Happy Thanksgiving

Along The Trails of Tennessee!

We have so much to be thankful for along the Trails of Tennessee! Tennessee is rich in an abundance of Fall harvest produce including the ubiquitous and versatile Tennessee Sweet Potato.  To celebrate the auspicious veggie, I prepared Tennessee Sweet Potato Pudding for our Thanksgiving dessert.

           In a popular 19th and 20th century seed catalog, the Tennessee Sweet Potato was praised as the best for pie, which was confirmed in the 1918 listing from The Great Northern Seed Company; "A magnificent pear-shaped variety of fine size, a little ribbed; color creamy white, sometimes striped with green. When cooked it has somewhat the appearance of sweet potatoes, but of more delicious taste; Flesh thick, creamy white, remarkably fine grained, dry and brittle, hardy and productive and keeps perfectly sound until late in the spring."

Enjoy my delicious adaptation of an old Tennessee treat!

Tennessee Sweet Potato Pudding

You'll need:

2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Dash of salt

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 Tablespoons sugar (or, *Stevia in the Raw)

2 eggs, separated

Vegetable cooking spray

3/4 *unsweetened orange juice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Directions:

Combine sweet potato, brown sugar, butter and eggs yolks in a large bowl; stir well. Gradually add orange juice, nutmeg and cloves; stir well. Set aside. Beat eggs whites (at room temp.) until foamy; add salt and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar, beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into sweet potato mixture. Pour mixture into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish coated with cooking spray; place in a large shallow pan. Add hot water to a larger pan to a depth of 1 inch. Place casserole dish into the larger hot water pan. Bake at 350 degress until the center is set and edges are browned. Remove dish from water; let cool 15 minutes or refrigerate before serving. Serve with whipped topping and nuts. Serves 6-8.

*Author's note: Stevia is an all-natural, zero calorie sweetener derived from the leafy green foliage of the Stevia plant, native to South America. It measures cup for cup the same as sugar and is a healthy substitute.