pie

KNR, p. 67 “I like pie!”

 

I love a great dessert. Cake, cookies, pudding, ice cream – they’re all tasty, but for me, the best dessert is pie. Cream pies, chocolate pies, fruit pies, potato pies? Bring ‘em on. I’ll eat ‘em all. Except coconut. Never could get used to the texture.

 

Sheila’s grandmother made a great white sweet potato pie, but would not share her secret! She moved away and I can’t get my yearly fix, so just before Christmas, we baked until we got the taste just right. Sheila baked – I ate. I could eat a whole pie by myself, no problem. I found the white sweet potatoes at the farmer’s market, so Sheila could practice, practice. They have a milder, sweeter flavor than the orange ones and they’re also good baked.

 

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White Sweet Potato Pie
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 3-4 large white sweet potatoes (yields 2 cups mashed white sweet potatoes)
  • ¾ cup white cane sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 2 jumbo eggs
  • 5 oz. evaporated milk
  • 5 oz. half & half
  • 1 unbaked deep dish pie shell
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425.
  2. Peel, then cut, 3-4 large white sweet potatoes into two inch chunks, and boil until sharp cooking fork can slide easily into the chunks (about 20 minutes, but don’t let them get squishy)
  3. Drain the potatoes thoroughly.
  4. Beat with electric mixer until consistency of stiff mashed potatoes.
  5. In large bowl, mix together 2 cups mashed potatoes and both sugars.
  6. One at a time, add sea salt, cinnamon, vanilla, eggs, evaporated milk and half & half.
  7. Mix until just blended.
  8. Pour into pie shell.
  9. Place on cookie sheet in center of oven.
  10. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
  11. Drop oven temperature to 350 and bake an additional 35 minutes or until center is set and knife inserted in middle comes out clean.
  12. Cool on pie rack for 1 hour.
  13. Serve with ice cream.
  14. Try to stop at one slice. 😉

 

Sheila’s family is from the South and she told me that white sweet potatoes are easily grown in home gardens down there.

 

Enjoy!

 

*Photo by Patti Phillips

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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KN, p. 91 “Happy Thanksgiving from the Kerrians!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s easy to be thankful when life is going well. If there is plenty of love to warm your heart, your wallet has enough in it to pay the bills on time, everyone in the family is healthy on the same day, your home is warm and dry…then that’s a happy life to the average guy or gal.

Not everyone has an easy time of it. Some families go through a divorce, a spouse passes away, a family member loses a job, the bank wants to foreclose just at the time when you need a sound roof to sleep under more than ever – maybe a lengthy illness puts a strain on the pocketbook.

Recent hurricanes have left hundreds of people homeless. Wildfires and tornadoes across the country this past year ripped many families’ lives apart.

Sheila and I have friends who’ve lived through both extremes – one year all smiles and parties and new bikes – the next year a disaster because his company closed the local plant, a good-paying job was lost and all the savings went into caring for a really sick daughter who had Lymes Disease. They came close to losing the house, but the banker had other foreclosures ahead of theirs. They got lucky.

What was amazing to everyone who watched them go through the tough time, was that the family was still thankful. Yes, they were struggling, but if you asked them about their great attitude, they said that they had each other, they had caring friends who supported them with occasional dinners, they had help with the house repairs, had been incredibly fortunate up until the rough patch of a year, and they had their faith.

That’s kinda humbling. They never seemed bitter about a bum deal with the job, they were always hopeful about the daughter (she pulled through) and they clung to each other rather than fighting about what could not be controlled with their finances.

So, here’s what Sheila and I are thankful for:

1.     We have each other and that will never change.

2.     We have friends that would help if we asked and we would do the same for them.

3.     We have a solid house with enough space for family dinners and football parties.

4.     We have enough cash in our pockets to pay the bills on time and a little left over so that we can go out to dinner or even take a vacation.

5.     We can each have fun without the other – I play golf and Sheila plays tennis, but it’s great to know that at the end of the day, the other one will listen to the ‘war stories,’ share the best/funniest moments, but also be there for the lousy times.

6.     I am seriously thankful that Sheila is a great cook.  Seriously.

7.     We are really thankful that there are so many people who read Kerrian’s Notebook and like it. And come back to read it again and again. Ya make us smile, K.N. friends old and new, near and far, with your comments on the site and your great emails.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! In case you didn’t guess, we’re having pie for dessert. There’s going to be a big crowd, so Sheila made my favorite chocolate cheesecake and that white sweet potato pie I love. A slice of each would be a very good way to finish the dinner. Along with a strong cup of coffee, of course.

Drop by if you get a chance. There’s some sweet tea (or coffee) waiting for you. If you get lucky, there might even be some pie.   🙂

 

*Photos and recipes by Patti Phillips

 

 

 

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