Sweet Potato Casserole

With Thanksgiving coming up this weekend, I have been thinking about recipes from years past that would be good to pass on. My mind kept coming back to sweet potatoes so I pulled out the cookbook, "Southern Elegance: A Collection of the Best of Carolina Cuisine" by the Junior League of Gaston County, North Carolina.

Fresh out of high school, I ended up spending a semester at a community college just west of Knoxville, Tennessee. The autumn season seemed to go on forever down there and the food was perfectly suited for it. I remember driving from Tennessee to my Aunt Carolyn's farm near Boone, North Carolina. The colours of the trees were spectacular and the bright blue of the sky and warm sunshine made it a weekend I will never forget. I spent hours going through all of Aunt Carolyn's cookbooks and copying out any recipes that caught my eye. I believe I bought the "Southern Elegance" cookbook on that weekend trip.

This dish is almost more dessert than savoury vegetable dish, but for Thanksgiving it seems to satisfy everyone. The top should harden in the oven and the contrast of a crispy top and a soft inside is delicious!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Potato Mixture:
2 c. cooked sweet potatoes (I would use up to 3 cups)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 t. flour
1 t. butternut flavoring (never heard of it and don't bother!)
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 t. milk
1 t. to 1 T. sherry (optional and I have never used it in this recipe)

Topping:
1 c. pecans, chopped
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. butter, melted

Mix together all the ingredients for the potato mixture and pour it into a greased baking dish (a loaf pan works well). Mix together topping ingredients and place on top of potato mixture and cook for 35 minutes or so at 350 degrees.

*To cook the sweet potatoes, I would bake them in the oven for an hour or so at 350 degrees. After they cool off, peel them and mash them.

*The original recipe calls for margarine but I only use butter. Speaking of butter.... A couple of weeks ago, my Dad & I made a quick trip over to Detroit. He took me to Sam's Club (like Costco) where he buys a few items in bulk, including butter. I have looked down my nose at him for buying that butter several times, claiming that Canadian butter tastes better, among other reasons. I have no basis for this opinion, I just like to go against what my Dad says sometimes! That morning however, I couldn't resist when I saw 4 pounds of unsalted butter for $8 (US or Canadian, take your pick). I grabbed two packs and my Dad also grabbed two packs, one for them and one for their neighbour, Auntie Carol. We pulled up at Customs, and didn't think we had anything to worry about. I handed the woman our receipts and she asked us the usual questions about alcohol and tobacco. Then she looked me in the eye and said, "I think you are over your butter limit. How many pounds do you have?" I waited for her to smile to show me she was joking. "Sixteen pounds." The smile never came and she was soon on the phone trying to find out what the "butter limit" was. I was in tears I was laughing so hard under my breath. Sixteen pounds does sound like a lot. She was unsuccessful tracking down the amount of butter allowed into Canada per person, so she gave us a warning. It will be a long time before we will actually NEED any more butter from Detroit and from now on, I will just stick to my $4-$5 per pound Canadian butter. No chance of having the car impounded!