EVERY SPRING, I TELL MYSELF THE SAME LIE before heading to the market.
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​“This time,” I tell myself, forgetting to grab one of our 842 shopping bags—that are hanging RIGHT NEXT TO THE GARAGE DOOR—“I’m going to be disciplined.”

I even bring a list. A sensible list on my phone written by a rational adult with ADHD-ishness who understands that a two-person household does not require four bunches of asparagus, two baskets of peas, three kinds of greens, whatever that mysterious, leafy thing is that an ancient farmer swears is delicious sautéed in butter—and two dozen donuts.

And for the first five minutes, I’m good. Honest.

Then it happens. Some guy plunks a crate of strawberries in my path that just screams spring. Bouquets of pale-green garlic scapes so young they haven’t had time to grow into their signature pigtail curls appear. A pile of baby carrots, dirt a’clinging, greens a’perking, whispers my name.

And just like that, the list’s forgotten. I start picking up whatever feels alive. Whatever smells like the season finally showed up after months of dutiful and dull root vegetables. (No offense, rutabagas.) Later, I get home with bags full of things I didn’t plan for and, more often than not, have no idea what to do with.

And then, like clockwork, this happens: After I unburden myself, collapsing into a chair moaning, “I’M EXHAUSTED,” I lose interest. (I guess I’m more interested in the hunt rather than the kill.) Thankfully, in comes The One—steady, reliable, sane Alan. He looks at me, shakes his head, and watches as I trundle off to my desk to make yet another mess. Again.

He, on the other hand, ducks into his 20-year-old Leite’s Culinaria apron, dumps out the content of the bags, and begins. I can hear the rhythmic tock, tock, tock of the knife hitting the cutting board. The sizzle of vegetables hitting hot oil, or better yet, browning butter. Him singing along with the radio. (Adele, usually.)

I have no idea what he makes or how he does it. I only know it’s ready when dinner wafts through the family room and over to my studio.
​
Farmers market hauls have a way of rewarding curiosity, patience... and a heapin’ helping of ADHD.

Chow,

My Spring Market Playbook

• Buy what looks happiest. Shiny snap peas, perky herbs, asparagus that practically salutes as you walk by—fresh produce should look alive. If it looks tired, leave it.

• Keep the cooking simple. Early spring vegetables don’t need elaborate techniques. A quick sauté, a hot oven, good olive oil, salt, and maybe a squeeze of lemon will do wonders.

• Mix raw with cooked. Spring meals shine when textures play together—crisp shaved vegetables alongside roasted ones, tender greens with something crunchy.

• Cook vegetables like they’re the main event. This is the moment to let asparagus, peas, radishes, and young greens take center stage. Protein can be the supporting actor.

• Leave room for improvisation. The best market cooking happens when you let the ingredients lead. Buy what looks irresistible and figure out the rest when you get home.

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The Recipes​

​Carrot Ribbon Salad​

This ultra-quick salad sits happily alongside almost anything. It’s the perfect way to add a shatteringly crisp crunch to Vietnamese noodles, falafel, or wraps.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Cherry Tomato, Asparagus & Herbed Ricotta Tart​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.72 from 14 votes

The sensational whipped ricotta is the star here—you’ll want to put it on every vegetable tart you make. Drizzle on some pesto for an extra layer of punchy flavor.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Roasted Potatoes With Dill​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 from 20 votes

These require only a handful of ingredients and a little patience. They roast to crispy-edged, tender-throughout perfection with almost zero effort.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Swiss Chard, Leek & Goat Cheese Tart​

This tart comes together in a perfectly flaky crust and makes an impressive vegetarian main for brunch or a light dinner.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Herbed Ricotta Dip With Spring Vegetables​

Herbed ricotta dip with spring vegetables is easy as can be to make with just a few ingredients, including garlic, chives, parsley, mint, and lemon zest. And it’s inspired at least one 5-year-old to eat an entire bag of carrots in a single sitting. Just ask his mom.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Stir-Fried Lettuce​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.85 from 13 votes

Unexpectedly and thrillingly tasty, this recipe transforms a basic head of romaine into something savory and sophisticated in minutes.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Buttery Oven Roasted Radishes​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 3 votes

These little jewels with herb butter showcase crunchy, peppery spring radishes in the best possible way. They're cooked in the oven to mellow their bite, then smothered in herb compound butter for an easy, outstanding side dish.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Asparagus Risotto​

This asparagus risotto is easy and creamy and made with asparagus, Parmesan, shallots, garlic, butter, white wine, and Italian Arborio rice. A lovely spring riff on a traditional Italian classic in less than an hour.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Italian-Style Artichokes ~ Carciofi​

These are slowly cooked in olive oil until they’re infused with garlicky goodness. It’s a show-stopping side dish that looks much harder to make than it actually is.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Baked Asparagus With Parmesan & Balsamic Vinegar​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.7 from 10 votes

Tender blanched spears get a hit of nutty Parmesan and a sweet balsamic glaze. It’s the simplest way to make asparagus feel special.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Spring Salad With Shallot Vinaigrette​

This spring salad—a mix of butter lettuce, radishes, avocados, goat cheese, and herbs—is tossed with a dressing that gets its creaminess and flavor from crème fraîche, honey, and Dijon mustard.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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YESTERDAY AT BREAKFAST, The One put down his yellow Fiesta coffee cup and nestled it in the blue Fiesta saucer. (He’s resolute that the joy of colorful vintage pottery is in mixing...never matching.)
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“What are we doing for Easter?” he asked.
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Now, you’d think that would be a pretty easy answer. But Easter in the Portuguese world has never been a modest holiday. It’s not the kind of meal where you quietly roast a chicken and call it a day. No. Easter is a production. A Wagnerian opera of roasting pans, garlic, citrus, and herbs; shouts and laughter; and long tables filled with family members you see only at holidays, communions, weddings, and funerals.
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Growing up on Sharps Lot Road, I watched as our house slowly transformed throughout the morning. First came the aromas—boiling potatoes, melting butter, something with brown sugar. Then the Formica counters were covered with every serving dish we owned, black enamel roasting pans, and olives. Bowls and bowls of olives. Go figure. Vovó Costa inevitably hissing, “Don’t touch that—it’s for later!”
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At the center of it all? A roast so glorious it made the room pause. Just for a second. For us, it was never lamb. It was always, always ham. Not just ham, but the kind with pineapple rings and Maraschino cherries in the middle, the whole shebang held together with toothpicks. And all of it served on Mama Leite’s Temporama Atomic plates and platters. Which in keeping with the Atomic Age theme, were alarmingly high in lead. So high that in 2020 a warning was issued never to eat off them. Yay, us!!​
​
Now, I haven’t eaten a Maraschino cherry since I left for college in 1978, although I’m sure the dye is still in my body! Since then, or more specifically, since The One, it’s been lamb. Every time, every year.

