Pecan and Roasted Garnet Yam Souffle

Sometimes, clients hand me the most delightful gifts, often in the form of

recipes. Over the years, I’ve collected gems that have earned a cherished spot in their families’ recipe boxes, passed down through generations and always filled with memories. I often feel as though I’ve been inducted into their cherished inner circle when they entrust me with these family recipes - I can’t help but wonder if one day they’ll ask me for the secret handshake before they hand the recipe over…

But I digress…

Which brings me to this weeks recipe: Pecan and Roasted Garnet Yam Souffle

As a private chef, holiday prep requests are part of the landscape, with Thanksgiving leading the charge and its inevitable parade of side dishes. About 15 years ago, a client handed me a well-worn index card, barely decipherable in faded cursive, titled “Yam Casserole.” I was instructed to prep it, and—if I’m being honest—I was less than thrilled.

My least favorite side dish growing up had always been the candied yam or, worse, the yam-marshmallow casserole: a cloying, suspicious mound with a marshmallow crust so burnt you could almost smell it before you saw it. I’d been known to sneak just the untouched layer of white, melty marshmallows beneath the charred top, carefully avoiding the strange orange mound underneath—until, of course, I was caught red-handed.

But this recipe was a pleasant surprise. A topping of pecans, not marshmallows, and a moderate hand with the sugar? My curiosity was piqued. That Thanksgiving, after preparing it for my client, I made the recipe for my own table.

Naturally, because I can never quite help myself, I made a few tweaks. First, I