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Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping

Justin and Diane Fourton of Pecan Lodge say this favorite family recipe can double as dessert.

Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge says Thanksgiving is an all-day affair that he and his wife, Diane, host for family as well as friends who can't make it home for the holiday.

"It's an open house; people come throughout the day and eat and watch the [Dallas Cowboys] game," he says. Fourton smokes a ham and a turkey, and the couple also prepares "a regular turkey," roasted in the oven. "It's a potluck -- we do all the meats and the core sides, and people bring salads, desserts and other sides."

The four core sides that the Fourtons make include a Sweet Potato Casserole. The couple first developed the recipe as a Thanksgiving dish for Pecan Lodge at the original Dallas Farmer's Market location. Rich and sweet, with a pecan streusel topping, it's now a Fourton family holiday staple. The side could do double duty as dessert.

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"Diane's cousin brings yeast rolls that she makes using their grandma's recipe," Fourton says, noting that she brings enough for Part 2 of the Thanksgiving feast.

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"For the second round -- usually around 6 o'clock -- with the extra rolls, everyone makes their own slider. It turns into a competition of who can get the craziest stuff on their slider, using up all the leftovers. It always ends up tasting different than having a traditional plate of food."

Diane Fourton and Justin Fourton, the co-owners of the Pecan Lodge restaurant in Deep Ellum,...
Diane Fourton and Justin Fourton, the co-owners of the Pecan Lodge restaurant in Deep Ellum, have cooked the same sweet potato casserole for their Thanksgiving Day dinner for nearly six years. (Andy Jacobsohn / Staff Photographer)
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SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE WITH PECAN STREUSEL TOPPING

Ingredients:

5 pounds sweet potatoes, roasted until soft (instructions follow; or substitute two 40-ounce cans sweet potatoes, drained)

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4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Grated zest from half an orange

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cup flour

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3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

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1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F. Butter the inside of a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Scrape flesh from sweet potato into a mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a food processor (work in batches if using a processor). Mash or puree until smooth. Add eggs and combine thoroughly.

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Add granulated sugar, cream, allspice and orange zest and mix thoroughly into mashed sweet potatoes. Transfer sweet potato mixture to prepared pan.

To make the pecan streusel topping: In the bowl of a food processor, place butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, pecans and vanilla and pulse until mixture is crumbly and looks like small pebbles.

Sprinkle sweet potatoes evenly with streusel topping -- it should completely cover sweet potatoes. Bake for 45 minutes.

Makes 15 servings.

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To roast sweet potatoes: Heat oven to 450 F. Place whole sweet potatoes on the oven rack and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until tender.

SOURCE: Adapted from Justin and Diane Fourton, Pecan Lodge

PER SERVING: Calories 525, Fat 24 g (11 g sat), Cholesterol 92 mg, Sodium 271 mg, Fiber 6 g, Carbohydrates 73 g, Protein 7 g