All without lead or red dye No. 4 anywhere in sight.

Happy Easter, Culinistas!

Chow,

My Plan for an Easter-Worthy Roast

• Season early. Like, earlier than you think. Salt the lamb (or fresh ham) the night before if possible. This dry brine penetrates the meat, giving you deeper flavor and juicier slices.

• Build flavor under the surface. Don’t just season the outside. Slip garlic, herbs, citrus zest, or spice pastes into small cuts in the meat. That’s where the magic hides.

• Roast slower than your impatience wants. Low and steady heat gives lamb its tenderness and keeps ham from drying out. Holiday meals reward patience.

• Use that damn thermometer! I’ve been barking about this for years. Have you finally bought an instant-read thermometer?

• Let the roast rest. Seriously. Pull the meat from the oven and give it a good 15–20 minutes before carving. This lets the juices redistribute so every slice stays luscious.

• Make the table feel abundant. Easter isn’t about restraint. It’s about a table that feels just a little too full—too many sides, too much laughter, and the faint suspicion you’ll be eating leftovers for days.

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Talking With My Mouth Full LIVE Podcast

Join Amy and me on TODAY, April 1st at our new time – 12 noon ET – as we chat with Italian cookbook author Domenica Marchetti. Her newest book, Italian Cookies, drops April 14. Get a sneak peek with us.

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The Recipes​

​Italian Roast Leg Of Lamb With Garlic & Rosemary​

This Tuscan-style roast leg of lamb is made in traditional Italian fashion with a garlic, rosemary, lemon, and olive oil marinade before being roasted until perfectly tender. Easy and elegant.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Roasted Fresh Ham With Maple-Spice Glaze​

This roasted fresh ham with maple-spice glaze is slowly cooked and infused with flavors of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and maple syrup. It’s a centerpiece-worthy entree, perfect for any holiday gathering.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​

Ham & Potatoes Sarladaise​

Ham and potatoes sarladaise is just a fancy French way of saying “Hey, got leftover ham? This is a fantastically comforting thing to make with it!” The addition of parsley and garlic make it rustic and quick to prep.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Slow-Cooked Lamb & Cannellini Beans​

This slow-cooked lamb and cannellini beans is an oh-so-comforting stew made with tender braised boneless lamb, white beans, vegetables and topped with parsley and lemon gremolata. The perfect thing for winter.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Dr Pepper Glazed Ham​

This Dr Pepper glazed ham calls for a spiraled ham to be brushed with Dr Pepper, brown sugar, orange juice, and Dijon mustard. The ham absorbs the spice characteristics of the soda to become absolutely delicious. Don’t knock it till you try it.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Slow-Roasted Boneless Leg Of Lamb​

This applause-worthy roasted boneless leg of lamb is easy to make with just four ingredient—lamb, oil, garlic, and rosemary—and 15 minutes of effort.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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Lamb Chops With Cilantro & Mint Sauce​

These lamb chops are seared to perfection and are easy and quick thanks to a nifty combination of mint and cilantro that you can use either as a marinade or as a simple finishing sauce, depending on how much time you can spare.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Glazed Ham​

This glazed ham with brown sugar, pineapple juice, honey, mustard, and marmalade is a centerpiece-worthy baked ham that we adore for its good looks and classic taste. Easy as can be and impressive as heck. Best cured pork we’ve ever had.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Red Wine Garlic Roasted Leg Of Lamb​

This whole roasted leg of lamb that’s brined with herbs and red wine and then roasted with plenty of garlic is the best we’ve ever tried. Here’s how to make it.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Leg Of Lamb With Moroccan Spices​

Leg of lamb with Moroccan spices is marinated with an intoxicating blend of earthy, warming spices and served with pan sauce, honey, and Aleppo chile pepper.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

​P.S. Won’t you consider tapping the ♥️, restacking this post, and/or leaving a comment? It takes but a moment, but its impact is enormous! xx

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​

THERE’S SOMETHING ALMOST SPIRITUAL about dinner on a Sunday. Not in a raise-the-rafter, devil-come-out kind of way. More like a watching-butter-slump-in-the-pan-when-heated way. No rush, no craziness.

When I was a kid, Sundays were all about pumping the brakes. Reading, watching a movie on TV, ambling around the backyard, and eating. Always eating. Mama Leite and VoVo Costa were high priestesses of the Church of the Low Simmer.
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Slowing down and being still is something I have to force myself to do. (My old shrink said it’s fear of death. Go figure.) But The One? It’s imprinted on his chromosomes, especially when he’s cooking. No matter what he’s making, it always starts the same. He ducks into his apron and ties it in back. He turns on music (thankfully not his beloved Kenny G), and starts chopping.

Pretty soon, a handful of onions and a scattering of garlic are surrendering to olive oil. And then it happens. The kitchen slows down. I wander in about this time (usually under the pretense of making sure he’s not screwing up). But, really, I love watching him. He’s everything I’m not: calm, methodical, centered. In that moment, time stops being a nuisance and starts being an ingredient.

And THAT’S why I worship at the altar of Sunday Supper.

Chow,

5 Commandments of Sunday Suppers

1. Thou Shalt Brown Thy Meat. Whether it’s sausage, ribs, or meatballs, the flavor’s in the fond. Don’t rush the sear.

2. Honor the Simmer. Once everything’s in the pot, back away. Sauce rewards patience, not meddling.

3. Confess Thy Seasoning. Taste often, forgive generously. A little salt and acid can redeem even the blandest batch.

4. Breaketh Bread and Shareth the Butter. A hunk of crusty bread isn’t optional—it’s a sacrament.

5. Purposely Make Leftovers. Because nothing humbles a Tuesday quite like reheated perfection over pasta.

CHANGE OF DATE: Our Next Live

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🎬 Video Break

We interrupt this ode to Sunday for this new side dish video. It highlights the decadent Broccoli & Blue Cheese Gratin. I wanted to get this in front of you, just in case you’re beginning to gather recipe ideas for Easter.

