Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and every one is sharing their favorite recipes. We can't call it yet, but we have a feeling Al Roker may have given America the Thanksgiving dish of the year or even the century. It's not so much his recipe that has heads spinning: it's the name of it.
The meteorologist and journalist shared his mother's favorite recipe Wednesday on The Today Show just in time for the upcoming holiday season. The dish is a sweet potato concoction that isn't your typical sweet potato pie, but something more akin to a casserole topped with marshmallows.
The name of this culinary delight? Sweet Potato Poon.
What do our guest judges think of @alroker's "sweet potato poon"?
They love it! pic.twitter.com/jRi3IFC95A
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 21, 2018
Wait.
Really … just … wait. Please give us a second.
WHAT?!
Al Roker does know what "poon" is slang for, right? The look on fellow host Craig Melvin's face during the segment said it all.
Suffice it to say, everyone on Twitter couldn't help but express how tickled they were by the whole affair.
The what pic.twitter.com/q0Bc1lYJqp
— The Mona Lisa (@jubilantsleep) November 21, 2018
— Damp Jomple (@Harvey_S) November 21, 2018
I never thought the words sweet poon and Al Roker would go together
— Calvin Garcia (@CalGarcia3) November 21, 2018
I too shall be serving some sweet potato poon this holiday season… pic.twitter.com/bh295MLnm2
— Lil Graham Cracker Crust ???? (@PropiaSalsa) November 21, 2018
Naturally, a reference to The Princess Bride came right on time:
— Patrick Gaertner (@PuzzledPagan) November 21, 2018
Someone suggested the whole bit might have been a power move by Roker, and it's not a bad hypothesis:
I like to imagine Al Roker being so powerful at this point that even though everyone tried to stop him, he still got to do a whole segment about his SWEET POTATO POON https://t.co/biWOCTyK7Q
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) November 21, 2018
True to his signature adolescent goofiness, actor Seth Rogen joined in on the crass fun, too.
Poon. https://t.co/456fpaJ9ax
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) November 21, 2018
But while everyone was laughing, one Twitter user decided to drop some knowledge. Now we know "poon" is also an American word:
poon, alternate spelling of 'pone', possibly comes from Powhatan word apones and appoans or bread. https://t.co/R48NEHPaIw
— Cestrum Nocturnum (@Cestrumnocturn1) November 21, 2018
The user's claim is supported by the Southern Foodways Alliance, which says the word "poon" is a derivative of Powhatan words recorded by European colonist William Strachey. The words translate to "bread" (singular and plural, respectively): "apones" and "appoans."
The Alliance also notes Lutheran priest Johannes Companius compiled a book of various spellings of words in use around Wilmington, Delaware, entitled Vocabulary of the Unami Jordan. "Poon" is included in the book as a type of bread, along with alternate spellings "pone" and "pane."
The more you know…
Roker himself wasn't without a sense of humor about the whole thing and is absolutely here for the jokes, by the way:
Yessssss https://t.co/GG8xh1Fhu4
— Al Roker (@alroker) November 21, 2018
Liking this content? Check these out:
Craig Melvin Becomes New ‘TODAY Show’ Anchor After Major Promotion
Al Roker Schools Colleague Megyn Kelly After Inane Commentary On Blackface
