a festive holiday dinner

plus: chicken meatball and noodle soup

Dec 16, 2024

Monday, December 16, 2024

Good morning!

I’ve been lucky enough to study the art of a great dinner party over the last week — twice! I’m so impressed by those who do it well, although I should clarify that if you’ve invited me over and made me dinner, I’m 100% fawning over everything because I’m so blissed out when anyone goes through the trouble of making me dinner. But some people do it even a little bit better in small ways that make you feel cozy and welcome. I love it when the food is unfussy, the water carafes are cold, and the host(s) sit down with you because they know it’s not a party without them.

Below, a few of my favorite recipes to put together for the festive holiday dinner party of your dreams, and almost all can be made ahead (and the short ribs, up to three days) ensuring that you will get to enjoy it too. Plus a new recipe for a simple, weeknight-friendly chicken meatball and noodle soup that we should make for ourselves as soon as possible. There’s a new podcast episode (about the mighty BEC sandwich!) and some news: my favorite Staub braiser has arrived in the glossy dark green you requested. I hope you’re inspired!

Cheers!

Deb

shop my favorites

Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? The Shop page has links to some of my favorite, most heavily used, and long-running kitchen items, the ones I use the most. Including…

… The Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser, which we are currently selling in a limited run of a much-requested stunning dark green (“basil”) color for the holidays. This 11-inch, 4-quart braiser is a lower profile enameled cast-iron Dutch oven. It works as well as a deep sauté pan as it does a soup pot, roasting pan, or even casserole dish that perfectly fits a pasta bake. Not a week has gone by in the decade I’ve had mine when I don’t use it at least three times.

Your braiser purchase contains three new recipes (two savory, one sweet) by me that work perfectly in your new pot. If you’re looking for even more ideas, I created a category on the site to highlight some of my favorite dishes I make in mine.

I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.

chicken meatball and noodle soup

New! For that frightful weather outside, a cozy chicken noodle soup with buoyant, tender meatballs, all of the noodles your heart desires (ours desire a lot) and a speed of assembly impressive even for a weeknight.

“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby
“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024

The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb is all about the mighty Bacon, Egg and Cheese (BEC) Sandwich! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. Two weeks ago, we ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.

endive salad with toasted breadcrumbs and walnuts

Inspired by the unforgettable endive salad at Estela on Houston Street, this is an often-requested family favorite. You can chop the lettuce and toss everything in a big bowl for a more classic salad, but we also love this spooned into leaf "boats" for handheld eating. The crunchy, robust mix of cheeses, walnuts, garlic, and craggy crumbs can be made in advance and I never regret doubling it.

silky cauliflower soup

This is one of my favorite simple soups because it has five ingredients you might even have around, takes about 30 minutes to make, and tastes incredibly rich for something so light and simple.

creamed mushrooms on chive butter toast

This recipe gives mushrooms "the caviar treatment," i.e. as luxurious as possible with shallots, chives, a splash of wine and glug of cream, then heaped on buttery brioche toasts for a party snack or a better-than-average weeknight night dinner with a big green salad.

the best baked spinach

Think spinach gratins must be rich and leaden with cheese, cream and butter? Not when Julia Child shows us the way. Not only does this taste amazing, it's total weekday night fare -- as a side, scooped on toast or topped off with an egg. (Yesss.)

roasted leek and white bean galettes

Are you tasked with finding a vegetarian main for the holidays that’s a) not just everyone else’s side dish, b) ideally contains protein, c) would be a good fit for the other flavors on the table? These mini-galettes are the show-stealing answer.

braised beef short ribs

This classic from Suzanne Goin -- a dark short rib braise, greens and an otherworldly horseradish sauce -- is both one of my favorite dinner party meals as well as a luxe cooking project just for you, with days of cozy leftovers to look forward to.

potatoes anna

The cover dish of my second cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day, is a riff on Potatoes Anna with deeply bronzed and crisp edges and a baked-just-so center, infused with salty cheese and a warming kick of pepper and salad on top. It's perfect in every way.

sticky toffee pudding

A warm salt-flecked toffee/butterscotch sauce ladled over a simple brown sugar and date cake is the stuff luxurious winter dessert dreams are made of.

gingerbread yule log

The Smitten Kitchen's very first Yule log: a dark, deeply spiced, almost sticky gingerbread roll cake filled with slightly tangy, barely sweet cream, covered in the easiest chocolate bark, and studded with sugared cranberry gems. This feels festive, looks a little fancy, but every step is fuss-free -- no cracking cakes or piping bags, and we're not even going to separate eggs. I can't wait for you to try it. [Video below!]

linzer torte

This is my favorite Christmas cookie, an aromatic blend of walnuts, cinnamon, cloves and lemon zest that is distinctly, wonderfully December to me. Don't be intimidated by that pretty design -- Maida Heatter has a gift for making even the most complicated desserts doable and fun.

small-batch eggnog

This fuss-free, small-yield eggnog recipe makes just enough for two tumblers, cozy and perfect for any scaled-down holiday celebrations, or for all of us eggnog lovers whose families do not share our superior taste.

gingerbread yule log

See you next week!