There is a famous steak house restaurant that we could not ever afford to go to that makes a sweet potato side dish that keeps Joseph awake at night. I have tried making it a few times and it isn't hard, the ingredients are very simple and there aren't any difficult techniques. So when I made a whole bunch of butternut squash the other day, and I was deciding what to do with it, I decided to make this recipe.
I am so pleased with how it turned out. Two of my kids ate it (nervous about squash and not sure if they even like sweet potatoes) and they both loved it.
If you are looking for a different Thanksgiving side dish - or you want to have that sweet potato feel, but don't have any on hand. This recipe needs to be one that you are making.
Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans preferred)
1/3 stick butter, melted
Combine brown sugar, flour, nuts and butter in mixing bowl. Set aside.
Butternut Squash Mixture:
4 cups butternut squash, cooked and scooped out
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a medium-size casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Combine sweet potatoes, sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs and butter in a large mixing bowl in the order listed. Beat thoroughly with a hand mixer to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture.
Pour mixture into buttered baking dish.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated.)
Allow to set at least 30 minutes before serving.
The brown sugar and pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy.
