holiday potluck heroes
plus: olive oil brownies
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Good afternoon!
I am enjoying this series on all the kinds of biryanis so much
Learning that Cookie Monster gets to eat real cookies on Sesame Street was a highlight of this week. [NYTimes, unlocked]
Welcome to potluck season! Okay, maybe this isn’t a thing but I think it should be. As we head into December (in about 12 hours), and the cookie swaps, holiday lunches, and dinner parties start filling our calendar, I bet you’re going to be asked to bring “something” [food, homemade] with you somewhere soon and you’ll want some suggestions. I am here to help! I consider myself a master of the art of schlepping food from one place to another, incapable — due to my both constitution and also my profession — of showing up empty-handed. Below, a few of my favorite things to bring with me when I leave my sofa blanket nest kitchen to come hang out in yours. Plus, a new recipe for olive oil brownies, also great for sharing if you don’t eat them all first.
Cheers,
Deb
I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might include from my most recent cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers on your holiday table? I thought you’d never ask! I vote for the endive salad with apple matchsticks, winter squash soup with red onion crisp, tangy baked eggplant and couscous, and raclette tartiflette. And please don’t forget the thick molasses spice cookies, family style crème brûlée, and 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.
olive oil brownies
New: An olive oil-rich brownie that's thicker and more deeply chocolatey than my forever favorite recipe but remains one bowl, hand-whisked, and could be coming out of your oven in 45 minutes.
deviled eggs
An argument for deviled eggs as the perfect meal anchor. No piping bags or fussy ingredients, I use a simple filling and then apply toppings with chaotic abandon, whatever I can dredge up from the fridge.
cauliflower slaw
Slivered cauliflower, deeply toasted almonds, vinegar-plumped currants and the magic that is crispy fried capers is exactly the kind of crunch and freshness I crave with heavier wintner foods, and it keeps well too.
pickled cabbage salad
Crunchy, bright, as good on day 2 as it is on day 7, this is the perfect side salad for a heavy holiday meal.
perfect, forever cornbread
I think we should bring a pan of freshly-baked, thick, buttery, crisp on top cornbread to our next potluck to share with friends and I think it should be this one, my forever favorite. A pat of salted butter on top is mandatory, okay? You'll be so glad you did.
french onion tart
A savory dinner tart version of my favorite soup, replete with the sweetly cooked onions, a hint of broth, and the nonnegotiable broiled cheese lid. This is the exact pick-me-up a wintry week needs, don't you think?
spanakopita
The best -- golden, crispy, perfectly flavored -- spanakopita I've ever made or eaten, thanks to a TikTok! Eatlikegreekwithjulie Markou does a few things a little differently and it makes it so much more doable. I hope you feel equally triumphant when you pull this off at home.
perfect vegetable lasagna
A sky-high vegetable lasagna, five layers of noodles, sauce, cheese, and vegetables (that are not an afterthought, for once). The top layer is crackly with melted, deeply bronzed cheese over a thin slick of garlicky tomato sauce and might be the very best reason to make this.
monkey bread with cream cheese glaze
Monkey bread is like cream cheese-frosted cinnamon buns and doughnut holes got together and dressed up as cake. It's pretty much pull-apart weekend brunch heaven, and this recipe is a cinch.
cranberry vanilla coffee cake
A tender vanilla coffee cake with a streusel lid and a glittery, tart red ribbon of a filling is charmingly festive and welcomed by everyone, especially at all of those daytime holiday parties and potlucks.
cheesecake-marbled brownies
The swirly, buttery, luxurious intersection of a brownie and cheesecake is a fantastic idea on a crisp winter day. Trust me on this.
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most. I recently added several new favorites I’ve bought in the last year. For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
See you next week!