​Homemade Pasta Dough​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.83 from 81 votes

This is homemade pasta dough I make all the time. It’s foolproof and easy to make by hand or with your stand mixer with just eggs, flour, olive oil, and salt. Italian through and through.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.80 from 309 votes

And you can’t have pasta without an excellent Bolognese sauce. This is Marcella’s recipe that I fiddled with. I added veal and pork, and it has a real depth of flavor. Plus, I doubled it so you’ll have some to freeze!

​☞ ​Try This Recipe​

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Spaghetti Carbonara​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.92 from 25 votes

Spaghetti carbonara, a pasta and sauce rich with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and guanciale, pancetta, or bacon, is a quick and easy dinner that takes just 25 minutes from stove to table.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Mama Leite’s Carne Assada​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.82 from 33 votes

This Portuguese carne assada from my VERY Portuguese Mama Leite, is a traditional Azorean braised beef dish made with meltingly tender meat, small red potatoes, chouriço, and onions.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Lasagne Bolognese​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.91 from 20 votes

This lasagne Bolognese from Giuliano Hazan is as authentic as it gets. Giuliano writes that you can make it over two days, but if you’re organized (which I’m not), you can make it in an afternoon—which I did.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​The One’s Beloved Lemon Chicken with Shallots​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 20 votes

This Dutch oven-roast chicken is nestled on a bed of shallots and garlic and roasted until golden and crisp-skinned. It’s an easy, hands-off meal that’s perfect for entertaining. Six ingredients and one pot. Couldn’t be simpler!

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Baked Ricotta​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.77 from 34 votes

This rich and indulgent baked ricotta is easy to make and supremely satisfying, making it perfect for entertaining.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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Roman-Style Chicken Cacciatore​

You know chicken cacciatore—chicken made with vegetables, herbs, and tons of tomatoes—right? In Rome, however, “alla cacciatora” implies meat stewed with rosemary, vinegar, and anchovies, with not one tomato in sight. Instead, the bird is simmered with garlic, rosemary, white wine, and anchovies.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Homemade Tomato Paste​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.73 from 48 votes

Sure, it’s not tomato-glut season. That’s all the more reason to make this now. You can take those cottony supermarket tomatoes and turn them into a superb tomato paste. I use mine on all sorts of dishes. Buh-bye, tomato paste in a tube!

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

​P.S. Won’t you consider tapping the ♥️, restacking this post, and/or leaving a comment? It takes but a moment, but its impact is enormous! xx

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IF YOU THINK I was uninterested in the Super Bowl, multiply that by 10 when it comes to March Madness. For years, I honestly thought it was a term to describe the lunatic March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. (Which, to me, is a way more logical connection.)

Wrong!
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Whenever I attended a March Madness event (read: kidnapped by straight-boy college friends), I hovered dangerously close to the snack table. Give me a two-liter bottle of Diet Coke, a ridiculously large bowl of potato chips, and Lipton Onion Soup Dip, and I can grit my teeth through just about anything.
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While I don’t celebrate MM in any way, I’m not above having a family-room coffee table groaning under the weight of chips, dips, wings, and an obscene amount of fried foods in solidarity. Then I binge-watch my latest obsession (this year it’s season 1, 2, and 3 of The Diplomat.)
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So come this weekend on Selection Sunday, whether you’re Team Crunch or Team Dip—or the Switzerland of snack diplomacy—make sure your spread is the real winner.

Chow,

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Amy Traverso, food editor of Yankee Magazine and cohost of the PBS program “Weekends with Yankee,” and I are back together. LIVE. We’ll be joined by the Princess of Pie, Kate McDermott. She’ll be sharing her tips and tricks for making savory pot pies.

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How to Win Game Day (No Brackets Required)

• Balance the Teams. For every salty, crispy bite, there should be something creamy and scoopable nearby. Equality tastes delicious.

• Go Big on Texture. The perfect bite has contrast—hot wings with cool ranch, chips with molten queso, crudités with… okay, fine, more ranch.

• Make It Handheld. If it needs a fork, it doesn’t belong at the party. Finger food or bust. (Um, except dessert.)

• Play the Clock. Serve hot snacks in waves so no one’s stuck with cold mozzarella sticks. It’s game day, not snack purgatory.

• Don’t Forget Dessert. Chocolate-dipped pretzels or peanut butter bars keep the sugar energy up when the game drags into the third hour of shouting.

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The Recipes​

Choriqueso​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.93 from 14 votes

Choriqueso is a Mexican cheese dip topped with cooked chorizo sausage and a sprinkling of cilantro that is served with chips or warm tortillas. Makes a swell appetizer or even a meal unto itself.

​☞ ​TRY THE RECIPE​

​Spicy Chex Mix​

This homemade spicy Chex mix bears some resemblance to the original but is SO much more interesting. The combination of roasted nuts, toasted cereal, and the ideal amount of cayenne and chili seasoning means you may never go back to the classic.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Totchos ~ Tater Tot Nachos​

Tater Tot nachos takes one of the most loved (and easiest) dinners and gives it a crispy, crunchy, potato-filled boost. Topped with chili—vegetarian or beef, it’s up to you—and loads of tomatoes, sour cream, and jalapeños, Totchos might be everyone’s perfect meal.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Seven Layer Dip​

It’s a Mexican-inspired party staple made with beans, cilantro, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and jalapeño. It’s crazy easy to make as well as quite healthy. And it requires no cooking whatsoever. And this is the best darn rendition of it we’ve ever had.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE

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​Buttermilk Onion Rings​

These buttermilk onion rings are briefly soaked in buttermilk and double-dipped in flour before frying to ensure an extra crisp coating and oh so tender onions within. Spectacular alongside burgers. Or simply on their own.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Homemade Chicken Strips​

Homemade chicken strips. When it comes to this type of quick weeknight dinner, we’re all about respecting the yum factor.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Crispy Smashed Buffalo Potatoes​

Chrissy Teigen’s crispy smashed Buffalo potatoes take your favorite crispy roasted potatoes to a whole new level. They’re tossed in a fiery Buffalo sauce and topped with a cooling blue cheese and buttermilk sauce.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Bayou Fried Shrimp​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.82 from 16 votes

The best Cajun fried shrimp. That’s what this is. Go on. Try it for yourself and see. It’s easy, authentic, and Cajun through and through.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE

​Barbecue Potato Chips​

Barbecue potato chips are one of those things everyone indulges in but no one talks about. This is just wrong because these are the best we’ve ever had and we want to tell everyone how to make ‘em.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Chocolate Covered Pretzels​

These chocolate covered pretzels—made with dark chocolate as well as white chocolate—boast a stunning appearance and a spectacular salty sweetness that’s terrific at parties. Here’s how to make them, whether you want to use rods, sticks, or twists, and whether you want to glam them up or keep them simple.

