Holiday dessert stirs up spirited stories
By Marcia Poole | Posted: Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Bourbon-Pecan Sweet Potato Pie blends dessert with a whole lot of food history.
Good Eats Dec. 3, 2008
Bourbon-Pecan Sweet Potato Pie takes a traditional holiday pie recipe and then adds whiskey and ginger for a spirited twist.
General Mills and the Pillsbury Kitchens developed the recipe for a memorable brunch menu. The pie calls for a short-cut, notably frozen crust. But there's no paring back on stories the dessert inspires -- stories of cultural depth and even taxpayer rebellion.
Let's start with bourbon. The hard stuff must meet federally mandated standards or else it isn't real bourbon. Among the rules: it must be produced from mash containing no less than 51 percent corn -- the grain of the New World. The rest is a mixture of malted barley, wheat and/or rye.
Bourbon must be aged in new-charred oak barrels for at least two years. The whiskey can be produced legally only in the United States where Kentucky is king of this native-born drink.
If you've ever wondered where the name comes from, head for Kentucky's Bourbon County. That's where barrels of whiskey reportedly were loaded on flatboats and sent to towns in the South, beginning in about the late 1700s. The spirits were called the whiskey from Bourbon.
In those early days Kentucky was attracting distillers from Pennsylvania where farmers were up in arms over a federal tax imposed on spirits in 1791. The uprising became known as the Whiskey Rebellion. In the end the government prevailed, but bourbon went on to other controversies.
During President Ulysses S. Grant's administration the 1875 "Whiskey Ring" scandal erupted. It involved accusations that government officials were pocketing some of the taxes paid by bourbon distillers.
Bourbon's past also is checkered with stories of profiteers who watered down the liquor. Deception helped fuel a legal definition of "bourbon" shaped by the Bottled-in-Bond Act, passed in 1897. The definition of true bourbon came with legislation in 1907 and 1909.
Some distillers were able to keep traditional bourbon flowing during Prohibition. They filled orders from pharmacists for "medicinal spirits" said to soothe jagged nerves and whet anemic appetites. But most went out of business during the dry days; bootleggers and blended whiskey smuggled in from Canada stepped in.
During this time, Americans grew accustomed to lighter drink produced up north, according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Some switched to gin or rum. Sales of the stiff drink born in Bourbon County, Ky., remained relatively low until the 1980s when more premium whiskeys were introduced, according to the Oxford historians.
Sweet potatoes, the main ingredient in our featured recipe, surely endured dry spells as explorers transported them from their original homes in South America, Central America and the Caribbean to Europe, Africa and then parts of North America.
Among their many uses, sweet potatoes were grown to provision slave ships bound for the New World. Sweet potato dishes, including sweet potato pie, have remained important dishes in traditional African-American cuisine.
"Sweet potatoes" are often used interchangeably with "yams." They're not the same thing. Yams, a rarity in these parts, may resemble dark-skinned sweet potatoes, but they’re usually not sweet. They tend to have a rough, scaly surface with dry, starchy flesh. They can grow seven feet or longer.
Sweet potatoes commonly show up at the store in dark-skinned or pale-skinned varieties. Dark skinned are sweeter, with moister flesh than the light-skinned version which yields a drier product like a potato.
At the supermarket choose sweet potatoes that are firm and free of decay. At home, store them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Don't refrigerate uncooked sweet potatoes; they'll begin to decay. For oven cooking: wash the sweet potato with cool water and clean with a vegetable brush, pierce the skin and bake at 400 degrees F. for 40 to 50 minutes or until done.
For microwaving, choose a sweet potato that's fairly uniform in size from the center to the ends. Wash it, pierce the skin, and cook on HIGH, turning halfway through the cooking time. One medium sweet potato takes three to four minutes; four medium sweet potatoes will be done in about eight to nine minutes.
For mashed sweet potatoes, place the washed, unpeeled root in boiling water and cook 35 to 45 minutes or until the vegetable gives easily when pierced with a fork. Drain, peel and mash with a potato masher or electric beater.
Bourbon-Pecan Sweet Potato Pie
Prep Time: 12 Hours
Start to Finish: 13 Hours 35 Minutes
1 cup pecans
One-half cup bourbon whiskey
1.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into half-inch thick pieces
One half cup water
2 eggs
Three-quarters cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
One-third teaspoon salt
One-third teaspoon ground cinnamon
One-eighth teaspoon ground ginger
One-third cup whipping cream
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 Pillsbury Pet-Ritz frozen deep dish pie crust (from 12-ounce package)
In small bowl, mix bourbon and pecans. Cover and refrigerate eight hours or overnight. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In 13-by-9-inch ungreased baking dish, place sweet potatoes and water; cover with aluminum foil. Bake about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain water; cool sweet potatoes 10 minutes.
Drain pecans, reserving bourbon. In large bowl, mash sweet potatoes; add eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, cinnamon, ginger and reserved bourbon. Mix well. Gradually stir in one-third cup whipping cream, scraping bowl after each addition. Mix one minute longer. (Sweet potatoes have a coarse texture, so there will be some small lumps.)
