Happy to Forn Friday, STalkers! 'Forn' is 'food' and 'p0rn' combined.

For quite a few of us, yesterday was Thanksgiving. Talk about one dish that stood out to you. Be descriptive. Make us drool! Oh, and share the recipe, if you like!

Small gathering of just my sister, DH, and me at her house. It was great! No crowding in the kitchen (and her kitchen is small). No having to scrunch together on the couch or sit on the floor. NO B!TCHING!!!

Sis made her very first turkey and oooooooooh, was that bird juicy! Best turkey I've had in years. DH is in hog heaven because he gets all of the dark meat. Aside from that fanbulous turkey, we tried to keep the number of food items down to (mostly) basics: cranberry sauce, squash stuffing casserole, sweet potato casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, and a nasty green bean casserole. Neither my sister nor I like that caca, but my DH luuuuuuuuuvs it. So while he was still sleeping, I made that glop. Hey, I love that man!

Anyhoo... the sweet potato casserole. DH had never had it before. He wanted marshmallows on top. Sorry, sweetie. That's a no-go! After he had my casserole, he grudgingly mumbled it was better than marshmallows... Bahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!

Creamy, fairly smooth, decadent, nicely spiced, with a gooey, carmelized pecan topping. Mmmmmmmm...... Yes, I'm willing to share the recipe. DH has already asked me to make it for Christmas!

GOURMET SWEET POTATO CLASSIC

Makes 8 (generous) servings.

The Base:
5 lbs. sweet potatoes (usually 5-6)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, cut up
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla exrract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp heavy cream

The Topping:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
    
2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated, or unti they begn to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash. 
   NOTE: See #6 for microwave option.
    
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup cut-up butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
    
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of coarse meal. Sprinkly over the sweet potato mixture.
    
5. Bake 30 minutes or until the topping is crisp and lightly browned.
    
6. MICROWAVE SWEET POTATOES. For best results, choose uniform size sweet potatoes. Before cooking, scrub skin and trim off any bruised or woody portions. Pierce each potato in several places with a fork. Place on a paper plate or double layer of paper towels in the microwave, 1 inch apart. Microwave on HIGH for 6-7 minutes. Turn over and microwave on high another 5-6 minutes. 
   COOKING TIMES WILL VARY depending on the size and number of sweet potatoes. A good indicator that they're done is to squeeze them (put on an oven mitt!). If they "give", they're done. If they're firm, cook longer.