Sweet Potato Casserole

I make this as a side dish for holidays. To make it into more of a main course, I put all the ingredients inside crepes. This is a made up recipe from a relative, so I’m trying to estimate the ingredient amounts.

SWEET POTATO:
Bake 2 pounds of sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for at least an hour. I rinse sweet potatoes and stick all over with a fork. Then cover a pan with foil, then the potatoes. Make sure they are fully cooked – a knife goes easily through. When they cool slightly, remove skins and mash with:

1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Tablespoons heavy cream or half and half
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
¼ tsp allspice
1 tsp baking powder.

PEAR PUREE:
1 peeled and diced pear – ripe is good
1 Tablespoon OJ
Splash Peachtree schnapps (did not have so I used grand marnier)
Simmer until pears are super soft. Then puree in blender until smooth.
You could skip this step and just buy pureed pear (baby food), though it won’t taste quite as good!

CANDIED PECANS
Toast pecan halves in oven – make more than you will need because some break.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of waxed paper (I use a strainer to sift it on.)
Put pecans, brown sugar and a little Chambord in a skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. The sugar will melt and caramelize. When there isn’t much liquid left, place nuts on waxed paper to cool (in sugar). They need to be separated or they will stick together. It’s fine if they get coated in powdered sugar.

Also need crumbled gorgonzola cheese.

1 Butter a 9-10 inch Pyrex pie plate.
2. Layer half the sweet potato, the pear puree, sprinkle on some gorgonzola, then cover with the remaining sweet potato. Can make this ahead of time.
3. Before baking, I add the candied pecans, lined up across the top.
4. Bake for about half an hour at 350 degrees. Maybe need to bake a little longer if starting from refrigerator temperature.