Barack Obama first announced his love for sweet potato pie on the campaign trail, and this Thanksgiving we're guessing a slice or two might find its way to his plate. In October of last year, the then-candidate gave a speech in Philadelphia in which he uttered the word "pie" 15 times (13 sweet potato, one coconut cream, one lemon meringue).
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TheRoot.com then set in hot pursuit of a pastry purveyor in D.C. who would be able to meet the President's sky-high pie expectations. Enter Henry's Soul Cafe, a Washington mainstay that sells 50,000 sweet potato pies, 20% of that during Thanksgiving week alone. The staff fills orders from across the country and even ships as far as China and Australia. As Henrietta Smith remarks, "No one asks for a slice, they want the whole thing."
So, no word yet on where Obama will be getting his sweet potato pies from this year, but Henry's sounds impossible to resist. However, if he (or you!) is in the mood to whip one up, here's a Thanksgiving recipe from commenter KathyTS:
Ingredients:
1 pound sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
Directions:
Boil sweet potato whole in skin until soft when poked with fork (40 to 50 minutes for 1 large sweet potato or 20-25 minutes for group of smaller ones). Run cold water over cooked potatoes, remove skin, and place in large mixer bowl.
Preheat oven to 350.
Mash cooked potato and beat with softened butter until combined. Add sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Pie will puff up like a soufflé, and then sink down as it cools.
Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Whoa! How many times did we just type the word "pie?"