Thanksgiving 2021
It seems astounding that we are ready to have this conversation again, but late last week, we opened our ordering for Thanksgiving 2021 pies. Gulp.
This will be our EIGHTH Thanksgiving - our first being a small scale 300 pie experience out of the Elks Lodge commercial kitchen way back in 2013 when we were young and fresh and full of hope. And last year, we did just around 2,500 pies at PJP Nifong over the three days leading to Thanksgiving. Here’s a few most commonly asked questions about Thanksgiving at PJP:
How will Thanksgiving at PJP Nifong be different this year since we are STILL in a global pandemic? Well, for the most part, the process won’t really change. While we were so hopeful to have PJP West End open and ready to go for Thanksgiving holiday pickup, it looks like that will be more of a Christmas goal. Sounds right. At any rate, our goal has always been to have pie pickup be a seamless and quick process without long wait times or crowds of people congregating. (We lived that life in our first Thanksgiving at PJP Buttonwood in our 2014 Thanksgiving and it was a LEGITIMATE NIGHTMARE, so pandemic aside…no thanks.)
How many pies are you going to make? Good question. We will take orders until the numbers make us break into a cold sweat and that’s when we know to close the orders. Historically, that is around mid-November.
Can I walk into PJP on the day before Thanksgiving and buy a pie? GOALS. It sounds lovely, doesn’t it? In a perfect pie baking world, you would waltz in and find stacks of fresh pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies for purchase. But since we live in a real world with real humans baking pies from scratch, I’m going to STRONGLY SUGGEST - actually, I’M GOING TO DEMAND - that you pre-order your pies for pickup on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. We will sell any extras we have available, but make no guarantees.
Wait, what about pies for the Friday after Thanksgiving? In long standing PJP tradition, we close on Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week. We reopen on Saturday to celebrate Small Business Saturday with our full menu and a stocked store. It’s like you wouldn’t know that just a few days prior we baked thousands of pies, minus our whisking elbows and the dark circles under our eyes. (In full disclosure, we are strongly leaning toward taking that following Saturday off as well because our November is shaping up to be aa storage container fueled marathon of baking. Jeanne and Jason strongly support this idea, especially as a gift to the employees since they will work so hard. It’s me that lingers with guilt about disappointing a customer.)
Can I order 10 tarts, eight Jelly Jar pies, and 12 baby pies (one for each person coming to Thanksgiving dinner since we can’t all agree on a single flavor!) for that Wednesday? For Thanksgiving orders, we only offer pies in the nine-inch size (that’s six to eight slices, depending on how generously you slice it). This helps us be as efficient as possible and work as quickly as possible to make as many pies as possible. We also don’t ship the week of Thanksgiving because UPS makes no guarantees about delivery that week.
How Do You Feel About It All? Terrified. I’ve seen PJP at her best and her worst at Thanksgiving, so I take nothing for granted. That said, I haven’t cried in at least four Thanksgivings and I don’t plan to start now.
So what can I order? We curated the list to our top sellers and here it is: Pumpkin (also available gluten and/or sugar free), Pumpkin with a Bourbon Whipped Cream (new from pie tasting!), Chocolate Bourbon Pecan, Southern Pecan (also available gluten free), Dutch Apple, Caramel Apple, Cherry Crisp, Brown Butter Chess, White Chocolate Strawberry, and French Silk. On the savory side of things, we are offering Roasted Chicken Pot Pie and Bacon Cheddar Quiche.
Gluten Free? Sugar Free? In theory, you could have a Pumpkin pie that is gluten free AND sugar free, which sounds sad for a holiday, but who are we to judge?
Pot Pies? Quiche? Heck yes. You’ve already got a huge mix to fix for the holiday and this option helps with dinner the night before or breakfast the next day. And because the demand for our savory pie rivals supply, pre-ordering secures an easy pickup.
Excellent. How do I order? Right here.