The 25th anniversary edition of Spoonbread and Strawberry Wine is out. This book, by Norma Jean and Carole Darden is what started my interest in collecting old family recipes, etc. It chronicles the Darden family roots from slavery with lots of old photos and great recipes from both the north and the south.
The sisters opened restaurants in Harlem and near Columbia University which I would like to try sometime – see Spoonbread Inc.
It was hard to choose among the recipes for sweet potatoes and I will need to revisit Sweet Potato Bread and Sweet Potato Biscuits. But this looked good:
Sweet Potato Spoon Custard
1 cup mashed, cooked sweet potatoes
2 small bananas, mashed
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, beaten
3 tablespoons seedless raisins
Preheat oven to 300 degress. Combine mashed sweet potatoes and bananas. Add milk and blend. Pour into a well-greased 1-quart casserole. Bake for 45 minutes, until custard is firm and golden brown. Wonderful served with lamb or pork. (6 to 8 servings).