Happy Thanksgiving!

What's nice about having Thanksgiving at a relative's home, is how much I can relax at home for this holiday and not worry about a kitchen full of dishes. I am however, bringing two dishes: Okinawan Sweet Potato Haupia Bars with a Macadamia Nut Shortbread Crust. The other is a traditional green bean casserole. The only one I feel is worthy of showcasing in the post is the Hawaiian influenced dessert.

 

As you can see, the purple stuff is whipped Okinawan sweet potato. The taste is entirely different from the sweet potato/yams many of in the states all know of. It doesn't have a squashy taste at all, its sweet taste is unique on its own. After whipping the cooked potatoes, I mixed it with sugar, milk, butter and eggs. Layered it on top of a macadamia nut short bread cookie crust and baked it. After it cooled some bit, I made what is called haupia which is made from coconut milk, sugar and cornstarch. It's pretty much like making a really thick pudding on the stove top. After it thickened, I poured it over the baked portion of the dish. Then let it set over night. The first time I made it last year, I did not have the coconut milk mixture come to a boil. It was an unset, creamy mess...but still tasted good. This time was a success. The directions in the blog were misleading and did not tell me to bring it to a boil over medium heat before turning it down to low.

Lesson when using cornstarch as a thickener (as learned from some Food Network show): mix the cornstarch with cold water. Add cornstarch water to your sauce/mixture while constantly stirring. Bring it to a boil (doesn't necessarily mean high heat, enough heat to get your mixture bubbling)...in this case, I had it set to medium. Immediately turn heat to low after mixture has come to a boil and keep stirring. Your mixture should be properly thickened.

I'll be sure to post more pics of my family Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. Hope you all are having a wonderful and thankful day! Cheers to being surrounded by family and food!