My Mama is a very good cook.

She has no classical training.

She was born in the South, raised in the South, and cooks Southern.

She’s cooked everything from scratch my whole life…with the exception of when my dad was on temporary duty in the military. Then it was pizza, hotdogs, and rarely, fast food!

Her crowning glory is Thanksgiving dinner! Her side dishes steal the show. Cornbread dressing made from scratch from dried bread and fresh corn bread,, white gravy with egg, fresh cranberry relish,snapped green beans cooked with fat back, and pumpkin pie. Alternately, we’d also have pecan pie, too.

For many years, she made very good sweet potatoes.

As soon as I could reach the stove, my mother started teaching me how to cook. Inevitably, I learned how to make the Southern treasured recipes that she passed down to me.

I’ve held fast and true to the methods and recipes that are ingrained in my soul, but not written down anywhere else.

A couple of decades ago, I decided to change the way I made the sweet potatoes.

Instead of cooking the sweet potatoes in a sauce, I started drizzling a sauce over the top of the sweet potatoes.

The sauce itself has changed and morphed into something really quite spectacular. So much so, my mother has stopped making sweet potatoes and I have taken over.

Every year I think I could do it a little bit better. This year, I browned the butter first.

I finally may have reached the pinnacle.

We shall see tomorrow!