Photo by María Helena Carey, who nommed on that.
Need a couple of last-minute ideas for the flood of visitors that is coming in? Look no more: here to save your bacon are Jon and Vermecia, sharing some of their favorite sweet things of the season! Everyone knows that a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine (and the chaos) go down in a most delightful way. :o) Happy holidays!
Vermecia: I am too southern for my own good so when I had this dish at Ruth’s Chris, I knew it needed to be in my recipe rollerdex. It’s everything I look for in a holiday dish – it’s sinful, sweet, impressive yet inexpensive. You must make it: you will thank me later.
Ruth’s Chris Special Sweet Potato Casserole (12 servings)
Crust: 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred), 1/3 stick butter (melted). Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.
Sweet Potato Mixture: 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 eggs (well beaten), 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (melted)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture.
Pour mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. (At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated.)
Sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture evenly with the crust mixture and return to oven for 10 minutes. Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.
The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy.
Jon: You wouldn’t know it from my last name, but I grew up in a pretty traditional Italian household. Those traditions were strongest at Christmas time, especially in edible forms. My mother seems to really enjoy cooking and baking for family and friends. We had the usual overflowing table on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day–the seven (or more) fishes on Christmas Eve, home-made profiteroles filled with ice cream for dessert, followed by a four (or more) course dinner on Christmas day that lasted hours. She still makes a dozen or so types of cookies each year including the traditional Anginetti, or “little Italian bombs” as we sometimes call them. These cookies are best eaten within a few days of baking, but after that they are enjoyed dipped in hot coffee or cocoa.
1/2 cup white sugar
7 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon zest
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract