by Millie Bentley
Greetings. Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope your day will be filled with love, friendship and happiness. Being with family during the holidays is very important to all of us, but sometimes that is not physically possible. When it’s not possible to be with them I like to spend a good portion of my day thinking of family and getting in touch by telephone.
I came across an “oldie-but-goodie” that, really, is better than most of the new ones. And it’s easy. Our families generally got together for holiday meals – Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. All of my aunts were good cooks, but most did not follow written recipes. My Dad’s sister Ona was an exception and my niece Rhonda has passed on to the rest of us Aunt Ona’s sweet potato pie recipe. She called it pie and that’s what it tastes like – without the crust. It’s more like a casserole to be served as a side dish alongside the turkey. It’s a keeper.
Aunt Ona’s South Carolina Sweet Potato Pie
2 1/2 cups evaporated milk
3 medium yams or sweet potatoes
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 eggs
2 tablespoons butter, cold
1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pour milk into a 2 quart casserole pan. Peel and grate sweet potatoes or yams and add to casserole with milk. In a large bowl beat eggs well. Add sugar gradually, continuing to beat. Next add cinnamon and almonds; add to milk and sweet potatoes; mix well. Dot with butter. Bake in preheated 300 degree oven until firm, about 45 minutes to an hour. A sharp knife inserted in center will come out clean when ready. Umm-m umm-m good!
Until next week, dear Reader, vaya con Dios.
