The Girl Who Played With Fire: Rosemary Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie

I have made several pumpkin pies from my pie recipe books, but had not tried any of the sweet potato pie recipes. My Grandma Dukes used to make the very best sweet potato pie, and I have never tasted one that I thought compared with hers. Unfortunately, I never asked her for her recipe. I finally decided to try one that sounded like a new take on the traditional sweet potato pie that was named "Rosemary Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie", by local pie author Ashley English. I had never seen the combination of these three ingredients, and was curious.

The crust of this pie was the usual  butter crust, which is chilled prior to filling. There were three other parts to this recipe. The filling consisted of pre-baked sweet potatoes, egg white and egg yolks, cream, butter, bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, freshly chopped rosemary, sea salt, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg! Yes, this is quite a list of ingredients, and took a little longer than usual to prepare. The topping is composed of pecans, butter, bourbon, and sea salt.

The topping is made prior to the filling. The butter is melted, and the other ingredients then added and boiled for 5 minutes. When this mixture is cooled, it is a nice candied topping. As stated earlier, the filling does take longer than the average to make. The cooled, cooked sweet potatoes are whisked with melted butter, cream, and egg yolks. The next step concerns boiling the bourbon over high heat for several minutes. In all honesty, I was not expecting the next event, which was the bourbon catching on fire in my sauce pan! After blankly staring at it for a minute, taking it off the stove, and then yelling that the pan was on fire, Rich came in and placed a lid over the pot, quickly putting it out. I realized that making pies can sometimes result in my temporary insanity when  things do not go as planned. I then proceeded to place the bourbon back on the stove, add the maple syrup and brown sugar, and boil again. (this time without incident).

The bourbon mixture is whisked into the sweet potato mixture, seasonings added, and finally the beaten egg whites are folded in. The filling is poured into the chilled crust. An egg wash of an egg yolk and water is brushed onto the rim. The candied pecan topping is placed carefully on top, and the pie is baked for one hour at 350 degrees.

After all of the hoopla over the fire and tedious pie assembly, I certainly had high hopes for this sweet potato pie. I eagerly cut myself a slice to test. (I was having a a guest over the next day, and needed to make sure it tasted okay!). I loved the texture of the pie - the egg whites make it very light. But I was somewhat disappointed that the pie was not as sweet as I had thought it would be. I think that it is more of a side dish for a main entree, somewhat like a sweet potato souffle at Thanksgiving. However, Rich and my guest really liked the subtle sweetness of the pie, with the hint of rosemary. I found that this pie seemed more like a dessert with an addition of whipped cream on the top.

To conclude, I would say that although this is a unique twist to sweet potato pie, it is not as good as my grandmother's pie. I may not find one as delicious as hers, but I will keep trying. In the meantime, I will probably make this pie again, but have two additions to the recipe: 1. Use a deep dish 9 inch pie pan (there was a lot more filling than goes in a regular 9 inch pan). and 2. Have a lid ready to put out the fire from the boiling bourbon!