Sweet Potato & Pecan Casserole

This was another favorite dish at my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year.  If your idea of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving is deathly sweet marshmallow-covered sweet potato mush, maybe this one isn't your thing.  But since my cousins were literally fighting over the leftovers, I think they would agree that this is the way to make sweet potatoes.  I'm sorry to say that I didn't get a picture, but just imagine some creamy orange-gold potatoes baked with a crunchy, caramelized pecan topping :-)


Ingredients:

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• The topping:
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• pinch of salt

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.  Next, prick each sweet potato with a fork 4 - 5 times and microwave them on high for 3 to 4 minutes.  Don't cook all of them at once in the microwave, just two to three at a time.  This is just to speed up the cooking process.  Then, wrap each in foil, and stick directly onto the oven rack.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cook time.  They should feel soft when you give them a squeeze; if the potatoes feel stiff, they need more cooking time.  

Let the potatoes cool for several minutes before handling.  Open each foil pouch and cut a slit into the skin.  Using a fork, peel back the skin, remove the potato and put them into a large mixing bowl.  Add the butter and stir the potatoes with a whisk to incorporate and melt the butter.  Then whisk in the milk, vanilla extract, salt and 1 tbsp of sugar.  Next whisk in the egg.  Spread the potato mixture into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.  

For the topping, mix all ingredients except the butter in a bowl; then stir in the melted butter until all ingredients are slightly moistened.  Sprinkle the topping over the potatoes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes.  If the topping is not golden and bubbly enough, move the pan to the highest rack under the heating element and bake for a few more minutes.  Enjoy!

Italian Baked Mostaccioli

Believe it or not, this dish is a holiday staple in my family (tradition brought over from the old country, I’m sure).  I didn’t exactly have a recipe for it, but it’s a pretty simple dish so I just put in the ingredients I remembered.  It got some rave reviews at Thanksgiving, so I guess it’s a keeper!

Ingredients

• 1 lb box of mostaccioli, rigatoni or other tube-shaped pasta
• ½ lb ground beef
• ½ lb Italian sausage, casings removed
•  ½ cup ricotta cheese
•  6 cups of your favorite pasta sauce (my recipe follows)
•   ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
•   2 cups Italian cheese blend (or just mozzarella will be fine)
• Cooking spray
• Salt and pepper

Pasta sauce ingredients:

• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup finely chopped red onion (about half of a medium onion)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Occasionally stir for 8 – 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and starting to caramelize.  Then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and herbs for about 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes and water.  Add the teaspoon of sugar, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.  When the sauce is simmering, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary.  If it is too thin, leave the sauce uncovered and simmer for another 5 minutes. 

Boil a large pot of water for the pasta.  When it boils, season the water with salt (a few teaspoons) before adding the pasta.  Cook the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes LESS than the box says.  Since the pasta will also cook in the oven, you want to prevent it from being mushy when the dish is fully baked.  Meanwhile, brown the meat in a large skillet and lightly season with salt and pepper.  When the meat is cooked, drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  To prepare the dish:  spray a large 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.  Spoon enough of the pasta sauce to cover the bottom of the pan .  Add the cooked pasta, and immediately sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese.  Add the meat in a layer over the pasta, and then dot the pasta and meat with pinches of ricotta cheese.  Cover with the remaining sauce and then cover with the Italian cheese blend.  Bake at 375 degrees, covered with foil, for 35 minutes.  Then, remove the foil to let the cheese brown for another 5 minutes.  Let sit a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!!