Yamsmash Pie For Thanksgiving

Yamsmash Pie — A Thanksgiving Day Treat
4 Large Yams
1 ½ tbsp butter or margarine
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
2 beaten eggs
½ cup 1% milk
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1 jigger of bourbon
Directions:
1. Poke holes in the yams with an awl or ice pick (sorry I’m old enough to have one), before placing them in a 400o oven for one hour. (Usually while roasting the turkey.)
2. When they are oozing with a dark syrup appearance and visibly shrinking and easily penetrated — they are ready for the next step.
3. Peel the skin off and place in a large bowl or the bottom pot of your double boiler, adding butter/margarine — and mash.
4. Add sugar, salt cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and bourbon while mashing.
5. In a separate bowl, beat eggs while adding milk — add milk mixture to beaten yams and beat to a thick consistency.
6. Pour into two 8" glass pie dishes. We use a store-bought graham pie crust.
7. Place into a 400o (hot oven), and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted 1" from the side of the filling comes out clean.
8. Cool, and top with fat–free, cool whip.
What a treat! They say that Thanksgiving Dinners cost so much these days, well, the turkey cost 29 cents/lb. and the yams were 39cents a pound. If you want, you can make whipped cream from skim milk and ice cubes and cut down on the calories.
We deboned the entire turkey and threw all the fat, bones and gristle into a big pot with some onions, 8 peppercorns, 6 whole cloves and let it simmer while we watched the football games on TV. By placing the turkey in a roasting pan, we cut down the time in the oven to 1 ½ hours for a 13 lb. turkey. That night we strained all the broth into a large pan and placed it into the refrigerator for the next day. If it turns into a gel—you did a great job. The leftover turkey was used for sandwiches with gravy made from the giblets and pan drippings. The remaining turkey was diced and added to the broth along with chopped carrots, celery, onions, garlic, fresh broccoli, peas and oregano, salt and pepper. I had a large potato left over so I peeled it, diced it and placed it in the pot. Add green beans or any other vegetable you have left over for a delicious, nutritious, and hearty soup on this cold and wintry Thanksgiving Day.
We made the stuffing on the stove top with a little Italian sausage, walnuts, raisins, diced apples, celery, red onions, carrots and cinnamon. The YAMSMASH PIE was a hit with Julie’s 91 year-old mother. Tasted just like pumpkin pie– only better.
Julie’s English mother was thrilled and enjoyed a "Splendid Sufficiency." The fireplace reminded her of her youth in London, England. She delighted in singing and was especially sharp witted and funny. ‘Twas a blessing and we were all so pleased that "mum" could enjoy another Thanksgiving with us.
Thanks to the beautiful ramp built by Vince Beiter, Chuck Hannigan and Marty Ciccatello, Julie could wheel her mother safely to the car and take her back to her nursing home.
The fire died out, but the memories were so delightful and lasting, as we turned out the lights and praised God for another blessed-Thanksgiving Day.