Sweet potatoes are always on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner in our home, but truth be told, my recipe has never won any awards.  This year, I was inspired by Trisha Yearwood's recipe for Sweet Potato Souffle.  
We watched her make this on her show on the Food Network, Trisha's Southern Kitchen.

This dish, out of all of the Thanksgiving menu, got rave reviews.  Seriously.  It tastes like a dessert - very yummy and sweet, but different from the sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top from my youth.

If sweet potatoes are on your menu for Christmas dinner, give this recipe a try.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients

Souffle:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), at room temperature, plus more to grease pan
• 5 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• Pinch of salt

Topping:

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), softened

Directions

For the souffle: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 1/2-quart baking dish with butter.

Poke the sweet potatoes with a fork and bake on a foil-covered baking sheet until they are soft, 1 hour. When cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes, place the flesh in a large mixing bowl and mash until very smooth. Add the eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, milk and salt. Combine well with an electric mixer or hand mixer. Turn the mixture into the baking dish.

For the topping: In a medium bowl, stir together the pecans, brown sugar, flour and butter until thoroughly combined. Spoon the mixture over the sweet potatoes, making an even layer. Bake the casserole until slightly browned, 40 minutes. Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes before serving.