Pour filling into frozen pie crust; sprinkle with pecans. Bake about 45 minutes or until filling puffs and is lightly browned and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about two hours. Serve with whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie. Makes eight servings. Source: General Mills
Bourbon-Pecan Sweet Potato Pie takes a traditional holiday pie recipe and then adds whiskey and ginger for a spirited twist.
General Mills and the Pillsbury Kitchens developed the recipe for a memorable brunch menu. The pie calls for a short-cut, notably frozen crust. But there's no paring back on stories the dessert inspires -- stories of cultural depth and even taxpayer rebellion.
Let's start with bourbon. The hard stuff must meet federally mandated standards or else it isn't real bourbon. Among the rules: it must be produced from mash containing no less than 51 percent corn -- the grain of the New World. The rest is a mixture of malted barley, wheat and/or rye.
Bourbon must be aged in new-charred oak barrels for at least two years. The whiskey can be produced legally only in the United States where Kentucky is king of this native-born drink.
If you've ever wondered where the name comes from, head for Kentucky's Bourbon County. That's where barrels of whiskey reportedly were loaded on flatboats and sent to towns in the South, beginning in about the late 1700s. The spirits were called the whiskey from Bourbon.
In those early days Kentucky was attracting distillers from Pennsylvania where farmers were up in arms over a federal tax imposed on spirits in 1791. The uprising became known as the Whiskey Rebellion. In the end the government prevailed, but bourbon went on to other controversies.
During President Ulysses S. Grant's administration the 1875 "Whiskey Ring" scandal erupted. It involved accusations that government officials were pocketing some of the taxes paid by bourbon distillers.
Bourbon's past also is checkered with stories of profiteers who watered down the liquor. Deception helped fuel a legal definition of "bourbon" shaped by the Bottled-in-Bond Act, passed in 1897. The definition of true bourbon came with legislation in 1907 and 1909.
Some distillers were able to keep traditional bourbon flowing during Prohibition. They filled orders from pharmacists for "medicinal spirits" said to soothe jagged nerves and whet anemic appetites. But most went out of business during the dry days; bootleggers and blended whiskey smuggled in from Canada stepped in.
During this time, Americans grew accustomed to lighter drink produced up north, according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Some switched to gin or rum. Sales of the stiff drink born in Bourbon County, Ky., remained relatively low until the 1980s when more premium whiskeys were introduced, according to the Oxford historians.
Sweet potatoes, the main ingredient in our featured recipe, surely endured dry spells as explorers transported them from their original homes in South America, Central America and the Caribbean to Europe, Africa and then parts of North America.
Among their many uses, sweet potatoes were grown to provision slave ships bound for the New World. Sweet potato dishes, including sweet potato pie, have remained important dishes in traditional African-American cuisine.
"Sweet potatoes" are often used interchangeably with "yams." They're not the same thing. Yams, a rarity in these parts, may resemble dark-skinned sweet potatoes, but they’re usually not sweet. They tend to have a rough, scaly surface with dry, starchy flesh. They can grow seven feet or longer.
Sweet potatoes commonly show up at the store in dark-skinned or pale-skinned varieties. Dark skinned are sweeter, with moister flesh than the light-skinned version which yields a drier product like a potato.
At the supermarket choose sweet potatoes that are firm and free of decay. At home, store them in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. Don't refrigerate uncooked sweet potatoes; they'll begin to decay. For oven cooking: wash the sweet potato with cool water and clean with a vegetable brush, pierce the skin and bake at 400 degrees F. for 40 to 50 minutes or until done.
For microwaving, choose a sweet potato that's fairly uniform in size from the center to the ends. Wash it, pierce the skin, and cook on HIGH, turning halfway through the cooking time. One medium sweet potato takes three to four minutes; four medium sweet potatoes will be done in about eight to nine minutes.
For mashed sweet potatoes, place the washed, unpeeled root in boiling water and cook 35 to 45 minutes or until the vegetable gives easily when pierced with a fork. Drain, peel and mash with a potato masher or electric beater.
Bourbon-Pecan Sweet Potato Pie
Prep Time: 12 Hours
Start to Finish: 13 Hours 35 Minutes
1 cup pecans
One-half cup bourbon whiskey
1.5 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into half-inch thick pieces
One half cup water
2 eggs
Three-quarters cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
One-third teaspoon salt
One-third teaspoon ground cinnamon
One-eighth teaspoon ground ginger
One-third cup whipping cream
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 Pillsbury Pet-Ritz frozen deep dish pie crust (from 12-ounce package)
In small bowl, mix bourbon and pecans. Cover and refrigerate eight hours or overnight. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In 13-by-9-inch ungreased baking dish, place sweet potatoes and water; cover with aluminum foil. Bake about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain water; cool sweet potatoes 10 minutes.
Drain pecans, reserving bourbon. In large bowl, mash sweet potatoes; add eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, cinnamon, ginger and reserved bourbon. Mix well. Gradually stir in one-third cup whipping cream, scraping bowl after each addition. Mix one minute longer. (Sweet potatoes have a coarse texture, so there will be some small lumps.)
Pour filling into frozen pie crust; sprinkle with pecans. Bake about 45 minutes or until filling puffs and is lightly browned and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about two hours. Serve with whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie. Makes eight servings. Source: General Mills
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 1 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
Gert Stevens wrote on Dec 3, 2008 11:03 AM: