Who’s ready for one of America’s biggest eating days of the year? Thanksgiving is a day we come together as friends, coworkers, sports mates, neighbors, and family to celebrate the bounty of food that our great land produces. A day of remembering the people who tamed this great land by working forests into farmland and the necessary help of local Indian tribes. A day of remembering the loved ones no longer with us this year as we feast together. I just love Thanksgiving Day.
Thanksgiving Meal Classics of the Carolinas
As a retired chef of South Carolina’s historic Charleston French Quarter Art Hotel at Vendue Inn and the original Poogan’s Porch, I was responsible for both helping create and plate Thanksgiving Day feasts. The Charleston peninsula has limited Holiday dining options, and many families choose eating out for conveience or traveling reasons. Poogan’s Porch is a family-owned small business (with one location at the time) that filled its reservation book for Thanksgiving Day months in advance – yes, it’s that good.
That being said, I’m a wife and mom responsible these days for just creating a family meal that brings us smiles with second helpings, nutritious sides and guilty pleasures. I look to the old recipe books for ideas on classic side dishes to please the picky eaters at home and return to the Southern sides I grew up with year after year. The same holiday dishes requested annually at the hotel buffet and plated Thanksgiving Day meal at Poogan’s Porch are staples of the holiday meal here in the Carolinas. These foods are regional, traditional, classic, and delicious. Many begin with a trip to the local farmer’s market for fresh produce, herbs, honey, jams, and locally baked bread or rolls. Try one or more on your holiday table this year to add some Southern flavor to your Thanksgiving Day.
10 Easy Thanksgiving Day Dishes with Southern Carolina Roots
- (This delicious list is in no particular order)
- 1. Classic Cornbread Dressing or Stuffing
- 2. Oyster Dressing made with – you guessed it- oysters fresh from the Atlantic waters of the Carolinas
- 3. Herb Roasted Turkey (Bone-in and Boneless Tenderloin)
- 4. Southern Turkey Giblet Gravy (with or without eggs)
- 5. Roasted Autumn Quails with Turnips and Sweet Potatoes
- 6. Oven Roasted Cushaw Squash or Yellow Squash Casserole (depending which end of the Carolinas you’re in)
- 7. Southern Potato Salad
- 8. Deviled Eggs topped with Mt. Olive Pimento Stuffed Green Olives
- 9. Apple Crisp with Cinnamon-scented Whipped Cream
- 10. Spiced Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Cream
Shop Local for Your Carolina Thanksgiving
Many of the ingredients featured in this menu, including sweet potatoes, greens, pecans, seasonal produce, honey, jams, baked goods, and specialty food products, can be found at farmers markets and local food producers throughout the Carolinas. Adding locally made pear, apple, or muscadine grape jam alongside Southern biscuits are an easy and delicious way to share flavors of the season.
Visit the Carolina Cuisine Network Farmers Market Directory to find markets, produce stands, and food artisans nearest you.
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