Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet potatoes and yams. Don't you always wonder about them? Well, I used to. That is, until I finally looked it up on Wikipedia. So, what's the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, you ask? Nothing. The cans labeled as yams in the grocery store are actually just sweet potatoes. Look for the fine print. It should say sweet potatoes on there somewhere. Yams are actually a plant from Africa which look similar to sweet potatoes. When African slaves cultivated sweet potatoes in America, they just called them yams because of the resemblance. So, unless you've been shopping in the international section, you've probably never really had yams at all.

Sweet Potato Pie

16 oz. can of sweet potatoes
1/2 Cup evaporated milk
1/2 C pineapple juice (or more evaporated milk)
1/2 t nutmeg
1/2 t cinnamon 
1/2 t salt
1 t maple extract
1 t vanilla
3/4 C dark brown sugar
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
1 unbaked pie crust
3/4 C pecans
2 1/2 C mini marshmallows

1. Puree the sweet potatoes (you'll need about 2 cups of puree) and add the milk and juice. Wisk in the nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, maple, and vanilla.
2. Wisk together the sugar and eggs and then add to the sweet potato mixture and mix well. 
3. Put your unbaked pie crust in a pie tin (I used a homemade pastry crust, but I think a gingersnap crumb crust would be even better).
4. Lightly press the pecans into the crust and pour the pie filling on top. Don't fill it too full. If you have too much filling, just through it in a mini tart pan or some other small pan for tasting right out of the oven.
5. Bake at 350º for about 45-55 minutes or until the edges are set and the center is only slightly jiggly.
6. Refrigerate until time to serve.
7. When you're ready to serve the pie, top it with the mini marshmallows and then bake at 350º for about ten minutes or until the marshmallows are golden brown (I was being impatient and just broiled them, but then they got brown before they got gooey, so I guess that wasn't such a good idea).