<< What soul food means to me

By Andrea Domanick, 16, Harvard-Westlake School
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Recently the teens of L.A. Youth had a Soul Food Day, where they cooked fried chicken, creamed chicken, cornflake chicken, salmon croquettes, green beans, spinach and potatoes, potato wedges and sweet potato pie, washed down with punch and iced tea. The clear favorite of the day was the sweet potato pie, but there weren’t a lot of leftovers.

Ingredients:

(2) 9″ or 10″ prepared deep-dish pie crusts, unbaked
3 eggs – slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2 3/4 cups well-mashed, cooked sweet potatoes or yams (usually, a 40 oz. can, drained and mashed, is just enough.)
2 1/4 cups evaporated milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter – melted
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly beat all ingredients together.

Pull out oven rack and place pie crusts on it; carefully pour in filling.

Protect edges of crust by wrapping a thin strip of tin foil over them or use disposable aluminum pie plate (see comments).

Slide the rack back in slowly.

Bake 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean – about 55 minutes longer.

Refrigerate until chilled.

Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Refrigerate any remaining pie immediately.

8 servings per pie.

Makes two pies.

Chef’s note: The disposable, aluminum pie plate from Keebler® —Graham Cracker “Ready Crust,” is perfect for protecting the edges of pie crusts from burning while baking. It even comes in two sizes. Simply flatten out the top edge, cut out the bottom at about half way down the side, and invert the remaining open circle over the pie crust.



The pie edges will be perfect—never burned!

Recipe from www.soulfoodcookbook.com




Comments:
“I had never tried sweet potato pie, I had only heard of it. After I read [the book] I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings I wanted to try it, and I hadn’t until today. It was delicious.”

—Guadalupe Martinez, 16, Marshall HS



“The pie was really good; it was sweet.”

—Jesus Martinez, 15, Marshall HS



“I loved the sweet potato pie. It’s not so vegetable-y like potato pies. I personally would like the recipe.”

—Karina Onofre, 15, Linden Center



“I don’t usually like pie, but this was amazing. It was sweet without being overpowering, and the silky smooth texture was a pleasure to be had.” —Seth Shamban, 17, North Hollywood HS



“I really enjoyed the sweet potato pie! The graham cracker crust was the bomb!”

—Ann Beisch, 17, Marymount HS



“I also liked the sweet potato pie. It had a perfect blend of ingredients, and would be great for Thanksgiving. The pie was really smooth and practically melted in my mouth.”

—Guianna Henriquez, 17, Marlborough School



“The sweet potato pie was sooo good! The taste was similar to pumpkin pie, but it had a distinct texture. I kept wanting more.”

—Monica Maeng, 17, Van Nuys HS



“I loved the sweet potato pie. It tasted just like pumpkin pie.”

—Richelle Legaspi, 17, Marshall HS