Sweet Potato Casserole

My bride is a wonderful cook, but she doesn't like to cook unless she has to. Therefore, I get to do most of the cooking - which I enjoy doing.  As the old adage goes, "there is always an exception to the rule" is true when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner.   This is when my bride comes alive in the kitchen and really enjoys being in the kitchen preparing meals. 

My assignment is always the same.  I am to make HER favorite Thanksgiving side item - Sweet Potato Casserole.  (I think this dish was one of the reasons she agreed to marry me.)  It's not hard, but it sure makes her tastebuds happy.

Ingredients for potato mix:                                           Ingredients for Topping:

3lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks                                1/3 cup all-purpose flour                             

¾ cups Splenda                                                                                                 2/3 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup 1% or Skim milk                                                                                    1/8 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. butter, melted                                                                                   2 Tbsp. melted butter

½ tsp. salt                                                                                                            2/3 cup chopped pecans

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon                                                                             Mini-marshmallows (as needed)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large eggs (room temp)

 

What’cha gotta do:

1)      Prep potatoes.   

 

2)      For potatoes, place them in a Dutch oven; cover with water and add cinnamon.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.  Drain, cool five minutes.

 

 

             

 

3)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4)      In a large bowl, add potatoes, Splenda, milk, melted butter, salt, and vanilla.  Beat with a mixer until smooth.  Add eggs and beat well.  Pour this potato mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

 

 

5)      Topping prep- in a small bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, and salt.  Mix well.  Stir in melted butter and blend completely.  Sprinkle this mixture over the entire potato mix in the casserole dish.

6)      Alternate between pecans and marshmallows to ‘stripe’ the casserole.

7)      Bake for 25 minutes or just golden.  ( I turn the broiler on for the last 30 seconds to “brown” the marshmallows well.

This was a big success at our Thanksgiving table.  Even my non Sweet Tater eating Tater Tot ate some!

ENJOY!

Hoppin' John - a South Carolina Tradition

South Carolina has a New Year’s Day tradition that goes back well over 160 years.  The first recorded recipe for Hoppin’ John came in 1847 in The Carolina Housewife, and most epicurean historians credit the Gullah folks in the low country for the dish.  There are many legends of how the dish got its name, but one of the strongest is that the dish was sold in the streets of Charles Towne by a crippled black man named Hoppin’ John.

Although there are many variations to the recipe, the original was rather simple – Ham hock, black eyed peas, rice, onion and greens.  My recipe is one of the slight variations, but not far from the original.

Ingredients:

1 pound bag black eyed peas, dried (rinse and soak for 6-8 hours prior)

2 small smoked ham hocks/ 1 large or ham bone with some meat still on it.

 (I also had some left over ham that I diced and added)

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 small bell pepper, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery finely chopped 

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 quart of chicken broth

3 cups of water

Fresh Kale, chopped fine

2 cups of rice

1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper flakes

½ tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tbsp. olive oil

Directions:

In a large Dutch oven/pot heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add garlic, onions, pepper, celery.  Cook for 5-7 minutes until veggies are softened.  Stir often. 

Add chicken broth, water, seasonings, and ham /ham hocks and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 30-45 minutes.  Stir periodically.

After 30-45 minutes, remove ham hocks and pick meat off bones and chop fine – return to pot. Add chopped kale and soaked peas after draining and rinsing.  Cook for another 20-30 minutes, still covered.  Stir periodically.

Now add the two cups of rice, stirring to mix well in the pot.  (Note- you may have to add a little water) Cook for another 20-25 minutes stirring regularly.  (add water as needed)  Today I did not have to add any, but each batch is different. 

Serve in bowls with and garnish with chopped green onion.

Happy New Year and Enjoy!