Dear heart, what if you just make pie this year?
Notes on: my pie line-up, an epic old Anchorage Jell-o "salad," inner truths, where to order Thanksgiving, "The Italian Job" sandwich, elote nachos, Spenard Song Circle
Sometimes I still hear the honeyed Texas accent of Ms. Strickland, an English teacher at East High, when she was trying to guide one of us toward the best version of ourselves. “Dear heart...” she’d begin. Whatever clause came next would be as directive as a court order and just a touch divinatory. “Why don’t you keep reading,” she’d say to someone disturbing class, her eye pinning them like a rare moth. “And see what you find?”
As I approach the Thanksgiving of my 47th year, my inner truth has emerged: I don’t like making Thanksgiving dinner. It’s exhausting and anticlimactic and I’m not that big on turkey. This may be why I woke up today with Ms. Strickland’s voice in my head. It said, “Dear heart, what if you just made pie?”
And so it is: Piesgiving. I am too old to make apologies. (I’m going to order the rest. I have a big list of places to order from below, in case you want to follow suit.👇)
Pie is my giant family’s soul food and a craft I’m always learning. I love imperfect pies most. I like a lattice that’s a little cattywampus, a slightly maladroit scallop and a filling that’s bubbled out indecently like a secret crush. I relish eating a pie when it’s warm and unset even though that’s against the rules. Also, slicing one delicious, messy/beautiful thing I made into pieces and sharing it with people I love cuts right to the heart of what I’m thankful for.
Anyway, I researched, polled my dinner guests and spent a week meditating. I am ready to unveil this year’s lineup:
Sam Sifton’s apple pie for my buddy Meg
Chocolate cream pie (It’s actually Mom’s recipe, and she’s going to help with it, but it’s very similar to this.)
Blueberry pie for Neri
And, for my annual new pie, I’m going to try this salted honey pie with a splash of bourbon. (A runner-up pie I adore but can’t decide if I’ll have the energy to make is this matcha pie.)
Have you made your lineup yet? If you need ideas, check out this fantastic egg nog pie, kitschy-delicious Alaskatastic creamsicle Tang pie, banger blueberry meringue or, hot off the presses, this vintage tart cherry pie that just published in the Anchorage Daily News. (It also has my no-fuss, no-muss food processor vodka crust recipe.) Oh, and here’s some crimping inspo. Should you want to learn more of my family’s pie-making secrets, I did a Hometown Alaska radio show this week on pie with Alaska Public Media’s Dave Waldron, take a listen.
What’s cooking: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the most popular recipe on my site this time of year — a classic mid-century Alaska “salad” that I got from one of the recipe binders at the O’Malley house Downtown, where my relations have lived for close to 80 years. It uses berries and Jell-o and features a ribbon of tart sour cream. It is excellent and really sets off the turkey. What else is cooking? Maybe not a damn thing!
Here’s a list of places where you can order all or part of Thanksgiving and focus your attention on making only what you like. (Order early!) I do Crush because it’s great and in my neighborhood; Dirty Apron is offering sides and desserts; Peppercini’s catering has the full meal; Simon & Seafort’s has the full meal with prime rib (!) or turkey, Glacier BrewHouse has the full meal and I’m really curious about the meal offered by Smokehouse BBQ and Catering. Oh, and there’s also good old Costco.
Little treats: My buddy Theo came into town from Dutch Harbor and was in the mood to do it up so we slipped into the bar at Pearl. We ordered “The Italian Job,” a sandwich with pickled duck, prosciutto cotto and giardiniera, an Italian condiment made of pickled, crunchy vegetables. Hot damn it was 10/10 and I don’t hand those out. The most outrageous thing I ate this week: the elote nachos at La Michoacana. They offered a lot of things I like, such as fresh corn, lime-y spiciness, mayo and a kind of hot, generous melt on the nacho cheese that took me directly back to eating nachos at Ben Boeke hockey games in the ‘90s. (For adults who monitor their cholesterol, I’d recommend sharing.) Something fun for the day after Thanksgiving: Spenard Song Circle, hosted by the ever-lovely Emma Hill. And, for those of you trying to repair your gut health after the big feast, there is a Kimchi Day Festival happening at Wendler on Saturday. Oh, and here’s a poem you might need to survive in this bittersweet world.
Thank you for hearing my truth about Thanksgiving. If you missed last week’s newsletter, which generated a lot of conversation and a lot of cabbage recipes in my inbox (thanks guys! ), here it is: A sports dome shooting and how Anchorage loves its children. Finally, a pitch: this newsletter started out as a lark and has turned into my favorite thing because it gives me a way to build connections in my town around life and food. Anchorage is, it turns out, my one true love. If you read and value the writing, recipes and tips here, consider paying to support it. Paid subscriptions start at $8 a month or $80 a year. They buy you access to my full archive of stories, exclusive recipes and restaurant mini-reviews, early notice about events and workshops, and entry into my occasional birthday cake raffle. You can also become a founding subscriber, putting serious support behind local food and culture news for $240. If you already pay to subscribe, help this project by sharing it with people who might like it.
Write to me about your pie lineup, holiday movies you’re looking forward to, Ms. Strickland stories and anything. Really.
Thank you, always, for reading. I’m taking next week off to hang out with the fam, so see you in two!
Julia
P.S.: For my newest recipes and access to stories I link to, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News and Edible Alaska (and maybe get the New York Times cooking app. It’s worth it!). Find all my recipes and writing at juliaomalley.com.
P.P.S: Here’s maybe my most favorite cake commission ever.
*Eagle-eyed copy editor-for-hire Egan Millard reads this newsletter. Hire him. 🦅*
** This newsletter is produced in part with the support, inspiration and community found at The Boardroom.
I'm glad you're listening to Ms. Strickland! I know very few (very few!!) people who enjoy cooking or eating turkey. Your pie idea is brilliant! How many people will be at your "Piesgiving?"