UPTOWNflavor

As we move into the holiday season I am already thinking about the mouth-watering recipes that my mom would whip up to feed friends, family, and anyone else who needed a hot meal and good company. There was always turkey, candied yams, collard greens, corn bread, and sweet potato pie as the main staples.

I come from a family with deep southern roots. My mom was born in Louisiana and my dad in Texas. On top of that, my mother was one hell of a cook.  I can’t remember a single Thanksgiving where we didn’t have a full spread no matter how hard times were. My mom was the person who could make a dollar out of 15 cents, and she was generous to a fault; That 15 cents might have been shared with someone else rubbing two nickels together.

Two recipes that come to mind when I think of Thanksgiving side dishes are Sweet Potato Pone and Sweet Corn Muffins.

Most people have never heard of Sweet Potato Pone. There is a claim that sweet potato pone originated as a 19th Century street food in New Orleans also called pain patate (potato bread), so perhaps “pone” is derived from the french word for bread, pain.

Usually my mother made pone with the left over mixture from her sweet potato pies. Sometimes we would have both candied yams and Sweet Potato Pone as side dishes, but some people like to serve pone as a dessert.

I also thought I would share a recipe for a healthier Sweet Corn Bread as a substitute for the boxed variety that contains lard, hydrogenated lard, or partially hydrogenated lard. The substitute for the animal fats that we will be making the recipes with is I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter! It has 70% less saturated fat and 30% fewer calories than butter. Most importantly, it has no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Since we have several more weeks of the holiday season left, we need to pace ourselves to prevent the dreaded “holiday creep.” I also went with the muffin variety as I find they tend to be moister than cornbread cooked in a pan. Bon Appetit!

Ruthie’s Reduced-fat Sweet Potato Pone

• 2-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup melted I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter!
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup light molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves (or use all spice)
• 1 teaspoon grated orange or lemon zest (do not include the white pith, which is bitter)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place unpeeled  sweet potatoes in a large dutch oven and cover with water.  Bring water to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat. Simmer the potatoes until they are tender throughout and the skin is easy to peel off with a fork. Drain water and let the potatoes cool. Peel and mash the potatoes, then stir in the melted I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter!

In a bowl, beat the eggs, add sugar and beat thoroughly. Add milk, vanilla, molasses, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and orange or lemon zest. Beat until well blended. Stir into mashed sweet potatoes, then mix well.

Place the mixture into a buttered 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes; uncover, then bake for and additional 10 minutes. Allow the pone to cool completely before serving.

YIELD: 6-8 servings.

Sweet Corn Muffins*

Makes 12 muffins

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of plain corn meal
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 cup or 1 stick of I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter melted
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of sweetener (maple syrup, agave, sugar)
• 2 tablespoons of honey

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter until well blended.

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, syrup, and honey. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just combined (the batter will be lumpy).  Spoon evenly into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake 20-22 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen the muffins with the tip of a knife and remove. Serve warm or cool completely on a wire rack.

Note: These muffins freeze very well. Label and use within 2 months for best quality.

Thank you to Good to Know & Unilever Spreads for being a sponsor. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own. #good2knowspreads and #spon

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received *Farm Fresh Southern Cooking free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers program.