Thanksgiving

I can hardly believe that we are rolling around to the holiday season again. I thoroughly embrace the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. You see for me.....my biggest cooking day of the year is Thanksgiving Day. My mother freely surrendered this day to me about 6 years ago. I didn't think it would happen quite honestly because my mother likes to cook and the holidays are her big days too. As maddening as that day will be (I always forget about the madness until the very day) I love the prep work....the selection of recipes, the grocery shopping and all of the chopping, mincing, peeling, grating and basting.

I have learned what works and what doesn't work. (The Cranberry Sauce with five-spice seasoning last year was not a hit.) I have learned to pull in some cherished family recipes with some new exciting side dishes. I have learned that if you want turkey sandwiches the next day....you must get a bigger bird! Which....I do every year since my first go around at this! Probably the most important thing I have learned though is that when Mom says she wants to come early to help........have a project in mind for her to keep her busy and out of the way! Also, a nice big glass of wine before she arrives also tends to keep frustrations down to a minimum.

I am now going to do something on this blog that I have never done since I started blogging.........I am going to share a recipe. Not just any recipe mind you.....this is my family recipe for Sweet Potato (Yams) Casserole - passed down from my great aunt Ady. This is a family favorite and I have always received rave reviews from those folks that have tasted it or tried it at home.

Rita's Sweet Potato Casserole

3 or 4 Sweet Potatoes or Yams
Cinnamon
Dark Brown Sugar
1 Granny Smith Apple (or any good tart apple)
1 stick of butter
Mini marshmallows or pecans (optional)

Peel sweet potatoes and boil the sweet potatoes until fork tender. You don't want them to be mushy. This isn't a mashed potato recipe. Set aside to cool slightly.
Slice the Granny Smith Apple in thin slices - crescent moon type of slices.
Slice the sweet potatoes about 1/3 of an inch thick slices and begin layering the slices in a casserole dish. After you have one layer of potatoes, add one layer of apples followed by a small handful of brown sugar and sprinkles of cinnamon. At the top of this layer, add two or three slices of butter. REPEAT the layers until you fill the dish. (I would suggest that you go every other layer with apples because they can add water to the recipe as they cook)

Once you have filled your casserole with the last bit of butter at the top - bake in a 350 degree uncovered for approximately 40 minutes.

*If you prefer, you can top the recipe off with mini marshmellows.
*I have also added chopped pecans to this recipe from time to time as well.

TA TA!!