Special thanks to: SR, Buford, AK Servings: 15 Directions: Ingredients: 5 large sweet potatoes 3 ½ sticks butter (the real stuff, not margarine, not fake margarine, REAL cream butter, lightly salted) 2 tsp salt 3 cups brown sugar 2 pound pecans (they’re pronounced ‘puh-kahns’ not ‘pee-kans’) 1 dash of vanilla 1 dash of nutmeg Lots of cinnamon (about 5 tsp) Directions: In large sauce pan, boil the sweet potatoes with 1 tsp salt until soft (in the south, soft means extremely mushy). However, boil only until the potatoes are soft enough to mash, but not so mushy that they’ve absorbed all the water (about 30 min). Strain the water, run cool water over the potatoes, strain again, let cool just long enough so that you can pull the skins off with your hands without burning off your fingerprints. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put the peeled sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 ½ sticks of butter. Mash thoroughly while melting the butter with the hot sweet potatoes. Add the remaining 1 tsp salt, 1 ½ cups brown sugar, 2 ½ tsp cinnamon. Mix well. Lick the spoon to make sure it tastes okay. Spoon into large baking dish, leaving about 1 inch to the top. If the pecans are whole and not crushed, leave them in their plastic bag and crush with a blunt object, like a hammer or a large can of soup. Crush until pieces are about ¼ inch in diameter. Melt the remaining 2 sticks of butter in medium saucepan on low heat. Slowly stir in remaining 1 ½ cups brown sugar, dash of vanilla, dash of nutmeg, and remaining 2 ½ tsp cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in crushed pecans. Mix well. Spoon on top of mashed sweet potato mixture in baking dish. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until hot. ENJOY!!! Special Notes: