Thanksgiving isn't complete without some sort of sweet potato dish. There's the traditional marshmallow-topped sweet potato side dish or the classic dessert of sweet potato pie. Sweet potatoes are almost magical when cooked or baked. Their bright orange flesh turns soft and almost creamy. Roasting them heightens their natural sweetness even more. Many holiday recipes further improve upon the sweetness by adding brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup. With the holiday only one week away, it's time to start planning. I'll be making a few new recipes to add to my repertoire.
Sweet and savory flavors are the basis of many classic Thanksgiving recipes. This side dish strays from the typical in favor of something a bit more gourmet and savory. Roasted sweet potatoes are mashed with butter, cream, and maple syrup and then spread in a gratin dish. The mashed sweet potatoes are then topped with fluffy panko breadcrumbs, fresh sage, and chopped walnuts. It's then drizzled with melted butter and broiled, turning the top golden and crunchy. It's a side dish that's sure to please both sweet potato traditionalists and those looking for a new take on a holiday favorite.
Holiday Goodies
Holiday Goodies
Honey Gingerbread Cookies
Christmas is not complete without gingerbread, be it houses, cookies, cake, or any dessert flavored with those warm spices of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The dense spicy cake traces its roots to 11th
century Europe. There are so many versions from eastern Europe all the
way to Scandinavia, but I'm focusing on the cookie. In Germany there is
Lebkuchen and Pfeffernüsse. In Hungary, gingerbread cookies are called
Puszedli. They look just like Lebkuchen, but are smaller. Polish
Pierniki are also quite special cookies. The town of Toruń is famous
for their heart-shaped cookies, filled with jam and covered in
chocolate. These cookies all share similar ingredients and flavors.
Puszedli and Lebkuchen are made with honey and have a lighter color
than the gingerbread cookies Americans are familiar with. The
traditional decoration is a whole almond pressed into each cookie. Then
the cookies are brushed with a sugary glaze that gives them a wintry
look. But since neither cookie has almonds in the dough, I forgo the
nut decoration and keep them simple. I make the classic round cookies
and heart cookies to mimic the Polish treats. But if you're so inclined
to decorate the cookies with nuts, walnut halves are traditional with
Puszedli. Pecan halves, for an American twist, would do the trick just
as well. These cookies, as with all gingerbread, are best made ahead of the
holiday. They get better and softer with age.
The Best Make-Ahead Finger Food
From the Huffington Post
With the holidays near -- er, here -- holiday party season is in full swing. We're sure you've already labored over festive meals and decadent desserts to serve to your loved ones when entertaining at home. If you're still hosting, for New Year's Eve, perhaps, you deserve to take a break. Or at least appear to in front of your guests.
These awesome appetizers require almost no moment-of work or attention. Some need to be pulled out of the oven or gently reheated, but other than that, they're purely make-ahead. For the most part, they're easy too, requiring no more than a few hours of work a day or two before.
That means when you throw a finger food party, all you've really got to do is relax, dip your pita into some hummus, and toast to the new year with friends.
Chocolate, Walnut, and Almond Kugelhopf
This new year I'm going along with my resolution to get good luck, which involves eating a number of different good luck foods. Lentils, beans, greens and round cakes are all on the menu. Ring cakes are a classic dessert for celebrating the new year, especially in Europe. The ring shape is believe to bring luck, wealth, and prosperity. There are many cakes that fit that mold, like Bundts and Kugelhopfs.
Kugelhopf is a cake made famous in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hungary. The cake is most often made with a yeast dough that's rolled up with a filling of cinnamon and raisins. But the cake can also be made with baking powder or soda, which turns out a cake much like any standard quick bread or American-style Bundt cake. But this cake recipe is special because it's made entirely without leavening.
Chocolate Rocks
Like the perfume of freshly squeezed orange juice or the whisps of flavor that float on the air when chicken soup is simmering, the smell of melting chocolate and almonds softens my resolve not to eat just one of what I am planning to make: chocolate rocks.
They couldn't be easier. Or more forgiving. Or more interesting to experiment with. Caramelize some whole almonds, and hide one inside. Chocolate rocks are prefect for hiding things. A raisin. A hazelnut. Dried cherries or cranberries. Minced orange peel. Before you put them in the refrigerator, sprinkle them with fleur de sel. Or roll them in grated coconut. Cinnamon dust. Star dust. Whatever you have. And the best of all is that they take just minutes to make.
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