunks over- they should be browned and a leeeetle puffy/crispy on the bottoms. sprinkle a little more salt & pepper if you like, and stick them back in the oven for another 8-ish minutes.
4. dice up your onion and saute with a little olive oil.
5. chop walnuts & celery to desired size.
6. in a small mixing bowl, pour a little olive oil and a tiny amount of apple cider vinegar. plop in a little honey mustard and then whisk the three together into a dressing. (i have no idea on measurements- i just eyeball it. the smitten kitchen recipe uses 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon mustard- maybe start there and see how it tastes?)
7. when the sweet potatoes are done, take them out and dump 'em into a large mixing bowl. add the walnuts, celery, craisins, and onion and stir together.
8. mix in the dressing gradually- too much can be kind of overpowering.
9. scoop out into small bowls and sprinkle the goat cheese on top of each serving. add a little pepper on top 'cause it looks pretty.