Well, Shut My Mouth!

I don't know if many of you know this, but Brian and I celebrated our first anniversary shortly after moving in here, and it didn't exactly go as planned. Brian was very thoughtful about it, and narrowed down our choice of restaurants to two carefully chosen selections: one by the name of "Sweet Potatoes" and one by the name of "Milner's." We had decided on Sweet Potatoes because it specialized in southern food, and we thought we should immerse ourselves in the culture. I was excited, got all dressed up, and when Brian came home we took off. When we arrived at Sweet Potatoes, it was closed. We were a little disappointed, but figured that we'd just go to Milner's instead, and that this must be how it was meant to be. When we got to Milner's only to find that it was closed as well, we grimly considered celebrating at KFC. Fortunately, we remembered one more recommendation that was made to us (a place called Nobles) which was opened, and was scrumptious. The night was lovely after all. However, the need for a visit to Sweet Potatoes still nagged in the depths of our subconsciences like unfinished homework.
When I went to pick Brian up from work yesterday, he spontaneously suggested a course of action that would remedy this; we went to Sweet Potatoes for dinner. And this time, it was opened. And it was good. My favourite part of the meal was the fried okra--a truly southern specialty. But even as I type this I realize that my previous statement is not entirely true: the bourbon pecan pie earned a place in our hearts as well.
As we were eating, I seemed to recall reading somewhere that there was a Sweet Potatoes cookbook. However, being inebriated by the quality and quantity of the food before us, I wasn't sure if this was a confused memory, or if it was indeed true. So, I asked our (wonderful) waitress. Her response was, "Yes, she did come out with a book, and she's here now so I can get her to sign it for you." A few moments later, we held in our hands an autographed copy of the book, titled Well Shut My Mouth. The inscription read "To Christine and Brian, with joy, from our kitchen! - Stephanie Tyson." We were pretty tickled! Being the sedentary (my sister's choice of language to describe me) creature that I am, I don't think I could handle eating southern food daily, but I can't wait to try some of these recipes. Especially the "smothered yard bird" or the "drunken pork chops." And to think I was planning on a dull evening at home. Well, shut my mouth!