Kahlua Yams

Shannon Beigert

Attachments

20231106-175038-Recipe - Kahlua Yams.pdf

We have entered the month of November, chilly and bright with beautiful fall foliage.
My favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, comes later this month.  Focusing on gratitude, family, friends and, of course, great food, Thanksgiving embodies my belief that cooking is love!

Many families have special traditions at Thanksgiving. One family I know has each guest bring her or his favorite appetizer; they share all of the appetizers as their festive meal. Others incorporate dishes from their ancestry. One Italian-American friend always serves chicken cacciatore on Thanksgiving.

As for what I serve my family, I am a strong Thanksgiving traditionalist. 

My typical Thanksgiving menu

Appetizers

Pickled Veggies: Tray with pickled asparagus, marinated artichoke hearts, black and green olives, dill and sweet pickles, pickled cauliflower and /or similar vegetables such as sweet peppers.
Deviled Eggs: Always a favorite at my house.

Soup

Butternut Squash with mushroom. I serve small cups of this as it can be very filling.

Salad

Beet and pear salad with walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette

Main Meal

Roast turkey with gravy
Cornbread dressing (my Southern roots require it!)
Bourbon cranberry sauce (recipe coming soon!)
Garlic mashed potatoes
Kahlua Yams (see recipe below)
Corn pudding (recipe coming soon!)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with balsamic reduction
Green bean casserole
Dinner rolls and butter

Desserts

Apple pie a la mode
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream
Pumpkin Cheesecake

Drinks

Hot cider (maybe spiked with cinnamon whiskey)
Water
White wine
Coffee and tea

This week’s recipe:

Kahlua Yams       

See the printable recipe attached to this story.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

4 large yams
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of Kahlua or similar coffee liqueur
1/3 cup of toasted pecans
Pinch of salt

Stove-top Instructions

• First, peel and horizontally slice yams into disks.
• Using a large pot of water, with a pinch of salt, boil the yams, reduce heat and slowly simmer until they are tender but not mushy. This should take about 20 minutes. Drain the yams.
• Using a large skillet, on medium heat, gently melt butter and stir in the brown sugar until a rich syrup forms. This will take about 5 minutes. Add the Kahlua and stir to combine, reducing the heat to low.
• Add the cooked (drained) yams until each piece is covered.
• Remove the dish from heat and top with toasted pecans.

Enjoy!

Look for more recipes that make use of seasonal and locally produced ingredients every week in The JOLT. 

Shannon Beigert is a chef and baker who loves to entertain guests at her Olympia home. If you want to let her know that this recipe worked well for you, send her a note at shannon@theJOLTnews.com