Doris's Sweet Potato Casserole

Remember my Near-to-Nothing grandmother’s cousin Doris?  She’s the one who makes the cranberry-orange relish I shared before Thanksgiving.  Well, she also makes a very popular sweet potato casserole that would make be the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas meal.

Now, I’m not much of a sweet potato person.  The only way I really like them is as tempura (hopefully to be posted after New Year’s).  But Robbie loves this casserole.  And it’s so easy to make!  You can even assemble it ahead of time and bake it when you are ready.

To address the sweet potato/yam confusion, I’m going to direct you to my baby food post where I discussed it earlier this year.  And henceforth I will continue to call this dish “sweet potato casserole” regardless of the fact that I used “red garnet yams.”

Before baking

Canned sweet potatoes or yams (not candied) will do, though I always start with fresh ones.  The recipe calls for 3 cups of mashed sweet potatoes which is about 1¾ pounds.  Considering skin waste and water loss during cooking, you will want to start with about 2 pounds of fresh sweet potatoes or yams.  If you have a little more than 3 cups, just throw it all in—a little extra won’t affect it.

Baked Sweet Potatoes or Yams

Pierce each potato or yam with fork multiple times; place on foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400° for 45-60 minutes or until soft.  Let cool until able to handle; peel off skin.  Place flesh in large bowl; mash with potato masher.  Can be frozen.

Doris’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes

3 c. mashed sweet potatoes

1 c. sugar

2 eggs, beaten

½ c. evaporated milk

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

Topping

1 c. brown sugar

½ c. flour

¼ c. butter

1 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 400°.  In large bowl, combine all sweet potato ingredients; stir until well-combined.  Spread into 9”x13” pan; set aside.

In medium bowl, combine brown sugar and flour for topping.  Cut in butter until crumbly; stir in nuts.

Spoon topping over sweet potatoes.  Bake 30-40 minutes, until top is golden brown.

It really does look a lot better than this.  The sun had gone
down and I was shooting under my awesome
fluorescent lights.