SATURDAY'S SPOONFUL - a small dose of sugar, spice + everything nice

inspired by the recent pottery barn catalog that arrived in my mailbox, i've begun to get into the spirit of autumn.

yep, i baked a sweet potato pie.

bringing my southern sensibilities to my west coast kitchen, this bright orange pie tugged at my tar heel heart.

gobbled up fast, my "secret" recipe is from food network star and marin resident curtis aikens, a georgian himself:

ingredients

~ 1 9-inch unbaked fluted pie shell

~ 2 medium sweet potatoes, diced

~ 1 stick unsalted butter

~ 1 cup sugar

~ 2 large eggs, beaten

~ 1/4 cup buttermilk

~ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions

preheat oven to 325 degrees. place potatoes in cold water, bring to boil and cook until tender tender, 15-20 minutes. drain, and mash the potatoes while hot with the butter and sugar. let this mixture cool slightly and stir in the beaten eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. bake 45 minutes to one hour, or until set.

my time-saving tip

using a rice cooker, steam a batch of sweet potatoes in advance and store in the freezer. makes last minute pie baking a snap! (also great to have to make other veggie/fruit purees, particularly for baby/kiddie foods).

my spooky serving idea

prop a scary black widow toy spider atop the pie for a fun topper!

get your halloween pie supplies now + bake somethin' southern in your oven. it is mighty good, y'all.

note it:

"swamp music" by lynyrd skynyrd

(photo credits: panel+tabletop/potterybarn.com; pie/lissa lowe; spider/bigzoo.com)