Allison Snyder of Raleigh writes:

Nineteen years ago, my husband and I moved to Raleigh from Houston. I am a native of New York state. Raleigh was neither fast enough nor sophisticated enough for my tastes, and it seemed to be full of born-again Christians. Speaking of taste, I attended a potluck lunch at work where there was myriad Southern food, among which was a sweet potato pie. Thinking it was a pumpkin pie, I plated up a piece and took a bite. It had the sweetness of cheap candy and the consistency of half-dry cement, all covered with a greasy sheen. I nearly wept with longing for a good piece of pumpkin pie. I asked someone what it was and with a slightly scornful glance, she replied, "Well, it's sweet potato pie."

How do you make a pie out of a vegetable? I thought, just as scornfully, and made a mental note to cross sweet potato pie off my list for good.

Fast forward about 10 years. I began attending a church here in Raleigh and -- surprise! -- became a born-again Christian. Who says God does not have a sense of humor? A married couple who are native Southerners became my dearest friends. One day around Christmas, the doorbell rang and it was them, bearing gifts, one of which was a sweet potato pie. Not wanting to offend them, I thanked my friends, smiling while thinking that surely I could find someone to give this pie.

That someone was my dear husband. As he devoured mighty gobs of it, he mumbled, "Hey, you might wanna try this stuff." I gingerly dipped my fork into his piece. I tasted hints of cinnamon, a kiss of nutmeg, a creamy, buttery quality. The color was a warm Carolina clay. It was somewhat thin -- like a tart. Gone was the nasty, cheap sheen. And far from cement, it could only be described as mousselike.

My friend, Romie Herring, said it was a variation on his mother's recipe, Miss Hazel of Rocky Mount. I had met Miss Hazel and liked her very much. But I liked her even more upon tasting her pie.

I was thus transformed from a sweet potato pie hater into a sweet potato pie lover. Once at enmity with it -- now a favorite. Once a Yankee foreigner, now loved by Southerners -- bearing exquisite pies, no less. Once at enmity with God, now reconciled through his Son.

Recipes

Born-Again Yankee Sweet Potato Pie