A Make-Ahead Schedule for Thanksgiving — Gatherings from The Kitchn

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Making the Quince & Vanilla Sorbet.

Yesterday I shared our small, swanky, make-ahead Thanksgiving menu, and today we’re going to talk about how to get it all done. To those of you who love lists and calendars and whiteboards, welcome. To the folks who get a little overwhelmed by planning out a dinner in such detail, stick with me.

Thanksgiving, in its silly pressure and sheer scale, is nevertheless a very good opportunity to break a dinner down from beginning to end, planning what is made when and what can be done ahead. The point, ultimately, is not just to do Thanksgiving like a pro, but to carry these skills into everyday cooking.

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Essential Thanksgiving Recipe: Classic Sage & Onion Stuffing — Recipes from The Kitchn

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On Thanksgiving, I don’t think any dish inspires quite as much love and jealousy as stuffing. Or, for that matter, technical debate over stuffing vs. dressing. Sure, if it’s baked inside the turkey it’s stuffing, and if it’s not, it’s dressing. But to me, it will always be stuffing — it sounds so much more satisfying than dressing, which brings to mind vinaigrette.

And on my table, the stuffing is always some version of this classic sage and onion mix. No cornbread, oysters, or dried fruit for me. This is Pepperidge-esque, Stovetop-style stuffing — but all homemade and full of toasty flavor from good bread, and savor from turkey stock. This recipe is surprisingly simple; in fact, why not make some tonight? It never hurts to practice your stuffing, whatever you call it.

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spinach and egg pizzettes

spinach and egg pizzette

This, this mash-, roast-, horseradish-, bangers-, crisps-, and goose fat-free, is one of my favorite things I ate while I was in the UK, and it’s not even British. Technically speaking, it was from a Venetian small plates restaurant, although I came to associate meals with generous helpings of gorgeously cooked spinach with the UK, as it appeared, to my delight, on so many plates. I had spinach tangled with a duck breast at a gastropub in what felt like the middle of nowhere, spinach in small tufts on another pizza (this one alongside a perfect pint) my first jet-lagged night in town, and a perfect amount of spinach at a pub on a Sunday afternoon, kissed with the horseradish sauce that had been ladled, to my glee, over my roast, but this was my favorite.

wilting the spinach
wilted spinach, to drain and squeeze

Here, spinach that has been wilted and squeezed, is re-plumped, so to speak, with creme fraiche, parmesan, salt and pepper, and is generously spread over a tiny pizza. An egg centers on this pile (and sometimes around it, at least in my kitchen) and the whole mess is baked together until the edges of the pizzette are brown, the spinach is tender, with a slight gratin-like effect, and the egg is white at the edges and just-runny-enough in the center and I think it might be my perfect meal. I would have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner almost any day of the week (also in the rain, on a train, on a boat, with a shark…) and now that I’ve discovered that glorious late-season spinach still exists at markets around here, I might just make it happen.

squeezed fistfuls of spinach

… Read the rest of spinach and egg pizzettes on smittenkitchen.com


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10 Excuses to Eat Potatoes for Dinner — Recipes from The Kitchn

The humble potato, knobby and still smelling of earth, can do so very much. We can smash it and stuff it inside pierogis or its own skin. We can simmer it with shreds of chicken and corn. We can spice it with cumin and coriander to make a curry or slice it paper-thin for a casserole. No matter what form the potato might take, we are sure to love it equally. And it’s not so shabby on the nutritional side either; surprisingly high in Vitamins C and B6, potatoes make a sturdy centerpiece to supper, especially when joined by a pile of greens or slice of high-quality fish.

So we think you shouldn’t need an excuse to eat a potato for dinner tonight, but just in case here are ten.

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A Small & Swanky Thanksgiving Dinner: The Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Menu — Gatherings from The Kitchn

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Thanksgiving is the most iconic of American gatherings, and when we were planning our year of Gatherings from The Kitchn, we were already thinking about this holiday and what we wanted to say. The classic image is so memorable: A sprawling family around the table, sideboards creaking under five kinds of pie and an 18-pound turkey burnished to perfection. It’s a feast to make even experienced cooks quake under the weight of expectation, tradition, and sheer logistics.

But this image no longer reflects all of our experiences. You may be hosting a smaller gathering or “Friendsgiving,” one closer to home and without the extended family around the table. If so, and especially if it’s your first time doing it all yourself, then this week’s feature is for you. I’m inviting you to share the Thanksgiving dinner I threw a little earlier this year. A simple meal, a swanky table, and a make-ahead menu will help you embrace this holiday for what it is — a moment to share good food with friends and family.

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