‘Twas da night befo’ Christmas, and down de bayou

Not a creature was stirrin’, not even da rou garou.

Dem ol’socks was hung on de porch wit a nail

In hopes dat St. Nick don’t mind da smell.

Da kids dey was sleeping all over de flo’

Like sardines in a can, dey can’t fit no mo’.

And da old man in his easy chair and me on da sofa

Had jest settled down with a big cuppa coco.

When out on da water dey got such a noise

Me, I was afraid it would wake up dem boys.

Away to da bayou we run like two dogs,

Jumped out on da dock and stared tru da fog.

Dat fog was so tick, mais, we can’t see a ting;

And right after dat, we heard jingle bells ring.

We look and we look up da bayou and listen

And heard a big swoosh in da water and den

Wit our ears we could hear da hum o’ da motor;

“It’s just an ol’ a shrimp boat,” we say to each udder.

We turned from the water, head back to da do’

When all uh da sudden hear “Hey! Don’tcha go!”

We turn back around, and look hard tru da mist

My ol’ man he say, “Mais, would you look at dis!”

On da back o’ dat boat a fat man in red suit

Wit big ol’ white whiskers and ol’ white shrimp boots;

He wave and he holler, “Hey y’all seen Boudreaux?

I got him a message from Ol’ Thibodeaux!”

Togedder we shouted, “No, he ain’t been around,

And before you got here, we don’t hear a sound.”

“I been callin’ and callin’ his house for a week

To come fix my boat; she gotta bad leak.”

Before we could answer, dere came a loud sound

Dat made every one of our heads turn around.

Dat boat came so fast, Bayou Santa fell down

And da wake make his boat sink down to da ground

Da man in dat boat had a red suit, too, ya know?

And look mos’ familiar, kinda like ol’ Boudreaux.

He yell as he pass to the first Santa man,

“Be back aftuh while to give you a hand.

You know should take better care uh ya boat,

So maybe next Christmas ya might stay afloat.”

His eyes how dey twinkle when he pass wit a shout

“Thibodeaux need a bucket to bail his boat out!”

While Thibodeaux bailed out his boat wit a boot,

Boudreaux went down da bayou to pass out da loot;

“Joyeaux Noel” he shouted, “My name is Boudreaux!

And I’m a much better Santa dan ol’ Thibodeaux!

My boat is way faster, she don’t run aground.

She glows in da dark, Christmas lights all around!”

Thibodeaux had to hitch him a ride on a gator,

“It ain’t over yet!  I’ll sho’ be back later!”

Up da bayou he went and he fussed and he swore,

“I just can’t trust dat Boudreaux any mo’.”

Each Christmas we tink dat dis might be de year

Dose two crazies make peace and share dem some cheer.

Maybe next year, my ol’ man say wit a smile,

Dey bury dat hatchet and get along fo’ a while.

We laugh at each udder and both shake our head

Go back to da house and crawl into da bed.

Way off in da distance, we heard a voice so light

“Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

Here we have what I call a “half moon pie”.   I’ve decided I like this shape better than the triangular ones.

Inquiring minds, especially that of Deloutre Switch, want to know what the inside of this crust looks like.  You want to see how much unlike a real pie crust it is.  Some of you just don’t eat pie, simply because you know the crust is nothing but Crisco and flour mixed together and as about as unhealthy as it gets.  Of course, those of us who eat cake, think cake is a complete food group!

DS was the only one brave enough to ask, so with this post I wish her a very merry Christmas!  And thanks for asking!

We haven’t actually cut into one of the pies yet; but here is a cross section of the half moon pie.  The pie looks almost identical, except that the pie has more filling.  I ate this piece with coffee this morning, and mmmm it was good–a little bit too sweet, but when you don’t measure the ingredients, that can happen.

So tell me friends, what is YOUR favorite Holiday Dessert?  I love the fudge recipe my mom used to make.  It’s on the side of the marshmallow cream jar.  You know the one?  I’ve made it in years past, but truth is, I’m the only one who eats it, and I could gain about five pounds eating a half pound of this chocolatey goodness.

Happy Holidays!

BW

Well, friends, it’s that time of year again.  The time when I was too lazy to bake these pies for Thanksgiving.  The time when I was too tired to bake them for our extended family Christmas last weekend.  The time when if I’m going to get them baked before Christmas, I better do it today.  The boys, as you know, are at Disney with Dotter, MuzicMan and Danno.  What better time, right?

LilSis made her own sweet potato pies for Thanksgiving, though I neither saw nor tasted one.  She said they turned out good.  Or is it well?

Regardless, this recipe is a Houma Indian recipe taught to me by one of my sister-in-laws; well, actually the only one who bakes them.  This is about the only kind of pie I’ve ever seen my Native American kinfolk bake or eat.  Is that strange?

Right about now, BigSis, LilSis, and others are hoping I am going to post the recipe; which I thought long and hard about doing while I was baking all afternoon.

First, it takes about four hours of time.  Then you add a strong back.  Next, add two strong arms and wrists. Be sure and sprinkle a whole lotta love throughout, because that must be why I continue to break my back making these pies for my family.

I went back and read last year’s post about these pies, and all I did was sort of whet your appetite for them, I think.  Maybe I’ll go a little further this year.  Tell you what I’ll do.  I’ll post the photos I took, and then I’ll think some more about posting a recipe, depending on how much request there might be for a good sweet potato pie recipe!!!

The crust is not your typical pie crust.

This one is more cake-like, though it is made from scratch and not from a boxed cake mix at all.  This dough is made from flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, baking powder, and evaporated milk.  The only ingredient left out is the secret one!  

Flour your surface.  Mine is an old table cloth.  Flour your favorite rolling pin.  Mine belonged to my Great Grandmother’s.  Roll out the dough into a nice circle, and then carefully transfer from the cloth to the pie pan.

Oh, the sweet potatoes.  I forgot!  I used about eight large sweet potatoes.  My Houma Indian teachers peeled, chunked, and boiled them.  I bake them for a richer color, and smoother texture.  Also, it’s easier on the hands than peeling and they aren’t quite as runny as boiled.  I learned the right baking combination:  450 degrees for about 50 minutes.  Watch them, though, so they don’t over bake and get too dry.

I mash them in a large bowl with real butter, sugar, vanilla, and a secret ingredient.  If you like, you may add nutmeg or cinnamon, but I don’t!

Carefully transfer the pie crust from the cloth to the pie pan and fill with two large spoonfuls of the sweet potatoes.

Next, roll out the top crust, which will be thinner than the bottom crust and more fragile.  Carefully slide it onto the top of the pie.

Using a sharp knife, that you’ve floured, trim the excess crust from the edges of the pie pan.  Using a fork, press together the edges and then poke a series of holes in the top of the crust.  This allows steam from the potatoes to escape during baking.

After making 4 pies, I used the remaining dough to make 4-5 mini pies.  My Native American teachers call them “turnovers”, which you all know comes from the action a “fried pie” makes in the boiling grease, right?  These don’t actually turn over, so I just call them mini pies.  No matter what you call them, they still melt in your mouth!

This is all the sweet potato filling there was left–one big spoonful.  There was zero dough left.

About 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven later, this is what you will have!

This is how a mini pie looks!  Isn’t it cute?

Four pies isn’t really enough to go around; but these days, that’s about all my back can take.  This is actually harder on the back than fishing all day!  Maybe I’ll go fishing tomorrow to make my back feel better!  Do you think that will work?

Try not to drool over the pics too much, okay?

Your Holiday Baker,

BW