yams

Friday Food Favorites

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The foods of my life.
(c)2024

From the top, clockwise: Peanut butter and banana on toast, egg bagel with cream cheese and lox, sweet potato, grilled cheese, Berry French toast bake with strawberry syrup.

We all have foods that we go back to throughout our lives, a lot of them from our childhood. All of the above are in some way, shape or form from my childhood and teen years. My favorite thing as a child, home sick from school, was a soft, buttery sweet potato. I can recall sitting in the darkness of my mother’s bedroom, basking in the soft glow of the television eating this ever so slowly.

Recently, I have become obsessed with peanut butter and bananas. I’ve even slathered on the peanut butter and put a whole banana in the center of the bread and eaten it like a hot dog. A great snack!

Bagels with lox really needs no explanation; nor does grilled cheese. I enjoyed this on a few of my meat-free Fridays during Lent.

This French toast bake is from Cracker Barrel and has a custardy, cheesecake filling on top with whipped cream. Decdadent and delicious. This was a special treat. I am a French toast purist, dipped in egg, griddled, butter, and maple syrup.

In anticipation of Passover, my mouth is already watering when I think about the Matzo-brei that I will make, eat, and share with you here in a few weeks.

What are your own food favorites?

November – Gratitude – Recipe

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The original of this recipe was as a pie, directly from a colleague who was born and raised in New Orleans. Sweet Potato Pie is a traditional Southern dessert, very similar to pumpkin pie, although I think a little bit sweeter. I was on a trip to Virginia a couple of years ago, and was ecstatic to find a sweet potato pie in the local McDonald’s alongside their apple pies. It was amazing! Even years later, I miss it in my northeast home.

My mother could not grasp the idea that this pie was dessert or that it is typically eaten chilled. For her, it was a side dish and that’s what it became in our house for Thanksgiving.

Over the years I’ve changed it, and sometimes when I can’t find the extra large Keebler graham cracker crust I will make it as a casserole. That is the recipe that I’m going to share with you this November.

I know that this is a fall type food, but I will eat this all year round.

​Sweet Potato Casserole

This started out as a pie, but then I got a little lazy, and it became a casserole. It is still pretty awesome!

Ingredients:

1 lg can of yams or sweet potatoes

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 bag of mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Cook the yams on the stovetop. When hot, drain and return the yams to the saucepan and mash.

2. Add the stick of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mix thoroughly either by hand or with a mixer.

3. Transfer the smooth yams to a casserole dish. Cover with the marshmallows.

4. Bake in an oven at 350° for thirty-five minutes or until marshmallows are golden brown.

5. Serve as a side dish. Yummy.