Jeannie’s Sweet Potato Souffle

Jeannie’s Sweet Potato Souffle is lush and luxurious and the ultimate sweet potato souffle perfect for your holiday table!  It’s a little while yet to Thanksgiving, but I’ve got a special reason for bringing you a recipe for sweet potato souffle in October!

The inspiration behind this recipe:

The other day I began thinking about Thanksgiving because we’ll be getting a very special visitor.  My sister-in-law, who has endured some difficult times but has risen above them, will be spending it with us.  It looks like we’re going to have a houseful!

A full house on the actual Thanksgiving holiday is unusual for us.  Although my husband’s kids and grandkids live only about 30 minutes away, our Thanksgiving celebration with them was moved to the Sunday after Thanksgiving so they could spend the actual holiday with their mother.  No big deal for us; we feel we should be thankful and celebrate gratitude every day!

So that my husband and I weren’t just hanging out with each other on Thanksgiving (which is not a bad thing), our dear friends, Bill and Jo Baker would have us over.

That’s where I met Jeannie, Bill’s sister (and Jo’s sister-in-law) and experienced my first sweet potato casserole–Jeannie’s Sweet Potato Souffle to be exact.  I’m from the north so as with most Southern fare, I also had never had a sweet potato casserole before moving to Tennessee.  I’d only heard about them and thought adding sugar to sweet potatoes was culinary insanity.  After trying Jeannie’s sweet potato souffle, I was in love.

Jeannie….

… and Jeannie with brother (our friend), Bill.

Jeannie’s full name was Gwenda Jean Baker Carstens.  She loved to cook as much as me, Jean is my middle name, so we hit it off immediately.  She also loved to laugh and needless to say, we all had a delightful Thanksgiving together.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get to know Jeanne much more as she developed breast cancer and passed away in May of 2009.

This disease has affected the lives of too many women I know.  Thankfully, because of early detection, most are still here–healthy and happy.  So ladies, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and if you’re over 40 or due for a mammogram, please get it scheduled.  I did mine several months ago, and they’re not as painful as they used to be thanks to new technology.  So get ‘er done, okay?

I loved this souffle so much, Jo got the recipe from Jeannie for me.  After she passed away, I continued to make this casserole for our annual Thanksgiving get-together with the Bakers in her honor.

What is the difference between a casserole and a souffle?

You may be wondering what exactly is the difference between a sweet potato casserole and a sweet potato souffle?

Not much.

Casserole and souffle are used interchangeably.  Jeannie’s recipe calls for more eggs than a standard sweet potato casserole, and because the holidays will soon be upon us, let’s be fancy and go with souffle!

In all honesty, I gasped a little bit when I saw the combination of flavorings and extracts but after baking, they all sing together!  If you’re concerned, use 1 teaspoon vanilla and cut back on the almond and coconut extracts to 1/2 teaspoon each.  Be sure to use pure extracts as imitation flavorings are where you can really go wrong.

Her recipe calls for a cup of sugar, but you can easily cut that back to 3/4 cup.

Make this up to a day ahead.  Simply get it ready in the baking dish you plan to use, refrigerate, but don’t add the nut topping.  Add that right before baking.

Here’s to happy and HEALTHY holidays!

For more lovely recipes for your holiday table, try my:

• Sweet Potato Galette with Pecan Streusel Topping
• Roasted Beet Salad with Walnuts, Goat Cheese and Honey Balsamic Dressing
• Au Gratin Potatoes with Green Chiles
• Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Brie and Bacon
• Cauliflower White Bean Puree
• Curry Roasted Carrots with Honey Browned Butter
• Celery Root Puree

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