Since Halloween is officially here I guess there is no better time to start posting Thanksgiving recipes. Growing up, my family and I would often travel to California to spend Thanksgiving with our family friends, The Meixels. We would go to Disney Land or Knott’s Berry Farm, go to the beach, play football, and eat a wonderful meal together. We did this for many years and then people went off to college and moved and things just got busy and we stopped going. After I met Cliff he and I would always travel somewhere over the Thanksgiving holiday. We went to Wisconsin Dells with his family for a few years, we went to Mexico one year, we went to London, Rome, and last year we went to the Amalfi Coast. But this year we all decided to head back to California to see our family friends. There will be about 13 of us and I am really looking forward to it.
The hostess asked everyone to submit a favorite Thanksgiving recipe. I went back and forth about what recipe I would submit for weeks. I finally decided on these sweet potatoes. Then I got my Food Network Magazine issue in the mail and I saw a recipe for Ree’s Soul Taters and I knew that was the recipe I would submit. But first I needed to test it out. I made these potatoes for Cliff and my Dad one night. My Dad said he did not like sweet potatoes but he gave them a try anyway. Amazingly, he liked them! Cliff was afraid they would be too sweet, but he too loved them! There was never any doubt in my mind, but I loved them too. I have made them twice since then. I just know they are going to be a big hit for our Thanksgiving feast!
Here is what you’ll need
Combine the sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk and salt. Give it a good mix.
Scoop the flesh out of the potatoes and add the liquid mixture
Mash/stir until combined
Combine the brown sugar, flour, pecans, and butter
Crumble over the top
Not the prettiest dish we have ever made but one of the tastiest!
Ingredients
4 medium sweet potatoes or 3 large sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans, chopped
½ cup flour
¾ sticks butter, softened
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes directly on the rack and bake for 1 hour or until fork tender. Allow the potatoes to cool until they are cool enough to handle. Scoop the flesh of the potatoes into a bowl. Add the sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Mash them slightly. You want them to be a little lumpy. Spread them into a 9 inch casserole dish. In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, chopped pecans, flour and butter. Blend together with a pastry cutter or a fork. Sprinkle over the potatoes and bake for 30 minutes.
Source: Ree Drummond, Food Network Magazine
