So after a somewhat crappy series of days last week, I got to end the week with something awesome: meeting up with Kylie from Imma Eat That!! It was pretty much on par with meeting Izy or Michelle–Kylie’s like my healthy-eating blog celebrity idol and she also lives in Houston! We met for tacos and she was so bubbly and funny and helpful and it was just a great lunch. Except for the part where I accidentally ordered a breakfast taco that had BACON alll up in it, but even when I sat there picking it out, she pretended she didn’t mind.
Today, the day before Thanksgiving, seems like a good time to start talking about thankfulness. I hope it goes without saying that I am so thankful for this blog, and so thankful for you, my readers!
But also: new friends like Kylie, and one of my best real-life friends, Annie. Annie is one of those fearless people who constantly seek out totally non-traditional, totally awesome life adventures–her latest adventure brings her to TANZANIA in just a few short weeks through an organization called Mama Hope. Through Mama Hope, Annie will help build a boarding house in Mlali, Tanzania, where her team will implement sustainable gardens to enhance the nutrition and learning environment of the children. YAY! You can watch a video of the adorable children she will be helping here.
Annie is running a campaign to help implement these gardens, build a community center and more during her trip. I hope, if you have the ability this holiday season, that you’ll join me in donating to this worthy cause! Everything helps!
You can check out her campaign here: stayclassy.org/annemarieqea
Onto pie! Long ago, I had my first (and favorite ever) slice of sweet potato pie at Delancey, an amazing restaurant in San Francisco that helps people who are trying to rebuild their lives (read more about it here). While I’m sure the flavor was great, what I remember most was the size of the immense orange wedge. All pie. As a side dish (not even dessert)!!
I finally got around to trying it and man, is this a giant of a recipe. It’s not vegan or particularly healthy, but it is exactly what I’ve been craving all these years: towering height and an ultra-smooth, lightly spiced filling. (Note: I tried Ashlae’s vegan pie crust, but it came out a rather one-dimensional instead of flaky. I blame only myself for using half whole-wheat flour and my poor kneading skills. If you trust your pie crust-ing skills, I’d definitely give her recipe a try; otherwise, just use your favorite pie crust.)
I made both this pie and a sweet potato casserole this past weekend and used a similar process of boiling and blending the sweet potatoes before mixing in the spices. This resulted in a really dense sweet potato casserole, but a perfectly silky and not-too-dense pie, thanks to the leavening of the eggs. Conclusion: if you like fluffy sweet potatoes, hand-mash them for casseroles. However, blending is key to a super-silky, non-stringy pie filling!
Happy Thanksgiving!
This pie was also made with the help of the amazing J.Q. Dickinson salt.
A simple, ultra-smooth, deep-dish sweet potato pie. Classic and delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe your favorite 8-9" inch pie crust
- 2 large sweet potatoes (2 cups cooked)
- 1 scant cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- whipped cream, salted caramel, and/or more sea salt, for serving
Instructions
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into chunks. Boil until tender. Drain and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Add cooked sweet potatoes to a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. Add sugar and blend again until smooth. Add butter and blend until incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into an unbaked pie crust. I used a 7.75" round baking pan for an extra-deep dish pie, but you can also use a standard deep dish pie tin.
Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350° and continue baking until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 more minutes (baking time will depend on the size of your pie tin).
Let cool completely before serving. I served slices with a dollop of whipped cream, a drizzle of salted caramel and some leftover oat crumbles I had from my casserole.
Notes
Boiling the sweet potatoes helps preserve the bright orange color, but you can also roast the potatoes until soft for a deeper, more caramelized sweetness.
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