By Melissa Clark, The New York Times What’s the easiest way to a New Year’s party nosh? Pour a bag of potato chips into a bowl, spoon some sour cream into another bowl, and open a jar of caviar or salmon roe for dipping. It can be as luxurious or as thrifty as you like, … Read more
By Ali Slagle, The New Your Times Thoughtful guests often offer to lend a hand in the kitchen, but they don’t have to be sous-chefs if you put your oven to work instead. When you let ingredients luxuriate in the oven, you end up with less prep work and no nerve-wracking, last-minute sautéing in front … Read more
The braai season is in full swing this festive season, not that we need a reason to light the fire. When we do, we are often surrounded by friends and family who are getting hungry, which gives you a chance of feeding them some great food. At a braai, the sides are often the heroes … Read more
By Genevieve Ko, The New York Times It’s been a hard year, and finding small joys feels particularly important right now around the holidays. When I considered which treat could deliver that happiness in this season (aside from cookies, of course), I remembered the first pastry I learned as a restaurant cook. In the basement … Read more
By Dan Pelosi, The New York Times A marinara-stained kitchen timer ticks as Donna Berzatto choreographs a complex dance of dishes around limited oven space. “I need you to remember to put the Rockefellers in, and take out the artichokes, which leaves an open oven,” she commands her son Carmy. “I need you to put … Read more
By Christina Morales, The New York Times In 2015, the first year Héctor Arguinzones celebrated Christmas in the United States, he longed to share his mother’s hallacas with his wife, Niurka Meléndez, and their son, Samuel. Hallacas, similar to tamales, are a signature dish of the holiday in Venezuela, where he and his family had … Read more
By Melissa Clark, The New York Times It’s not a big deal making eggs and toast to feed one or two. It’s when you try it for a crowd that things start to get tricky. The eggs or the toast always wind up cold, which is bad enough on a weekday, and even worse on … Read more
Raise a glass and say cheers – or is it cheese? An expert mixologist has crafted four unusual new cocktail recipes, featuring Stilton cheese. TV presenter and drinks writer, Aidy Smith, is encouraging the nation to be braver with festive tipples – and has updated the Martini, Old-Fashioned, Gin Sour, and Bloody Mary, with the … Read more
By Melissa Clark, The New York Times As savory and alluring as a pot of stew can be, it’s rarely charismatic enough to hold its own as the centerpiece of a blowout holiday feast. There’s no amount of chopped parsley on top that can adequately dress up that long-simmered brown underneath; a stew, by nature, … Read more
By Genevieve Ko, The New York Times There’s an undeniable urge to roar — or at least growl — when setting a thick steak into a ripping hot pan. Hearing the hard hiss of the sizzling fat is satisfaction enough, but then the smell of charred meat follows fast, and it’s pure pleasure from there. … Read more
