By Maggie Downs
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cecelia Holm knows why many people love nothing more than a slick slice of sweet potato pie.

"Some people can fool themselves into thinking it's a vegetable."

Holm of Kennedy Heights has attended the local Juneteenth celebration since its inception. She is also the most recent winner of the almost-annual sweet potato pie contest.

The five judges are looking for "consistency, flavor, color and for eye appeal as well as taste appeal," says Juneteenth organizer Lydia Morgan.

This year's pie judging will take place around noon today.

Holm received the award-winning recipe from neighborhood friend Juanita Lewis.

The tasty recipe is:

Boil four to six sweet potatoes until soft, then peel.

Mash two sticks of soft butter or margarine with the potatoes.

Add two to three cups of white sugar and stir.

Beat three eggs into the potato mixture.

Add one tablespoon of nutmeg, one tablespoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Then add a tablespoon of lemon extract. ("I think that's the secret," Holm says.)

Beat in half a large can of evaporated milk.

Put the mixture into an unbaked crust and bake at 350 degrees until firm. Check for doneness after about 35 minutes.

Any pie crust will do, Holm says.

E-mail mdowns@enquirer.com