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What I'm Reading, Thanksgiving Edition

November 22, 2013 Rivka
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Here's what I've been reading, from various corners of the web.  Happy weekend!

  • This beautiful Dansk baking dish was on major sale (as in 70% off) at CB Outlet last weekend – might want to check the one nearest you. I can’t wait to roast a chicken in it.
  • Love these napkin ties, DIY of course, from Martha.
  • Why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
  • Leah’s mulled apple cider sangria looks like a great way to kick off this year’s meal.
  • If you’re feeling strong and open, read this beautiful, heartbreaking piece from Ariel Levy about her Thanksgiving in Mongolia. Bring the tissues.
  • This will make a happy home on my table the week after Thanksgiving. (Why not?)
  • When the holidays end and we can take a vacation, I’ll be heading here. (Can’t believe it took the Times this long to cover!)
  • Cooking I can do, but tablescapes are not my thing. This guide just became my bible. (Via Food52)
  • We received this Madeira as a wedding gift (hi, Beth!), but I didn’t realize until recently that I love it not only in tarts but in a glass, after dinner. Serve this to your guests after the Thanksgiving feast and you will see some very happy—if very full—faces.
  • I haven’t loved the NYT’s new multimedia features that much (though the SNL feature is a notable exception), but they did a really stellar job with their Essential Thanksgiving Guide. One essential recipe in each major category, a few variations for the adventurous (or bored), presented in a straightforward manner. Very helpful.
  • While we’re at it, Sam Sifton’s lovely little book on Thanksgiving will guide you expertly through the next 7 days.

What about you? Share in the comments. Have a great weekend, friends.

In menus, various and sundry, thanksgiving
2 Comments

Cooking for Thanksgivukkah

October 23, 2013 Rivka
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The excitement started this summer, when our friends Mira and Josh alerted us to the fact that the first day of Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving. By now, you probably know that Thanksgivvukah -- Hanukksgiving? -- comes along once every 79,000 years, and not that I'm betting against myself or anything, but guys, I think this may be our only crack at the apple.

And by apple, I mean cranberry applesauce. Hanukkah meets Thanksgiving: has a better gastronomic mash-up ever existed? (Answer: no.)

Why make jelly doughnuts when you can stuff them with cranberry curd and pumpkin pudding instead? Will regular latkes ever have a place at your table once you've told your guests how much you love and appreciate them by frying them in duck fat? And honestly, who needs skillet cornbread when you can turn that cornmeal into savory doughnuts stuffed with even more delicious things? I rest my case.

With guidance from M&J plus the inner workings of my questionably sane mind, I've put together a menu that unites the customs of these two holidays in one, happy meal of mindblowing gastronomic ecstasy. The pain-in-the-butt factor is, of course, much higher than usual, because did I mention that this only happens once every 79,000 years? So yes, a bit of potchkeing is called for.

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I'm guessing that some of you are also planning Thanksgivvukah menus. Please, pretty please share your ideas! My "final" menu is never ever final, and I'd love to change it based on your comments and suggestions.

If you're feeling super-awesome about a particular mash-up idea for the occasion, be sure to submit it to the Food52/Serious Eats Thanskgivvukkah recipe contest. And for a good laugh, watch Stephen Colbert declare Thanksgiving Under Attack.

This is going to be so fun!

Note: Many of these recipes already exist on the web and are linked below. I'll be sharing a few of them here on NDP over the next couple weeks, and I'll be sure to add the links below once I've posted them.

To Start:

  • Apple Rye Punch
  • Cocoa-Dusted Pears (a very tenuous nod to Hanukkah gelt. Looking for other ideas!)

