Thanksgiving Tradition

Good morning, afternoon, or evening!

I come from a very competitive family.  Every year we challenge each other to some sort of cook-off or bake-off for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This year was no different.  We typically will write down an ingredient we want to work with, place our suggestions in a hat, then have one of the kids blindly pull one.  This is now the ingredient we have to make the star of our dish.  So for Thanksgiving we got...MARSHMALLOWS!  Definitely not my favorite food.  (I should mention that my brother Teashaun and his wife Kendra are expecting their second child, and THIS was her ingredient suggestion!  I think she said this was the baby’s choice at the time.  😊) Thankfully I had something up my sleeve!

I have a sweet potato casserole recipe that incorporates marshmallows.  Now, I will admit that the finished dish is a little sweet, which was initially on purpose so the children would eat it.  But by all means, adjust  the sugar and other ingredients to your taste.  I typically will make this for the holidays, so it pairs with everything on the dinner table for the holidays.  (Note: I will only give an ingredient list.  Please adjust ingredients to your own preference.)   

My favorite “first plate” for Thanksgiving dinner will usually consist of the sides; sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, greens, salad, deviled egg, rolls, and maybe a piece of turkey or ham.  I can’t lie, I do go back for seconds and, yes, sometimes thirds.  There is always an abundance of desserts afterwards; cakes, pies, cookies, pastries.  Needless to say, everyone feels like a “stuffed turkey” when we leave my mommy’s house.  😉         

Ingredients: 

• Sweet Potatoes  
• Light Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon   
• Vanilla Extract  
• Marshmallows  
• Butter (unsalted)    
• Nutmeg (optional)  

Instructions: 

1. Peel and cube sweet potatoes into 1”. 
2. Place prepared sweet potatoes in a large saucepan with water.  Boil until sweet potatoes are tender and easy to put a fork through.  
3. Strain sweet potatoes and return to saucepan.
4. Mash with hand held potato masher or hand held puree machine.  
5. Next, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.  Stir until ingredients are combined and sugar has dissolved.  
6. Sprinkle a handful of marshmallows in the mixture, stir.  
7. Spoon mixture into prepared large ceramic baking dish, smoothing out the top for consistency.  
8. Sprinkle nutmeg on top of mixture. (optional)  
9. Sprinkle marshmallows on top of mixture, ensuring that the top is completely covered.  
10. Sprinkle nutmeg on top on marshmallows. (optional)  
11. Place dish in a preheated oven, bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  
12. Remove pan from oven, sprinkle additional marshmallows on top, return to oven.  
13. Turn on broiler for 1.5 minutes to crisp top of casserole.  (Please keep a close watch, as the marshmallows will crisp quickly.)    
14. Remove from oven and serve...ENJOY!     

My sister, Lisa, entered her Rocky Road Brownies.  (She claims that she won)  😏   Was VERY delicious though! 









My bf entered his Chocolate Roll with Marshmallow Citrus filling and Chocolate drizzle.  #outstanding   

WELCOME TO THE ROYAL VIEW

Good morning, afternoon, or evening! 

My name is Katherine Jones and I am the author of The Royal View.  Here I will share my thoughts on various aspects of my life; family, cooking, recipes, travels, my food experiences, retirement, and being a business owner.  

I was born and raised on the North side of Columbus, OH and come from a large family, whom I am very close with.  We enjoy family gatherings and like all other families, we LOVE to eat!  I am the second oldest of four children and have a whole slew of nieces and nephews.  This is just immediate family, not to mention aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I mention my family because I will make many references to them in future articles.  They are my absolute inspiration and the reason for everything that I do.  

I am recently retired following many years in corrections and law enforcement.  While my career was very rewarding, it also drained me emotionally.  I loved what I did and working with people, however I needed to make a change for my own well-being.  

I always held a love for cooking.  Probably because of all the practice I had growing up in a large family!  :-)  My family and I would spend summers in Southern Ohio in a very small town called Roxabell.  This is where my maternal grandmother was raised and where I first learned to make apple butter.  My great aunt Louise made THE BEST apple butter!  When she passed away her recipes were lost and we were never able to replicate this delicious treat.  Through many attempts over the years, I was able to create my own version of her spread, which I must admit is very close.  ;-)  It’s called Auntie Kat’s Apple Butter and was the first in my line of products at Royal Cottage.  

Royal Cottage is the business I opened in early 2019 just prior to my retirement.  We are a small cottage food operation and create unique flavors of fruit chutneys, jams, and butters.  This post-retirement venture has been one of the most difficult, time consuming, yet one of the most fun, exciting, and rewarding chapters in my life.  The inception of RC required a multitude of research and countless hours in the kitchen.  In future articles I will talk about some of my hiccups and just outright mistakes I’ve made in my journey, but also share some of my successes and what I have learned along the way.  

One thing I promised myself when I decided to retire was to travel more.  So this summer I traveled to Tennessee and New Orleans.  I had some amazing food and customer service, but on the flip side I experienced some disappointment.  I will share some of my most memorable experiences from this trip and others.     

I look forward to sharing my adventures, experiences,recipes, and  yes...MY VIEW with you!  Look for my newest article on the 1st of every month.