Sweet Potato Pie Perfected (by Dolester Miles, one of my absolute favorite chefs)

This recipe was printed in Garden and Gun , October/November 2018.

INGREDIENTS

• FOR THE CRUST
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 tbsp. sugar
  • 1⁄2 tsp. coarse salt
  • 1⁄2 cup yellow cornmeal, medium grind
  • 1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp. ice water
• FOR THE FILLING
  • 3 medium sweet potatoes (scrubbed clean)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3⁄4 cup sugar
  • 1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3⁄4 cup half-and-half
  • 1 tsp. orange zest (I use lemon)
  • 1 stick butter, softened
• FOR THE BOURBON CHANTILLY CREAM
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 4 tsp. sugar
  • 1 1⁄2 tbsp. premium bourbon, such as Bulleit or Four Roses (I use Uncle Nearest)

PREPARATION

1. For the crust: Combine flour, sugar, salt, and cornmeal in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles large peas. Add egg yolk and water with food processor running, then pulse once or twice until the dough holds together. Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator and let soften for about 10 minutes. Dust with flour and roll into a 12-inch circle about to 1⁄4 inch thick, then press into a 9-inch pie pan, trimming excess and crimping edges. Cover with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 20 minutes with parchment paper, then remove parchment paper and pie weights and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before adding filling. (A store-bought crust will also work well if you don’t have time to make one yourself.)
4. For the filling:  Preheat oven to 375°F.
5. Bake sweet potatoes for 25 to 30 minutes or until fork tender. Allow to cool. Peel.
6. Place peeled sweet potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until potatoes are mashed and any strings have become wrapped around the paddle. Remove paddle attachment, wipe clean, and return to mixer. (You will need 2 cups of mashed sweet potatoes for the filling.)
7. Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
8. Add the remaining ingredients to the sweet potato mixture and mix until combined. The filling can be made as long as 2 days in advance if covered and refrigerated.
9. Pour filling into the pre-baked, cooled crust and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the filling is slightly puffed and set in the middle. Start checking the pie about 10 minutes before the time is up, because every oven is different. Cool completely on a rack.
10. Bourbon Chantilly Cream: In a chilled mixing bowl, whip cream until soft mounds form; gradually add sugar, whipping until soft peaks form. Gently fold in bourbon and chill until ready to serve.

Meet the Chef

Hometown: Bessemer, Alabama

Favorite piece of kitchen equipment: Her KitchenAid mixer. “That was a big investment and something I always wanted. I got a red one.”

Favorite way to relax: Curled up in bed watching TV— food and home improvement shows, Dirty Dancing, or “anything with Denzel.”

Favorite genre of music: R&B. “I like the old stuff.”