The Definite Yeses:

  • Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls or Sweet Potato-Olive Oil Brioche (Josh's idea; worked surprisingly well)
  • Butternut Squash Soup w/Burnt Marshmallow Topping  
  • Green Beans with Horseradish-Mustard Vinaigrette (according to Gil Marks, they're a traditional Hanukkah food. Good thing we always have green beans at our Thanksgiving meal.)
  • Dry-Brined Turkey Breast (we're planning on following one of Bon Appetit's recommended dry-brines, which includes star anise, thyme, and a bunch of other delicious things.)
  • Deep-Fried Turkey Leg (though I may chicken out at the last minute and just roast in a bourbon-cider glaze, which, you know, would be just terrible. I also might smoke the legs, which would be even more terrible.)
  • Turkey Fat-Fried Potato and Sweet Potato Latkes with Cranberry Applesauce (because, obviously. Pictured above; recipe forthcoming!)
  • Josh's unbelievably genius Savory Cornmeal Doughnuts Stuffed with Stuffing (Cornbread-meets-stuffing-meets-doughnut. Amazing.) Recipe forthcoming!
  • Doughnut Holes Filled with Cranberry Curd and Pumpkin Pudding (half with one, half with the other) (because why only serve one doughnut when you can serve TWO DOUGHNUTS?)

The Maybes:

  • Brussels Sprout Slaw (if not this, another vegetable. This meal needs something not fried)
  • Butternut Butter (I've made it in past years and love it, but it might be overkill)

...and here, I should add that we are doing our "dinner" at 2pm so we can work up an appetite for our very delicious, very dairy Hanukkah/Pie Party at night, at which we will eat:

Dessert:

  • Chocolate Pecan Pie
  • Pumpkin Pie (one for everyone; a separate one for D, per tradition)
  • Apple Sour Cream Custard Pie (I've been dreaming about this pie for months and finally, it's mine! Bwah-hah-hah)
  • Let's face it: more doughnuts. Maybe apple cider fritters?
In events, menus, thanksgiving
14 Comments

Hey 2012, We Threw You a Dinner Party.

January 1, 2013 Rivka
new year leftovers
new year leftovers

Well hi there. Hopefully you're curled up on the couch in pajamas, eating something tasty and sipping something warm.

We're in comfies on the couch, with coffee in hand. I'm already contemplating a mug of hot chocolate with one of last night's vanilla-bean marshmallows plopped on. There's so much time to run around like a crazy woman with my head cut off; today is for staying warm and full.

I mentioned that celebrated the new year at home, with friends. It was almost the same crowd we had over last year, and I think it's becoming something of a tradition. We'd planned to keep things low-key, given that we'd been traveling and didn't think we'd have much time to cook. But as it turned out, last week was a sleepy one at the office, giving me a few afternoons with enough time to plan a proper menu. Here's how it all went down.

We almost always serve dinner family-style, but D and I decided to go more formal for NYE, so I knew I wanted to plate the salad and main course. We quickly settled on fish, and at the market, black cod really called to me, so I splurged. Miso black cod - a Nobu recipe that's been copied by chefs worldwide - would be a sure hit, and it fit with the French-Japanese menu that had started to emerge.

I'd bought ingredients for lemon gougeres, which are probably the number one party trick up my sleeve. Gougeres mix up in a matter of minutes, bake just as quickly, and best of all, keep in the freezer indefinitely. You can make the dough and form the gougeres in advance, then freeze them raw on the baking sheet, stick'em in a bag, and stockpile them in the freezer until the unexpected guests come knocking.

Keeping with the French part of my French-Japanese menu, I bought leeks for the leeks vinaigrette recipe David Tanis published in the Times last week. Coincidentally, he'd also published a riff on that recipe using miso for Diners' Journal, but given that the fish was coated in miso, too, I decided stick to the original.

My rule of thumb for dinner parties is that only one dish can require in-the-moment fussing. In this case, the black cod won a-la-minute attention. Leeks were boiled in advance and left to hang at room temp until dinner, when all they needed was a swipe of dressing and a sprinkle of capers. The other element on the plate was equally easy, and I can tell you right now that it's going into the regular rotation. It was a simple sweet potato puree that tasted kind of chef-y. Anna asked me if I'd pushed them through a tamis, and given that I didn't even bother, what a compliment that was! It's from Martha (perfection defined) and it's really a template, designed to tweak and tinker to your menu and your appetite. The beauty of sweet potato puree is that, unlike potatoes, you actually can make them in advance. I did that, left them at room temp until the party, and -- yea, I did it -- threw them in the microwave before plating. Here's the recipe.

