MY ANNUAL BAKING MOMENT

Hello again, Blogging Pals! I do hope you are preparing for the Feast of the Bird! My preparations are simple: Wear pants with an elastic waistband.

Alright. Those of you who know me well are fully aware that cooking is NOT my forte'. In fact, the spousal-unit probably cooks more than I do (when you live in the South, you grill all year round!)... and generally better than I do. There are, however, a few dishes I have been making for a number of years and one or two that have actually become somewhat traditional. This is one of those traditions... Sweet Potato Pies at Thanksgiving.

It all begins innocently enough. I wake up... it's drizzling outside... perfect day to bake, right? Sure! Let's just wash up those pie plates that have not seen daylight since November of last year. That was a good start! Let's see. What do we do next? Oh yes! Boil the sweet potatoes (keeping the recipe VERY close at all times!).

While those 'taters boil, let's start pulling out the rest of the ingredients. Here are a few of the "Paula Deen-style" items that comprise the pie-making! (We won't discuss the sugar levels of this little dish!)Okay. While the 'taters boil, we can get those homemade crusts made. Plenty of time. Let's get started on those.

This is the part where I hark back to my Project Manager days! One of the PM classes I attended had an exercise wherein the instructor kept getting in one's face and barking, "PERCENT COMPLETE?!?!?!?" One was supposed to make a snap determination on the progress of the "project" and bark back with the number. *chuckle* I really had fun watching some of my classmates throwing back large numbers... nearly 100%... when they had barely begun the exercise. With that in mind, I offer up the following:

33%!!!!!!!

67%!!!!!!!

100%!!!!!!! Ready to Receive!!!!!!!

I will spare all of you the painful details of the mashing of the Sweet Potatoes and all of the mixing and folding that is involved in making the filling. Likewise, I will not bore you with the combining of brown sugar, butter, chopped pecans, and flour that creates a heavenly topping. Instead, I will show you Pies #1 and #2 going into their "tanning salon."

Now... just in case you are thinking I am cheating and using some prepared filling or purchased pie crusts (a SIN!), I will show you the spousal-unit's contribution (and it was a MAJOR one!) to the pie-making marathon. I don't think I would have made it if I had to face washing all of the pots, pans, bowls, measuring devices... let's just say the dishes! Note that the drainboard holds only about half of the total!! (Thank you, honey!!!)

Finally, about eight hours later, all pies are baked, cooled, and ready to be parceled out. (You don't think I KEEP one of these around, do you? Remember the elastic pants we talked about earlier? I don't want to buy bigger ones next year!!!)
(The little casserole dish is for my friend, Debbie, who has to eat gluten-free.)

That's my story for today. I wish each and every one of you all of the turkey (or other item of your choice) and fixin's you can stand. I hope we all can remember to be thankful for our good fortune. And, I hope you don't expect to make it to my "parcel" list next year. I'm not making more pies!!

Until next time...