Not too soon to talk turkey, y’all
The Traditions We Carry Forward
Thanksgiving is one of those holidays steeped in family traditions. Each family has that one thing that is carried forward for decades and sometimes generations that simply must be on the table and enjoyed together.
It’s not too soon to be giving thought to travel, invites, who gets to make which dish or (if cooking is not your thing,) booking with your local catering friends.
Why Friendsgiving Friday Became Our Tradition
Personally, I have done Friendsgiving Friday for years because we are in knee-deep in the kitchen-prep Thanksgiving morning cooking up Turkey-a-gogo’s for all our special clients who have come to enjoy the tradition of not having to spend days in the kitchen prior to Thanksgiving.
Look, I love to cook, and I can’t lie; I too have our chefs prepare my entire Thanksgiving meal to be catered by my amazing team on Friendsgiving Friday. This gives me the thing I am most thankful for, and that is precious face time with friends and family without having to wake up at 5 AM to start cooking, hop up to heat, cook, carve, check the oven, platter, whip cream, pour wine, and the myriad of other distractions that keep us from connection.
A Little Low Country on the Table
Yet…Here’s where my Low Country family traditions slip on to my table still today. Being raised in the South, spending most Thanksgiving vacations in Charleston with mom’s family, these are some favorites my family comes to expect: sausage cornbread stuffing, grandkid’s gotta-have-it sweet potato souffle, Southern buttermilk drop biscuits, Martha White squishy yeast rolls with tupelo honey butter, Roasted Turkey with sides of artichoke relish and orange cognac cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie, chocolate bourbon pecan pie, and once in a blue moon my grandmother’s roasted apple mincemeat pie with bourbon cream. I love a little bowl of benne seed cheese wafers to start. I’m pretty sure my mom pines for the days of the pre-feast Oyster roast outside on the grill that we had on Edisto Island back in the day.
The Sweet Potato Pie Seattle Didn’t Quite Love
For years we offered sweet potato pie as a pie option here in Seattle and no one (well hardly anyone but me) ordered it for their a-go-go offerings. When we swapped out Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie in Saltine Cracker Crust for the Sweet Potato Pie option OK WOW, that was a popular decision. Ana, my pastry chef, is originally from Mexico and she and I tend to make ourselves the Sweet Potato Pie anyway to keep our family traditions up.
This brings me to what I love about our Turkey a go-go full Thanksgiving meal pick-up. I get to play in the kitchen with our family’s favorite dishes and add those to my table to keep our fun traditions alive
A Southern Sweet Potato Pie Worth Making
Recipe by Dolester Miles
Story by Kim Severson
Photography by Johnny Autry
Originally published by Garden & Gun
A Southern classic from acclaimed pastry chef Dolester Miles, featuring roasted sweet potatoes, warm spices, a cornmeal crust and Bourbon Chantilly Cream.
Be a Guest at Your Own Table
This Thanksgiving, let our team take care of the cooking so you can focus on gathering, hosting and making the memories that become traditions of their own.
Turkey A-Go-Go ordering opens October 1st for returning guests and October 8th for all guests.