Gifting from the Garden: Sweet Potato Pie

I have both very northern (paternal) and very southern (maternal) roots. On the southern side of things, I'm a direct descendant of Stonewall Jackson. Like any good southerner, I like things in extremes, especially hot weather and rich food. Thinking along those lines, I'd like to discuss the sweet potato in this posting.

This past garden season, I planted Beauregard sweet potato vines, a southern favorite. This particular variety produces beautifully large, red-skinned tubers with deep orange inner flesh. Beauregard is crack resistant and if stored in a cool dry place, will keep extremely well. Sweet potato slips (plant/vine starts) are sold at any nursery or seed company and should be planted only after soil temperatures stay at 50 degrees over night. Sweet potatoes are very cranky about getting cold and will quickly wither. I like Beauregard because it seems to tolerate temperature flunctuations better. I plant my slips in a mounded hill of dirt. Once the slip begins to vine, it needs plenty of room to send out its runners. The runners root and sweet potatoes are produced along these rooted portions of the vine.

At Christmas, I particularly like to give gifts that directly reflect my love of gardening. My neighbors and I participate in an annual cookie exchange---breads, candies, and even scented candles are also acceptable and have been given. Last year, I gave away dried herbs, flower seeds, and homemade potpourri in gift baskets.

Since I had an abundance of sweet potatoes in the fall, I decided to make pies for our cookie exchange. So yesterday, I set up an assembly line and began churning out pie crusts and before long, I had seven sweet potato pies ready for the oven. They baked up just lovely. Here's my recipe if you'd be so inclined to make one:

Jenn's Southern Sweet Potato Pie

1 9" pie crust, either homemade or store bought

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

2 large eggs

1 lb Beauregard sweet potatoes, cooked and drained (or 1 can of 15 0z store bought sweet potatoes)

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

Place sweet potatoes in large mixing bowl and mash. Stir in sugars, salt, and spices and mix well. Add eggs and incorporate. Gradually stir in the entire contents of the evaporated milk. Pour sweet potato mixture into pie shell. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 45 minutes longer or until set. Let cool completely before serving.

If giving the pie as a gift, wrap beautifully: