Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only.

’Tis the season for winter holidays. The cornerstone of any cultural celebration is food. Certain dishes mark the season, and many of our holidays would feel incomplete without them.

For some Indian Memphians, Diwali is observed in October or November depending on that year’s lunisolar calendar. Anup Samutrala, one of the workers at Social Desiii in Collierville, said he typically thinks of peda, a milk-based sweet usually spiced with cardamom, saffron or pistachio. It’s almost like an Indian milk-fudge — dense, fragrant and rich with warm, cozy Indian spices.

“A lot of people celebrate it by gifting desserts and sweets to their friends and families,” he said. “Peda Indian sweets are often the first thing that people eat for Diwali.”

Most of our readers are familiar with Christmas even if they don’t celebrate in their own homes. I had a chance to catch up with Alex Boggs of Huey’s and ask him about his family’s traditions.

Friends, family and an assortment of local officials gather for the ribbon-cutting of Social Desii in Collierville on Oct. 1. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

“Two things come to mind right away when I think of Christmas,” he said. “First, my dad with a camcorder. He used to keep that thing glued to his shoulder the entire day, making sure that every moment was captured: Me and my brother running down the stairs, the frenzy of seeing what Santa brought and even the food and family who we always hosted — hours and hours of footage.”

Boggs’ father is the late Thomas Boggs, founder of Huey’s. Alex says glazed ham is pretty much the culinary reason for the season in his book. He even joked, “The good ones are great; the bad ones are good,” because you basically can’t go wrong with ham — at all.

“The mix of sweet glaze and salty ham is an absolute must,” he said. “If I can get my hands on them, I always prefer a Canale Ham or one from Homeplace Pastures.”

Today, Alex Boggs and his family continue to gather for Southern staples such as pecan pie and his favorite, his cousin Kim’s famous coffee cake. Connection is infinitely important to the Boggs family, and they’ve managed to create some new customs throughout the years partly because of the traditions begun by their patriarch and partly because losing him was impactful.

“The second thing (I think about when I think of the holidays) is the year he passed,” Alex Boggs said. “We really didn’t know what to do with ourselves. Most traditions were sad, as we felt the void from him. So on Christmas Eve, we threw everything out the window and went and had a feast at Lotus Vietnamese on Summer Avenue. It was the most fun change of pace we’d had in so long. ... We’ve kept that tradition to this day, now ordering takeout each holiday.”

I can understand. Though I grew up in Michigan, we often went to my mother’s hometown in Florida for Christmas. When my grandmother left us in 2003, we created new Christmas traditions, and I took over the menu in Michigan. While a too-big roasted turkey was always the star of our Thanksgiving Day table, like Alex Boggs, my Christmases were for glazed ham.

I also loved learning to make my Aunt Sherry’s mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. I did what I could to recreate my grandmother’s greens. And desserts were always my specialty. But our celebrations never ended on Christmas Day; they were only just beginning.

Dec. 26 is the first day of Kwanzaa, a weeklong African-American celebration of the “first fruits of the harvest.” For each of seven days, we gather to celebrate and discuss the principles of Kwanzaa, also known as the Nguzo Saba. Because our Kwanzaa celebrations were usually more communal than familial, they were fantastic opportunities to sample the best plates in our little corner of the city.

For instance, Mr. Black made this incredible salami salad, and his cornbread was baked with chunks of broccoli, onion, celery and cheddar in it. Mrs. Scott always made the best potato salad and to this day does wonders with a chocolate cake. And Aunt Sherry always dazzled with a roast beef or a ridiculously huge salmon fillet, if not both.

This week on the Memphis food scene

In our latest Recipe Exchange, Bianca Phillips rounds up some of our best recipes of the season from some of our favorite restaurants while Jennifer Chandler shares the recipe for Chef Phillip Ashley Rix’s sweet potato pie.

Bill Dries has details on a new farmers market coming to the Raleigh Springs Civic Center.

Local residents attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a farmers market at the Raleigh Springs Town Center on Dec. 9. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

In Food Files, Sophia Surrett has caught a coffee “buzz,” reporting three new shops coming to the area and another that is temporarily pausing its operations. In other coffee news, baristas from near and far traveled to City & State to showcase their latte-art skills. Michael Waddell concentrated on the multiple coffee shops coming to Bartlett in his latest report. 

Continuing on this caffeinated train, Cxffeeblack is welcoming customers “home” to its new cafe this weekend after more than four years of fundraising and renovations.

“Sure, we won global awards and national awards, but winning in Memphis, that’s the hardest win,” Cxffeeblack’s founder and co-owner Bartholomew Jones said. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)

Brunch fans will be delighted to know Maeve’s Tavern is now serving brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays. Check out what to order the next time you’re at the Collierville pub.

In our latest $15 Deal, El Porton’s grilled-steak bowl takes center stage with layers of flavorful ingredients that won’t break the bank.

And lastly, Dima Amro details the latest restaurants to get grant funding from the Downtown Memphis Commission for improvements — and how much it’ll all cost.

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