Bring on the pumpkin pie: November brings along a few of her favorite ‘famous’ things

I’m so excited that November is here. That’s mainly because it’s now socially — or I guess seasonably — acceptable for me to make some of my favorite food. For example, if I made a pumpkin pie in July, I don’t think it would taste as good.

Now, would this be because in the middle of summer we’re all in the clinical strength deodorant phase of our seasonal journey, thus rendering our taste buds less inclined to crave a dessert with the warm notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes. I knew that as soon as I wrote cloves. A “clove forward” dessert in the summer is just all kinds of wrong. (Let’s stop for just the briefest seconds to applaud my use of the phrase “clove forward.” I sounded like one of those Food Network baking competition judges, and I’m telling you I just high-fived myself.)

I think the same thing can be said for sweet potato casserole. It’s definitely a side dish that’s trapped in the November/December holiday zone. I blame the toasted marshmallows that encase the top of the casserole like a cozy winter blanket. If there weren’t marshmallows maybe it could be a side dish that graced your table year-round.

I just gave this some deep thought and I’m wrong. The problem, yes, is partially the marshmallows, but you’ve also got all that brown sugar, and then my sweet potato casserole has a Belgian speculoos spice cookie crust so it’s actually more of a dessert masquerading as a vegetable side dish.

Subterfuge at this level is only permissible during the holidays where we joyfully tell ourselves it’s OK to call a dessert a vegetable because it’s such a special time of year. And this is why Santa is going to bring you more elastic-waist pants.

While we’re on the topic of devious deception, I feel compelled to share that my “sweet potato casserole” is a total fraud. It’s made with canned yams. There’s not a sweet potato in sight, but let’s keep that just between us.

About two paragraphs ago I was just about to call my sweet potato casserole famous — as in, “my famous sweet potato casserole.” (Never mind that it’s void of sweet potatoes. Hmm, maybe that would make it famous.) Of course, there’s nothing actually famous about it, but now I’m wondering why we call some of our recipes “famous.”

I think all of us at work or at a party have been told, “You have to try my famous (insert food of choice here). I’ve been told probably a hundred times in my life to try someone’s “famous chocolate chip cookies.” I know for a fact that I’ll be trying a cookie where the recipe came from the back of the Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chip bag titled “Original Toll House Cookie” recipe.

Is a recipe famous if it’s been passed down from generation to generation, or famous because family and friends say they love it? I’m all good at calling a recipe famous if it makes you happy and makes you bake chocolate chip cookies that you insist I eat.

That’s one of the true gifts of November: people insisting that you eat. So many of us show our love through cooking and baking and November is the month where that love really shines. So, who wants my famous sweet potato casserole that’s actually made with yams?

Reach Sherry Kuehl at snarkyinthesuburbs@gmail.com, on Facebook at Snarky in the Suburbs, on Twitter at @snarkynsuburbs on Instagram @snarky.in.the.suburbs, and snarkyinthesuburbs.com.