There was wine. There were cocktails. Of course, there was champagne. But first, there was punch: crimson bulleit punch, specifically. It was a hit. Especially fun to make and show off was the ice ring, which I made on a whim and will definitely make again. Here's a little video I shot about the punch, using an app called Directr, which my friend Eli designed and which you positively must check out:

(If the embedding won't work, here's a direct link.)

The great thing about the friends who came over last night is that when you tell them 24 hours before the party that you're planning a French-Japanese menu, they pull perfect spring rolls and a salad with a glorious ginger dressing out of nowhere. That's not to mention a whole bag full of good drinks and a lot of cheer.

For dessert, I knew I wanted a showstopper. After tossing around Gateau St. Honore, Gateau de Crepes, and a few other Big French Desserts, I decided to depart from my theme and make Dobos Torte, which has nothing to do with either French or Japanese cuisine. It's a serious project, but I had the time, and I couldn't stop drooling over the pound of chocolate ganache. So it was.

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Not to jinx the good karma, but last night went off without a hitch. I opted not to brown the fish on the stove before broiling it - too much fuss, too much smoke, too much smell - and that was a good decision. 12 minutes in the broiler left my beautiful, expensive fillets of black cod as luscious and perfectly cooked as any piece of fish I've ever had. Leo emailed me this morning to say that he dreamt about the fish last night. The leeks and sweet potatoes cooperated as needed, and I managed to plate 8 servings of food, sit for dinner with my guests, and still not serve cold food. A true victory.

D was in charge of "mood and decor," as she put it, and of course, she delivered. Menus were printed and wrapped with alternating colors of ribbon, denoting our teams for games later in the evening. Kazoos and confetti were purchased. And we even held a round of "good, bad, ugly, 2012 edition" over dinner.

I'm feeling particularly grateful today. We're lucky to afford good food, to splurge on black cod without thinking too much about it. We're lucky to have a home that can fit 8 of our good friends and keep them (mostly) warm, even with a broken HVAC. We're lucky to have those friends, who make us laugh and make us think, and are always there to celebrate or comfort. And we're lucky to have each other, and our families.

2012 was a difficult year for so many. I'm counting our blessings from this past year, and I'm hopeful that 2013 will bring better things for everyone. And lots of delicious food.

Happy New Year, friends.

In menus, various and sundry
8 Comments

2012, You've Been Swell

December 31, 2012 Rivka
2012-06-24 16.06.43
2012-06-24 16.06.43

This year. I can't believe it's almost through.

There was a tremendous trip to the Sugar Bowl (and one of the best food cities there is). There was a 29th birthday, a surprise trip to New York, and a beet dish that so haunted me, I tracked down the recipe and made it myself. There was a whole lot of yogurt, with granola and in soups galore. And there was the happy discovery that just about anything tastes better when you caramelize it. I guess we all learn at our own pace.

2012 brought many new siblings into my life, and 2013 will bring quite a few more. D's brothers and sisters, and my brother, are getting engaged and married seemingly everyday. We both feel so lucky about our expanding family.

Many dear friends of ours had children in 2012, making our lives livelier, and creating a pretty strong incentive to finally break down and stock our little condo with toys that aren't of the breakable-pottery variety. We're pretty psyched about all the little ones.

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2012-07-04 20.09.49
through november 2012 093
through november 2012 093
through november 2012 415
through november 2012 415

(Also, about our friend who makes the most amazing birthday cakes:)

through november 2012 430
through november 2012 430

We're closing out this year and ringing in the new one at home, with good friends and good food. There'll be gougeres and rice paper rolls, miso-broiled black cod and leeks vinaigrette. There are also pureed sweet potatoes as smooth and silky as I've ever had. And then, since New Years Eve is the time for showstoppers, I made a Dobos Torte.

Hope you all have a wonderful evening. Here's to 2013!

In menus, various and sundry
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