​☞ ​TRY THIS RECIPE​

​Peanut Butter Pie​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.80 from 5 votes

This peanut butter pie recipe is easy, creamy, and worthy of being dubbed Elvis Pie thanks to the presence of peanut butter, bacon, and banana. The King’s favorite sandwich fixings.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

​P.S. Won’t you consider tapping the ♥️, restacking this post, and/or leaving a comment? It takes but a moment, but its impact is enormous! xx​

CONFESSION TIME: I’m not a coffee slut. Caffiend. Or Java junkie. I’m so clueless that I pepper the baristas at Starbucks so much they duck—and don’t even try to hide it. I didn’t know how to use a coffee maker until a few years ago. (Ask The One if you don’t believe me.)
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But I’m one hell of a Yenta when it comes to breakfast matchmaking. There’s coffee and the cinnamon streusel coffee cake that’s all tender crumb and brown sugar swagger. Coffee and the lemon sweet bread that could wake the dead. Coffee and the nut-studded tea loaf that always looks like it took effort—because, kids, presentation matters.
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What do I really love? That moment, bleary-eyed on a Tuesday, when I shuffle into the kitchen, ass scratching, and spot the tightly wrapped loaf on the counter, and realize Past Me was a genius. It’s not about the sugar or the butter (though they certainly help). It’s about baking a small act of kindness for Future You, who’ll desperately need it.

Chow,

My Breakfast Bake Commandments

• Always Bake Ahead. Coffee cakes and sweet breads are better the next day. The flavors deepen, the crumb settles, and you get to look smugly prepared.

• Double Wrap, Double Happiness. Once cool, wrap tightly in plastic, then foil. It keeps the moisture in and the “Where’d that go?” crowd out.

• Glaze Is Optional, Pride Is Not. A drizzle of glaze buys you the illusion of effort. But a naked loaf, perfectly baked, can be just as seductive.

• Freeze the Extras (or Don’t). These freeze beautifully. Unless, of course, you “accidentally” slice them into breakfast-sized slabs. Then all bets are off.

• Pair with Intention. A lemon loaf begs for dark roast; a cinnamon cake loves milky coffee. You don’t just eat—you curate.

The Recipes

Dirt Bombs (Baked Cinnamon Duffins)

These dirt bombs, muffins based on those sold at Bantam Bread Company in Bantam, CT, which invented them, are irresistible baked donuts spiked with nutmeg and cardamom, and rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

Coffee Cake With An Espresso Swirl​

This moist coffee cake gets a caffeine boost from the ribbon of espresso swirl running through it and finished with a crumbly brown-butter streusel topping.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

These homemade cinnamon raisin bagels are filled with plump raisins, cinnamon, and a hint of cocoa. They're begging to be toasted and buttered or schmeared with cream cheese.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

​Blueberry Coffee Cake with Lemon Glaze​

This coffee cake is perfect for breakfast, afternoon snacks, dessert, or maybe even gifting—if you can find someone that you like enough. Seriously, this tenderly moist, blueberry and lemon-forward bundt cake will have you going back for more.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

​Applesauce Bread​

This applesauce bread with cinnamon is an easy quick bread that’s only subtly sweet yet contains all the flavors of fall. It’s ready with just 10 minutes of effort and a little patience while it bakes. Perfect for a last-moment sugar fix or slip a slice (or two) in the kids’ lunch box.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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Easy Cinnamon Knots​

These easy cinnamon knots, or cinnamon swirls, are made from strips of buttery pastry filled with cinnamon sugar and optional dried fruit. Though they may look complicated to make, they're really a breeze to put together. Pinky swear.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

Lemon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake​

This lemon pull-apart coffee cake is made of layers of yeasted dough sandwiched together with a sweet, buttery filling fragrant with citrus zest. Once out of the oven, it’s brushed with a lemon cream cheese icing and fairly falls apart although it’s much funner to gently pull it apart.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Chocolate Muffins​

These easy chocolate muffins, made with flour, sugar, cocoa, eggs, oil, and vanilla, have a not-too-sweet but intense cocoa flavor. For those of us with more adult chocolate cravings.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

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​Banana Bread By Cook’s Illustrated​

This banana bread from Cook’s Illustrated includes yogurt and walnuts for a scrumptiously moist, easy, classic, nutty quick bread. We consider it the best we’ve ever had.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

Banana Topped Muffins​

These easy, moist, one-bowl banana-topped muffins are crammed with as many bananas as possible and taste just like homemade banana bread (above). To gild the lily, sliced bananas crown these tender muffins.

​☞ ​Try This Recipe

​P.S. Won’t you consider tapping the ♥️, restacking this post, and/or leaving a comment? It takes but a moment, but its impact is enormous! xx

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EVERY WINTER, I find myself measuring the season not by the temperature but by the smell of what’s baking. When I catch that first whiff of butter caramelizing at the pan’s edge or cinnamon coaxing me from my desk, I know I’ve found my purpose for the day. The One calls it “productive procrastination,” but I call it therapy... with snacks.
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There’s something so assuringly retro about standing in a warm kitchen while the world outside skulks around in 50 shades of gray and sadness. Mixing, kneading, folding—it’s meditation disguised as work. You get to disappear into the rhythm of it: the soft scrape of a spatula, the ticking of the oven heating, the anticipation of what’s to come. And when the timer finally dings, you’ve created something golden and fragrant that never existed in the world until you came along.

For me, there’s nothing more joyful or deeply human than creating. (And the fact that what I make is edible ain’t so bad, either!!)

Chow,

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My Golden Rules for Weekend Baking

• Warm up the butter (and yourself). Cold butter equals punishment. Let it soften while you sip something cozy.

• Make a mess. Flour on the counter, sugar on the floor—it’s proof of creation, not failure.

• Double the vanilla. Always. Life’s too short for measured restraint.

• Trust your nose. If it smells like heaven, it’s probably done—timers are suggestions, not commandments.

• Share... or don’t. Freshly baked goods are a love language, but some days, self-love wins hands down.

REVIEW: I cooked with the top two nonstick skillets. Here’s what I found.

☞ NOTE: This is not sponsored by any company. I purchased both skillets from Amazon. I have no relationship with either Misen or Le Creuset.

I bought two nonstick skillets three months ago—at the exact same time—because I wanted to figure out which one is best so I could pass the recommendation on to you. I’ve been putting them through the wringer since November, and I finally have some thoughts to share.

Misen Carbon Nonstick Frying Pan

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What they say:

• Made with nitrided carbon steel, which hardens the metal and creates a naturally nonstick surface.

• Zero coatings and completely free of “forever chemicals” (PFAS, PTFE, etc.).

• Highly rust-resistant and noticeably lighter than traditional carbon steel.

• Seasons itself and becomes more nonstick the more you cook with it.

My experience:

I love Misen’s regular carbon steel pans, so I was drawn to this pan because of its incredible durability and the fact that it has no chemical coatings. They claim it is self-seasoning but nonstick right out of the box. Top it off, Serious Eats, Food & Wine, and Bon Appétit all recommend it.

Well... out of the box, it was anything but. Most things stuck to it. (The One wanted me to send it back.) But I kept using it at least three times a week, and now three months later, it’s becoming truly nonstick. I didn’t initially understand why anyone would need this specific pan versus a regular carbon steel, since both become more nonstick with use. But this is lighter, way more resistant to rusting, and easier to care for. But the real benefit, though, is that it completely skips the forever chemicals while giving you a pan that won’t flake and will legit last forever.

Le Creuset Toughened Nonstick Pro Fry Pan

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What they say:

• Features a textured, triple-reinforced nonstick coating that easily wipes clean.

• Oven-safe up to 500°F and safe for metal utensils.

• Hard anodized aluminum construction for quick, even heating.

My experience:

Right out of the box, this pan was incredibly nonstick. It was an absolute dream when I was cooking delicate foods like fish or frying eggs. You barely have to try; the food just glides right off.

But the major con is the coating itself. Le Creuset confirms that this specific pan does contain PFAS, those pesky and very unhealthy forever chemicals, for its nonstick properties. So while the performance is flawless from day one, it comes with the serious trade-off of a chemical coating.

The verdict

Right out of the box, the Le Creuset nonstick wins hands down for sheer convenience and immediate performance. However, you have to swallow (gallows-humor pun intended) that it has a chemical coating.

The Misen pan, on the other hand, was a bit off a mess at first. But with a little time and patience, it’s now just as nonstick as the Le Creuset pan, and you get the peace of mind knowing there are zero chemicals involved.

🥇Winner: Misen Carbon Nonstick Frying Pan 🥇

The Recipes

​Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.85 from 33 votes

This Old-Fashioned Coconut Cake is moist and tender, with a rich coconut flavor and a silky meringue frosting. This cake is the perfect coconut dessert recipe for any occasion, and it’s sure to please.

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Hungarian Coffee Cake

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 3 votes

This Hungarian coffee cake, made with cinnamon sugar and a yeasted bread dough and a rich, buttery cinnamon streusel, is essentially a cross between bread and pastry and cake. What could be better?

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​Morning Buns​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.74 from 23 votes

These buns are (of course) inspired by the famous morning buns created at Tartine. On her only visit to San Francisco, Sarah Keiffer was able to try one of these perfect buns—orange and cinnamon and sugar and butter all wrapped up in a flaky dough. The orange and cinnamon scents that waft from the oven as they bake will fill your whole home with cheer.

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​Zingerman’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake ​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.79 from 28 votes

This easy sour cream coffee cake, from the famous Zingerman’s Bakehouse in Ann Arbor, MI, lives up to its well-deserved reputation. A cinnamon walnut filling swirls through a moist, buttery cake Bundt. Caution: Highly addictive.

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​Monkey Bread From Zoë François​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.7 from 10 votes

This caramel monkey bread is a gooey sweet pull-apart cake made from blobs of brioche dough coated in a caramel sauce made with cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar. It’s easy as can be to make from scratch in a loaf pan—and fun as heck to tease apart with your hands. It makes a great breakfast treat, snack, dessert, or even Christmas morning surprise.

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​Linzer Bars

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 2 votes

These linzer bars have a sweet shortbread cookie crust, a jammy raspberry filling, a buttery crumble topping, and a sweet almond icing. Similar to the classic linzer tart but with so much less effort and fuss.

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​Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 8 votes

These biscuit cinnamon rolls are quick and easy, laced with spice, and lavished with buttermilk cream cheese icing. A shortcut dish when you want the taste of homemade buns but don’t have the time—or the yeast.

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​Twinkie Bundt Cake​

This Twinkie Bundt cake is essentially a giant, cream-filled Twinkie. It’s made from scratch, and all of the ingredients are pronounceable, so you won’t be partaking of any weird chemical concoction here.

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​Blueberry Coffee Cake With Lemon Glaze

​⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 4 votes

Blueberries and lemon take center stage, while the sour cream makes a moistly tender coffee cake. Appropriate for any occasion, this glorious, dense, and delicious Bundt cake serves a crowd.

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​Lemon Pull-Apart Coffee Cake​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.94 from 31 votes

This lemon pull-apart coffee cake is made of layers of yeasted dough sandwiched together with a sweet, buttery filling fragrant with citrus zest. Once out of the oven, it’s brushed with a lemon cream cheese icing and fairly falls apart although it’s much funner to gently pull it apart.

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WHEN I WAS A KID, the days before Lent were treated like a culinary Olympics in our house. My mother would declare, “We’re cleaning out the freezer!” which translated to every cut of meat known to man sizzling, braising, or roasting at once. The kitchen looked like a Renaissance banquet—steam clouding the windows, the table groaning, me stationed nearby with a plate of dinner rolls like a linebacker ready to carb-load for Jesus.
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Even now—decades after Papa and Mama Leite went full-frontal Evangelical (I mean, talking in tongues and the whole, “Devil, come out!” thing), and I took the secular exit off the Highway to Heaven—I still feel that same call to arms when Mardi Gras and Lent loom.

A gloriously gluttonous, unapologetic celebration of the carnivorous arts is upon us.

This is no time for restraint. It’s a moment to honor the richness of what’s before us, to coax every ounce of flavor from bone and fat and fire. Because come Wednesday, it’s all fish and virtue for hundreds of millions of people. Tonight, though, we feast.

Chow,

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My Rules for a Meatapalooza Feast

• Lead with abundance. Big cuts, bold flavors—let generosity set the tone.

• Respect the roast. Whether it’s beef, pork, or lamb, give it time to brown and rest. Patience equals glory.

• Balance the richness. Bitter greens, bright citrus, or sharp mustard keep the meal from toppling into excess.

• Use the drippings. Sauces and gravies are where the soul of the feast hides. Don’t waste them.

• Eat like it’s your last supper. Because for the next forty days, it kind of is.

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The Recipes​

​Standing Rib Roast With Jus​

A standing rib roast with jus is an absolute show-stopping dinner. And not to mention the parsley and dill-infused herbaceous jus that’ll make you the toast of your social circle. Seriously, get ready to be a hero.

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Spit-Roasted Duck​

If you’ve only had oven-roasted duck, this tick just may change your whole opinion of the bird. It comes out so crisp and delicious, with a deeply brown, burnished skin, it’s almost like Chinese roast duck. But to render the fat, you really have to prick the skin all over—fifty times, in fact. Count ‘em!

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​​Carnitas ​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.87 from 69 votes

This old-school authentic carnitas—pork shoulder simmered with onion, garlic, bay leaf, and orange until falling-apart tender and crispy—is excellent in burritos, tacos, or on its own. And it can be made in an Instant Pot or slow cooker.

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​Barbecue Beef Ribs​

Just like a country ham that’s dry-cured with salt and sugar and aged to perfection, a good beef rib sauce must balance sweet (in this case brown sugar) with spicy (cayenne and dry mustard). And, as with baby back pork ribs, beef ribs benefit from the added depth and complexity of a rich sauce because they don’t have that much flavor to begin with.

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​Smoked Beef Ribs​

You can smoke the ribs as individual ribs, or you can have your butcher leave them as one large rack that you carve when done. These are sometimes called dinosaur ribs, like what Fred Flintstone eats at the drive-in.

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​Nach Waxman’s Beef Brisket​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.86 from 41 votes

The brisket is partially cooked, removed from the oven, and sliced. It’s then returned to the oven to cook completely. Juicy, deeply flavorful, and amazingly tender. Genius.

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​Dr Pepper Glazed Ham​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.86 from 14 votes

This Dr Pepper glazed ham calls for a spiraled ham to be brushed with Dr Pepper, brown sugar, orange juice, and Dijon mustard. The ham absorbs the spice characteristics of the soda to become absolutely delicious. Don’t knock it till you try it.

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​Smoked Prime Rib​

This smoked prime rib, coated with a sugar spice rub and smothered with a horseradish mustard mixture, becomes slowly infused with smoky flavor and is simply the best prime rib we’ve ever tried.

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Roast Pork Butt in the Oven

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.89 from 439 votes

This is one of my favorite roast pork butt recipes. It’s wicked easy to make, perfect for beginners, and yields the most tender, juicy, and flavorful results every time. With a simple spice rub and slow cooking in the oven, you’ll have a delicious meal for any occasion.​

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​Dry-Rubbed Tri-Tip​

This easy recipe for pan-seared tri-tip relies on a simple dry rub and a hot skillet.

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THE SPORTS BOWL THINGAMAJIG IS THIS SUNDAY. (Go, Celtics!) As most of you know, I live for the half-time shows, not football (quelle surprise), but, alas, man cannot live by sparkles, spangles, and fireworks alone. Just ask Neely.

So, in honor of those of you who will watch and eat (and eat and eat!), here’s a little rundown of what to do in the kitchen. (You’re on your own in the TV room.)

Super Bowl Sunday isn’t cooking; it’s crowd management. It’s about making food that tastes great an hour later, survives the occasional ref call meltdown, and doesn’t require a fork or an apology. Nobody needs your culinary ego today—they need fuel. Crispy, melty, salty fuel.
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So this year, ditch the fantasy of precious gourmet sliders and artisanal dips that require garnish by tweezer. You’re not auditioning for Top Chef. You’re hosting the culinary equivalent of a contact sport. Get the food out, keep the crowd happy, and don’t miss the halftime show because you’re scrubbing a baking sheet.

​Chow,

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Sports Bowl Survival Strategy

• Pick plays that last. Chili, wings, nachos—foods that only get better as the tension rises.

• Create snack zones. One near the TV, one by the drinks. Keeps people moving and minimizes chip casualties.

• Keep it one-handed. No forks. No knives. Just grab, chew, and cheer.

• Prep drinks in bulk. Pitchers, not cocktails. You deserve to watch the commercials too.

• End strong, end easy. Brownies, cookies, maybe hand pies. Desserts that don’t need fanfare—just napkins.

Quick Links

​❖ MORE DIP RECIPES

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❖ MORE MEATBALL RECIPES

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❖ MORE CHICKEN WING RECIPES

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​The Recipes

​Football Cheese Ball​

This football cheese ball with bacon is, well, exactly what the title proclaims. A cheese ball in the shape of a football. Made with both Cheddar and cream cheese as well as jalapeño and, yes, bacon. Perfect for Super Bowl.

​☞ ​Try this recipe
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​Pressure Cooker Ribs​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.79 from 66 votes

These pressure cooker ribs, which are easy and ideal for the Instant Pot, are finished in the oven with a brown sugar and Dijon glaze. It’s a super-fast method for knee-wobbling, lip-smacking, fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

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​Choriqueso​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.93 from 14 votes

Choriqueso is a Mexican cheese dip topped with cooked chorizo sausage and a sprinkling of cilantro that is served with chips or warm tortillas. Makes a swell appetizer or even a meal unto itself.

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​​Chorizo Meatballs​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.86 from 27 votes

The One and I re-test-drove these little lovelies this past weekend. I forgot how good they were! They’re simple to make with ground beef and Spanish pork chorizo, Cheddar cheese, red onion, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Honestly, some of the best meatballs we’ve ever made.

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​Cajun Fried Chicken​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.64 from 11 votes

This Cajun fried chicken recipe is bathed in buttermilk and turns out crisp, slightly spicy, perfectly deep-fried loveliness thanks to its Southern charm and Louisiana personality. Quite literally the best we’ve had.

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​Tabasco Chicken Wings​

These Tabasco chicken wings, which are deep-fried and tossed in a spicy Tabasco butter sauce made with chili sauce, vinegar, and cayenne, are not your ordinary chicken wings.

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​Hot Artichoke Dip​

Artichoke hearts are an essential store-cupboard ingredient for me. This recipe is one of my favorites—delicious, quick, and simple to make. I always serve this with toasted rosemary focaccia. It is rich, comforting, and everyone always wants the recipe.

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​Crab Cakes With Ritz Crackers​

Granted, crab cakes aren’t exactly at the top of Super Bowl Food Lists, but come on, cut me some slack! I need to inject a LITTLE zhuzh in this newsletter!

These cakes are a lush take on doughy crab cakes of days past. These crab cakes are mostly crab—as they should be—with some celery, heavy cream, and seasoning. It's true! The Ritz crackers make a crunchy, buttery crust for the luscious little cakes. Finish it all off with a buttery lemon and white wine sauce.

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Pepperoni Pan Pizza

This pepperoni pan pizza is made with a simple yet superlative from-scratch tomato sauce, two types of mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, pepperoni, and either store-bought or homemade dough. Lavished with everyone’s favorite topping and three types of cheese, this thick-crusted beauty means you can delete your closest pizza delivery place from your contacts and forget you ever craved anything else.

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​Short Rib Chili

This short rib chili is made with tender braised short ribs. No beans allowed...but you won’t miss them at all, I promise.

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Puerto Rican-Style Ropa Vieja

This Puerto Rican-style ropa vieja is made by slowly braising beef chuck roast in a fragrant sauce of onions, peppers, tomatoes, olives, and raisins until meltingly tender.

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Smoked Mac and Cheese

Smoked mac and cheese takes one of the best barbecue sides and adds it to the grill. Imbued with a touch of smoke, the three types of cheese and creamy sauce take on a whole new level of lusciousness.

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❖ MORE MAC & CHEESE RECIPES

Small Batch Brownies

These brownies are made from scratch and baked in a loaf pan, which means they make just enough for two, so you don’t have an entire baking pan of brownies sitting around all week tempting you. You’re welcome.​

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❖ MORE BROWNIE RECIPES

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EVERY TIME THERE’S A REAL WINTER STORM—the kind with names, warnings, and that creeping sense of we might be here a while—The One makes the same thing. Blizzard Beef. No debate. No browsing. He reaches for a chuck roast like it’s a life preserver.

It started years ago during a blizzard that shut everything down so thoroughly even the cats looked scared. He seasoned that roast aggressively, seared it hard, slid it into a pot with water, a reckless amount of Worcestershire sauce. I, however, prefer it zhuzhed up with a bunch of sautéed root vegetables. We’ve agreed to disagree, which is how you survive both storms and relationships.

Here’s what I know: When the snow piles up and the temperature plummet to numbers that feel inhumane, cooking becomes more than dinner. It’s structure. It’s heat. It’s something to do with your hands so you don’t bite the heads off the people you love because they’re breathing too loudly.

Big pots simmering all day change the mood of a house. They slow down everyone. They give you leftovers, which means security. And they make you feel—if only for a few days—that you knew this storm was coming and you were ready.

So, please be careful. Stock up on water, food, flashlights, batteries, and medications. Charge all your devices, check your furnace, and make sure you have blankets and warm clothes. Stay off roads, prepare for potential power outages, and check on neighbors and loved ones.

Then... cook. And if things get tense being stuck in the house with everyone while the all hell let’s loose outside? Stir something. It helps, honest.

​Chow,

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The Blizzard Rules (Learned the Hard Way)

• Cook big, not clever. This is not the moment for delicacy or fussiness. Choose dishes that improve after a day or two and forgive you if you wander off mid-simmer.

• Braises are emotional support. Chuck, brisket, short ribs—they’re patient, resilient, and deeply comforting. Be like them.

• One pot = household harmony. Fewer dishes. Less bickering. More time hovering near the stove for warmth.

• Bread is not optional. It turns soup into a meal and leftovers into something you’ll actually look forward to.

• Always plan one sweet. Morale matters. When the plows finally come through, you’ll want something with chocolate or spice and zero judgment.

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The Recipes

​Easy Pot Roast, Potatoes, and Vegetables​

This easy pot roast with potatoes and vegetables is quick to assemble and then made in the slow cooker or crock pot or simply slid into the oven. A simple classic with beef, carrots, potatoes, and red wine. Perhaps our best—and most comforting—Sunday supper.

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​Maple Bourbon Braised Short Ribs​

The title of these maple bourbon braised short ribs says it all. Meaty short ribs are braised in a brew of bourbon, maple syrup, beef broth, tomato paste, and herbs until amazingly tender.

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​Braised Brisket with Red Wine and Honey​

This braised brisket with red wine and honey is sweet and tangy and fall-apart tender and so perfect it makes us go weak in the knees. And it’s a hunk of beef large enough to feed a crowd so it has that going for it, too.

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​Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce​

Imagine a sauce so deeply flavorful and luxuriously rich it zooms you straight to Bologna. This is Marcella Hazan’s iconic Bolognese—a cornerstone of Italian cooking from the woman who brought authentic regional Italian cuisine into American kitchens. With patience and simple ingredients, she created a sauce that’s nothing short of extraordinary.

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​Meatball Lasagna​

This meatball lasagna is a playful riff from Alex Guarnaschelli on the Italian classic where tender mini beef and veal meatballs stand in for traditional meat sauce.

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​Three-Cheese Vegetarian Lasagna​

Three-cheese vegetarian lasagna is easy and exceptional and even sorta elegant anytime of year BUT we especially welcome it at the Thanksgiving table when we need something vegetarian and lovely. Here’s exactly how to make it plus what kind of cheeses work best.

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​White Bean and Chicken Chili​

This white bean and chicken chili, a Mexican-inspired meal that’s made with smoky bacon, onions, carrots, celery, peppers, and spices, is hearty, healthy, and completely doable on a weeknight.

