To Accompany Your Thanksgiving Feast

November means three things: Turkey, dressing/stuffing, and… sweet potato spoon bread.

Some claim the earliest Thanksgiving celebration took place in St. Augustine, Florida, while others point to Virginia. In the spirit of harmony during the Holiday Season, we won’t argue this, but we sure know it didn’t start in Cottage Grove. 

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread has become part of my holiday menu for more than 12 years. The beauty about the recipe that I’ll include is that it may be made ahead, freezes well—just bake off the last 45 minutes with the Tom Turk!

If you’re in need of a little oomph in your menu this year; this little recipe is bursting with pop and and an ever so slight Southern charm. Although after living in parts of the south, sometimes I wonder if all the charm is locked within its food. But, back to ‘us’ Yanks.

In fact, let’s plan this Thanksgiving Feast with enough food for Thursday through Sunday so you can obsess less about the menu and devote more time to what really matters. 

Simplicity equals success and many have done well by being not bothered with complexities… however, pour your heart lovingly into the meal, the table, folding the napkins, placement of guests, placement of chair, scrubbing the toilets, shoveling the driveway, clean the cat boxes, stock the booze cabinet.

But do NOT fish for compliments by exaggerating your failures at the dinner table with the old, “Oh, the turkey is too dry and I over-cooked the ham, et al.” People are just happy that you did the work as opposed to them and unless you are a complete hack—we’ll eat it!

“Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence," according to the witty Erma Bombeck.

Hey, a little respect for the cook ya’ll. Have those thousands of little lumps on your tongue savor the delights, show gratitude to the crew of the hard working hosts.

My daughter likes to point out that children have been shown to have more taste buds and that is why they are fussy. (We adults eat anything folks trowel out and the children are the true connoisseur/critics—and yet the research shows that their increased taste buds seem to be entirely devoted to their sensitivity/craving toward sweets more than anything.)

And whenever the conversation begins to diverge away from how lovely YOUR presentation and culinary skills are; I’ve always found that it helps to just kick your spouse under the table for good measure. It really helps and for no good reason other than to keep ol‘ hubby on his best manners. Or… after 5 years of the kick, mix it up and give him a caress under the table with your toe, just to keep ‘em guessing.

I don’t have answers to how NOT to invite the unwanted in-laws that have never used a knife in concert with their fork but instead substitute thumbs and fingers with grease and gravy driveling down their 4-day stubble.

Maybe roll the dice and put them at the children’s table because the kids are sure to get a laugh out of that and maybe the subtle gist may give you and Unka Joe some distance by next go ‘round. It is odd that some kin-folks that you have never EVER got along with just feel that around Thanksgiving and Christmas that suddenly, planets will align, the Mayan calendar will foretell new beginnings of goodwill; and chumery will flow like cool streams out of Itasca.

But, in this time of offering thanks, for me I certainly want to  make time for reflection and celebrate a wee bit and give thanks for all of our blessings throughout the year.

And as Minnesotans, feel grateful for our cold weather. It gives meaning and contrast in order to best wrap our heads around a concept of Thanksgiving. Down here in Puerto Rico, there is no changing of the colors, no gathering in of the harvest, chopping wood for the long winter… instead; just another hot day, more ocean waves and plenty of sun. I’m rather grateful for this too.

                Happy Thanksgiving Minnesota!

Serves 8 to 10

3 large sweet potatoes
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup light-brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup honey
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream

1.  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake sweet potatoes until soft when pierced with a knife. 40 to 45 mins.  Let cool.  Peel, & discard skins.

2.  Reduce heat to 350degrees.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk milk, butter, brown sugar, spices, salt and 1 cup water.  Cook, stirring until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.  Let cool.

3.  Butter a 2-quart baking dish.  Place cornmeal mixture, sweet potatoes, honey, eggs, and cream in a food processor.  Process until smooth; pour into baking disk.  Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.  Serve.

(Or make ahead, freeze and reheat at 350 until hot and bubbly).