Sharing a family favorite Thanksgiving recipe

Thanksgiving in my family is all about eating until we feel sick, and drinking wine until we can't tell how full we are anymore. There's about 25 of us (at least) sitting at a long table, gorging on moist turkey, buttery stuffing, creamy gravy, and the most popular dish of the holiday: sweet potato pie. When my aunt moved back up here from Texas, she began bringing the sweet potato pie to our family Thanksgivings, and our New England palates welcomed it to the table wholeheartedly. Now, most of us eat more sweet potato pie than we do turkey. So, this year, when my aunt told me she wasn't going to make it to Thanksgiving and that I was in charge of the sweet potatoes, I almost had an instant anxiety attack - I have to make the main dish for 25+ hungry Irish people? I managed to take on the challenge, and literally just removed the pan from the oven. I still won't know how it tastes until tomorrow, but, I must say, it smells and looks delicious. Let's just hope it tastes that way - I'll report back after the meal. In the meantime, I wanted to share this sacred recipe with you - it's not traditional sweet potato pie, but it's downright delicious. I guarantee it will be a staple at your Thanksgiving table, just as it's become one at mine. Happy Thanksgiving!

Southern Sweet Potatoes

-3 cups canned or cooked sweet potatoes
-3/4 cup sugar
-1/2 tsp. salt
-2 eggs
-1/3 stick butter
-1/2 cup milk
-1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Beat above ingredients together until thoroughly blended. Pour into buttered baking dish (8x8 or casserole dish).

Topping:
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup broken pecans
-1/3 cup flour
-1/3 cup melted butter

Directions: Combine topping ingredients and crumble over potatoes. Bake 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve and enjoy!

*Side note: I doubled this recipe for my family of 25+.

Savoring the taste of fall with sweet potato Cool Whip

I'm not a big dessert person - I used to have a sweet tooth larger than Bazooka Joe's, but somewhere along the way, things changed. When I'm hungry, I crave salt. As a result, my dessert-making abilities have fallen to the wayside. However, tonight I felt like a fall-inspired dessert, and I didn't want pumpkin pie (I'll be eating enough of that on Thanksgiving). I decided to research some recipes using sweet potatoes, and found complex recipes for sweet potato bread pudding, sweet potato bread, and sweet potato cookies - I just wanted something simple. After standing in the baking aisle at my local grocery store for a solid 20 minutes, I got it: sweet potato whipped cream with store-bought pound cake. Don't ask me how that lightbulb went off; I think it was a mix between a craving for fall flavors and simplicity. So, here it is: my recipe for very easy sweet potato Cool Whip ($2, Stop & Shop) which I served atop freshly-made pound cake ($3.99, Stop & Shop) and chopped pecan halves ($1.89, Hannaford). This dessert was seasonal, and had just the right amount of sweet potato and nutmeg/cinnamon flavor, without overpowering the delicious taste of Cool Whip.

Sweet Potato Cool Whip
Serves: 25

-3/4 of a 15 oz. can cut sweet potatoes, in syrup - mashed ($0.99, Hannaford brand)
-8 oz. tub of Cool Whip
-1/4 tsp.ground nutmeg
-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
-Pinch of ground ginger

Directions: Drain sweet potatoes, and rinse quickly with water. Mash in a blender, or with a potato masher. In a separate bowl, fold into Cool Whip. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Mix well, and let sit in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to allow flavors to mesh. Serve over pound cake, with crushed pecans (I just bought a small bag of pecan halves, and broke them up into pieces).

How do you easily incorporate the taste of fall into your desserts?