From Scratch

I wish I could take credit for this recipe because it makes the best buttermilk biscuits I’ve ever had. But I can’t. It’s a Tyler Florence recipe that differs from others of his in that it uses butter instead of shortening.
These rich biscuits are perfect for Thanksgiving, in fact I found the recipe several years […]

There are two ways to carve a turkey. The wrong way is the frustration method employed by a guy I knew who refused to ask for help, refused to even glance at the tutorial drawings in a magazine, refused to admit there might be a method to what became unnecessary madness. He ended up resorting […]

What’s the difference between stuffing and dressing? It’s in the cooking. If you stuff it inside a turkey or chicken, it’s stuffing. If you bake it on the side, it’s dressing.
For many, cooking at least some of it inside the bird is an unwaivering holiday tradition despite very real concerns about food-borne illness. Problems arise […]

It’s easy to pinpoint when American foodies re-discovered brining and, specifically, brining Thanksgiving turkeys. It was October, 1993 when then-new Cook’s Illustrated published (in the issue dated November) Pam Anderson’s report and enthusiastic recommendation about brining after having roasted more than 30 turkeys. It was the talk of the day, especially in the very different […]

There’s a lot of work between now and the new year, much of it food-related of course. I’m a great believer in offsetting work with play, even if not in equal measures, and these sugared cranberries definitely fit my definition of play.
They’re a snap to make and the best tools are a scrupulously-clean pair of […]

The finest peppermint bark I’ve ever had is a hand-tempered, top-quality-chocolate and peppermint confection at $24 per pound. I don’t know about you, but that kind of money for candy doesn’t sashay into my life every day, so we can mimic the festive treat for a fraction of the cost and time involved with only a few limitations.
First, […]

For many, Christmas dinner means a rib roast. The last several years foodies generally have been in two camps about preparing it: blast it with a high temperature or give it a slow roast at a low temperature. I’ve remained stuck in the tried-and-true 325 degree camp; I don’t make expensive rib roasts often and prefer […]

Decorating cutout cookies can be as simple as sprinkling sugar on them before they head into the oven or as involved as designs far more elaborate than I’ve done here. When going beyond a minimal approach, we need royal icing, the familiar cement for making gingerbread houses.
But it doesn’t have to be a tooth-chipping mortar. We control […]

It’s not often I run across a rolled cookie dough that doesn’t need an hour or more in the refrigerator before using it, so when I saw this recipe I tried it. I nearly threw it away; it’s from the card a gingerbread cutter was on and I assumed the recipe was for gingerbread.
They bake up […]

When I was a girl I used to wince when my mother dug out the Christmas cookie cutters. It was just a matter of hours until I’d be stuck with helping to decorate them. I hated it, sitting there with a butter knife and carefully coating them with creamy frostings tinted holiday colors that served as a […]

Whenever I make gingerbread cookies for the holidays, I wonder why I don’t make them more often. They’re really a delicious cookie, especially for those of us without a serious sweet tooth. We associate them with Christmas, of course, but with different cookie cutters they can be used for any holiday or none at all. […]

The New York Times Book Review’s annual lists of notable and gift-worthy books are out. While the list of notable cookbooks is available only online, the holiday section is both hard copy and at the website.
The notable books run the gamut from those by well-known chefs, such as Jamie Oliver, and specialty cooking, including vegetarian fare, […]

You know the dilemma: you need a gift for someone who likes to cook or bake. Perhaps the cook in your life is like me and has been outfitting a kitchen for years, someone you think has everything. And maybe you don’t cook or bake at all and are at a loss.
Here are some ideas. They […]

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for most people without cranberry sauce, but often it’s treated like an obligation. Is there anything on the holiday table less appealing than a jelled roll of canned cranberry “sauce”, sliced into quivering discs that still bear the marks of the can? It’s one of those retro relics of the Fifties whose time […]

Had there been room I’d have called this Can I eat a turkey we’ve had for thirty years? It was a real question for the tireless turkey experts at the Butterball Turkey Hotline. For more than twenty-five years they’ve been on the other end of the phone during the holidays to answer our questions. This year’s […]