And, finally, Part 3 of Dustin’s Birthday Extravaganza: Sweet Potato Casserole.

I first tried Sweet Potato Casserole when Dustin and I were newly dating and it was finally time to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Eek!

Dustin explained to me his mom made three things he loved, which included: (1) quesadillas (2) his great grandmother’s lasagna and (3) this sweet potato casserole. You can imagine my interest in tasting this favorite of Dustin’s…way back when in ’96 or ’97.

Needless to say, at first bite, I became an instant fan of Sweet Potato Casserole too. I mean, what’s not to love with tasty sweet potatoes, cinnamon and brown sugar baked with a crunchy sweet pecan topping?

Well, the years went on and, when Dustin and I moved in together during college, he asked his mother for the recipe so we could make his beloved casserole in our home. Our home. What an exciting time that was!

As often happens for me, when I finally saw the recipe, I thought about what I could do to improve it. I can never just let things be, can I?

The original recipe included using canned yams, rather than fresh sweet potatoes. Even though the final result was delicious, I was never quite a fan of using canned yams. So, I decided to replace them with fresh sweet potatoes….and I hoped it would still taste as wonderful.

And guess what? It worked! Dustin and I agreed: even better than the original. Sweet! (And…few!)

When I wanted to share this recipe on my blog, Dustin’s mom explained it actually wasn’t her recipe, but was Dustin’s Aunt Kathy’s recipe she had shared with her many years ago. Given this new information, I then contacted Kathy and asked if she would mind if I shared her recipe, with some modifications. I explained Dustin and I have been making this recipe for years and we think it’s wonderful. All true statements, but flattery nonetheless. Then, I waited for her response. Gulp.

Fortunately, Kathy was very excited I wanted to share the recipe and had no idea we even had it. All was right again in the world.

Translation: Lacey got her way.

So, please enjoy this recipe, courtesy of our lovely Aunt Kathy. It’s one of our family’s favorites. It’s sweet, dense and crunchy and makes a great addition to the holiday season.

Sweet Potato Casserole

For the casserole:

6 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, melted (plus extra to butter casserole dish)
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

For the topping:

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Butter a 13-inch by 9-inch casserole dish.

Boil or steam sweet potatoes until tender. Once tender, allow to cool and then remove and discard skin. Dice cooked sweet potatoes into 1 1/2-inch chunks.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the casserole, except for the topping ingredients. If they have not already done so from mixing, lightly mash about 2/3 of the sweet potatoes so that only about 1/3 of them are still in cubed form.

In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients for the topping. Mix well to incorporate all the flour into the mixture.

Spread the sweet potato mixture into the buttered casserole dish. Cover with the brown sugar and pecan topping. There should be enough topping to pretty much cover the entire casserole.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping begins to turn golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

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As always, I want to thank you for visiting. I welcome your comments, questions, recipe suggestions and food stories. Here’s to doing what you love!

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