Sweet Potato Pecan Pie

 If you have southern roots like me, you know that the sweet potato pie makes an appearance for every holiday. I cannot even imagine Thanksgiving or Christmas without a sweet potato pie on the dessert table. The sweet potato pie is the holy grail of southern desserts and even pumpkin pie lovers will cheat with sweet potato pie and then run off and marry it. I like pumpkin pie, but I love sweet potato pie. The depth of flavor that is in sweet potato pie is amazing on its own, but when you add a bubbling sweet sticky brown sugary pecan topping....forgetaboutit

The best of both worlds in one dessert. The love child of sweet potato pie and pecan pie. Next level deliciousness and I highly recommend that you eat it slightly warm. The taste of nutmeg, vanilla and sweet potato under a blanket of brown sugary goodness. Imagine your favorite sweet potato casserole in pie form. 

Yeah...its that good

To get the party started, make sure you have some fresh sweet potatoes (also known as yams)

Roughly chop your pecans

Let your freshly baked pie cool while you prepare the topping

This concoction of brown sugar, butter and maple syrup is scrumptious

Add your toasted pecans and you get this deliciousness

The finished pie is glistening with toasted pecans and lots of sweet sticky topping. Let it cool in the fridge so the topping can set before you cut the pie.

You want this in your mouth, don't you?

Don't you?

 lets get started

Ingredients

1 9 inch unbaked pie crust

2 large sweet potatoes ( 1 1/2 pounds and equivalent to approx. 2 cups)

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup evaporated milk

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pecan Pie Topping Ingredients

1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

4 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups chopped toasted pecans 

For the Pie:

Boil potatoes in skin for 1 hour. They should be fork tender. Run cold water over skin and peel skin potatoes. Break into pieces and place in large mixing bowl. Beat potatoes in bowl on medium speed with mixer until potatoes are well mashed and any strings have wrapped themselves around the mixer beaters. Once all strings are removed, stir in the butter, sugar, milk eggs and spices. Mix until smooth and pour mixture into unbaked pie crust.

Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes. Let pie cool completely and set aside. Once pie is cool, prepare the pecan topping.

For the Pecan topping:

In a small saucepan, heat brown sugar, melted butter and maple over medium heat. Stir constantly until mixture starts to boil. Add cream and vanilla stirring until well combined. Stir in pecans and bring to a boil and remove from heat.

Pour the topping over the sweet potato pie spreading to the edges of the pie until it is well covered. Refrigerate at least 2-3 hours to allow the topping to set.

Shall we have some pie?

Bon Appetit!

Kale Cranberry Apple Salad

This salad is full of good stuff and perfect for the Holiday season. Apples, cranberries, pecans and a melange of crispy veggies balance nicely with the robust kale. If you are looking for a great holiday salad for your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, this is it!

Kale is a very robust salad green and can handle a lot more dressing than the typical salad. Massaging some of the dressing into the kale takes away some of the harshness that kale can have and the longer it sits with the dressing on it the better it tastes. Another great trick to make kale salad even better is to warm the vinaigrette and let it slightly cook the kale and take some of the rough edge out of it. This salad has a nice sweetness, a little tartness, crunch and lots of flavors that blend well together.

 Start with fresh kale and chop the leaves as small and thin as possible

Red Cabbage adds some flavor and texture

Carrots add more color and a little sweetness

Dried cranberries add so much flavor and more sweetness that balances well with the kale

Apple marries well with all of the other ingredients. My favorite apple to use in salads is granny smith or pink lady, but your favorite one will work perfectly

Pecans add that delicious crunchiness that we love in a good salad

This is so good, you will want to eat it all the time. Try making this for the holidays

Ingredients

1/2 cup pecans

8 ounces of kale 

1 carrot

1/2 cup chopped red cabbage

1 granny smith apple

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Dressing Ingredients

6 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and spread on a cookie sheet or baking pan and bake for about 5-7 minutes. Wash kale and remove the stems. Chop the kale into bite size pieces/  Sprinkle a dash of sea salt over the kale and massage by the handful by scrunching with your hands gently. Set aside.

Grate the carrot and chop the red cabbage into thin shreds. In a small bowl, whisk the salad ingredients together. Take a couple of tablespoons of dressing and massage it into the kale. Add the carrots, red cabbage, apple, and cranberries. Toss the ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes. Add the pecans and toss once before serving.

The apples are so good in this salad and you can swap the apples for pears and it works beautifully

 

This is a great way to get your fruits and veggies in one meal

What are you waiting for? 

Bon Appetit!

Pear Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

This is one of my favorite salads and it is truly addictive and unbelievably tasty. This fresh blend of spring salad greens, arugula, candied walnuts and feta cheese is absolutely bursting with flavor. I toss the salad with vinaigrette and then stack it vertically on pear slices. This makes an amazing presentation and is perfect for Thanksgiving, although I love to eat this throughout the year. 

I have tried it with various vinaigrette's and it is a very versatile salad that pairswell with just about any vinaigrette. I experimented with maple and it marries well with the ingredients in this salad. The dressing adds a nice hint of sweetness, so if you prefer plain walnuts rather than candied ones, those work out great as well.

Start with fresh Arugula

Spring Salad Mix

Crisp Juicy Pears

Walnuts

Add a hint of Feta Cheese and voila!

Ingredients

4 Bosc or D'Anjou Pears 

1 package washed spring salad greens

1 cup fresh arugula

2/3 cup candied walnuts (the Trader Joe walnuts are pretty tasty)

2 ounces Feta Cheese 

Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Directions:

Whisk all Vinaigrette ingredients until well blended and emulsified. Toss with salad greens add walnuts and cheese and set aside. Wash and dry the pears. Slice the pear vertically into three slices. Be sure to slice a small piece from bottom piece so that it sits flat vertically. Spoon salad onto each piece and stack until fully assembled.

Almost to pretty to eat:-)

Bon Appetit!