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​Portuguese Bean Soup​

Portuguese bean soup takes an “everything but the kitchen sink” approach by filling a brothy base with nearly everything you can imagine--including beans, sausage, ham, tomatoes, potatoes, and cabbage. Serve with a sweet, warm roll. Perfection.

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​Cuban Black Bean Soup​

This Cuban black bean soup is made from scratch from dried black beans, peppers, onion, garlic, cumin, and vinegar. lt’s cheap, simple, and vegetarian.

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​Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup​

Slow cooker split pea soup with ham is traditional winter comfort food made easy. Just toss everything in a Crockpot and walk away. It also freezes wonderfully. You’re welcome.

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​Authentic Vietnamese Pho​

Vietnamese pho is a soup made with a beef broth rich with ginger, onions, star anise, fish sauce, and onions. Into that go rice noodles, beef, scallions, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs.

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​Roasted Vegetable Stock​

This roasted vegetable stock from Nigel Slater simmers miso-roasted vegetables with dried mushrooms and herbs to create the most flavorful vegetable broth we’ve ever experienced.

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​Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread​

I’ve known Jim Lahey for years, and when he first shared this no-knead bread recipe, he upended the world of home bread baking. I was skeptical—an artisan loaf with a crackling crust from a dough you barely touch? Impossible! Yet, this ridiculously easy bread recipe is the real deal. Made with just four pantry staples, it produces the most magnificent crusty bread you’ll ever pull from your oven.

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​Pretzel Rolls​

These pretzel rolls taste just like the real German pretzel deal—shiny, salty, perfectly burnished, and densely bread-y. They’re reminiscent of a soft pretzel but in a more versatile shape so you can smother with butter, stuff with your favorite sandwich fixings, or inhale straight off the baking sheet.

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​No-Knead Cheddar Chiles Bread​

This no-knead Cheddar chiles bread is dense, marvelously savory, and shot through with Cheddar cheese and plenty of green chiles for an inspired loaf of amazingness, New Mexico style.

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​Big Chewy Brownie Cookies​

These big chewy brownie cookies are rich, buttery, and oh-so-chocolatey. Sandwich peanut butter filling between them for an extra special treat.

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​Make-Ahead Cinnamon Coffee Cake​

This make-ahead cinnamon coffee cake is perfect for the mornings that you want to have something sweet, nutty, and freshly baked without the fuss of getting up early. It also makes a lovely afternoon snack or dessert.

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​Pumpkin Pie Babka​

Pumpkin pie babka combines two traditional baked goods—babka and pumpkin pie—and makes them into one phenomenal dessert. Soft, fluffy bread is layered and twisted with pumpkin pie filling, then topped with a crisp streusel.

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​Congo Bars​

These congo bars are sort of like a mashup between seven layer bars and blondies and are made with a graham cracker crust topped with condensed milk, shredded coconut, chocolate chips, and pecans. Bet you can’t stop at just one.

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I’VE NEVER MET A BAD DAY that couldn’t be partially fixed with cheese. Flat tire? Cheese. Missed deadline? Cheese. Existential dread because it’s January and you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolution to get in shape? Double cheese.
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The One likes to remind me that cheese “isn’t a food group.” Which is adorable. Because in this house, it totally is. There’s a reason refrigerators have an entire drawer dedicated to it, people! I call it the Cheese Annex.

Manchego, mozzarella, chèvre, a wedge of something uber-stinky that I can’t pronounce but refuse to throw out. They’re my emotional support dairy. And nothing supports me more than a big bowl of pasta with cheese and a grilled-cheese anything sandwich.

There’s something deeply reassuring about melting cheese over… well, anything. It’s alchemy. An attitude reset. One minute you’ve got a sad tortilla and a questionable mood, the next—boom—quesadilla therapy, and all is good in the world.
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So yes, cheese wins. It always does. And frankly, I’m fine with that.

​Chow,

Rules for the Cult of Cheese

• Temperature is everything. Cheese wants a slow melt, not a cremation. Treat it gently, and it’ll reward you.

• Mix your melts. Blend mild for stretch (mozzarella) with sharp for flavor (cheddar or blue cheese). It’s a love story in a skillet.

• Don’t skip the crisp. Let the edges brown just enough to form that irresistible golden crust. That’s where redemption lives.

• Pair it like a pro. Wine, bread, pickles, honey, jam—anything that cuts through the richness and keeps you from slipping into a dairy coma.

• End with joy, not guilt. You’re not cheating. You’re surviving winter with style.

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The Recipes​

​Gnocchi With Gorgonzola Cream Sauce​

Tender, pillowy gnocchi is bathed in creamy blue cheese sauce for an easy but elegant meal. Serve it as a hearty main dish or an indulgent side.

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​Cheddar-Parmesan Crackers

These Cheddar-Parmesan crackers are hard to believe they're homemade, given how they're filled with all kinds of cheesy goodness along with some cayenne for a little pop of heat. They're completely irresistible. Consider yourself warned.

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Hot Artichoke Dip

This one of our favorite appetizers, especially in the cooler months. This one is so simple, you'll be tempted to make it often, especially considering it comes together in just 20 minutes. Serve with slices of warm, crusty bread, and get ready to watch it disappear.

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Brie Mac & Cheese​

Made with three types of cheese and topped with a buttery cracker crust, this is the creamiest, cheesiest mac and cheese you’re ever going to try.

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French Onion-Skillet Chicken

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 10 votes

This skillet chicken is a mash-up of French onion soup—beef broth, bread, tons of caramelized onions, and a wicked lot of cheese—with skillet-seared chicken thighs. Simple and amazingly good.

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Baked Ricotta

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.77 from 34 votes

Between us, this is essentially a creamy, indulgent, crowd-pleasing cheese dip made from three ingredients—ricotta, eggs, and Parmigiano-Reggiano—that's baked until it's puffed like a souffle. Serve it with crostini, a drizzle of honey, dried fruits, blanched vegetables, anything, really.

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​Ina Garten’s Grilled Cheese Croutons​

These are very easy to make if you have an electric panini grill but, of course, you can always make them the traditional way in a frying pan. YOU HAVE TO TRY THEM ON HER TOMATO SOUP!!

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​Macaroni Au Gratin​

This macaroni au gratin is no ordinary macaroni and cheese. Not at all. It’s still pasta in cheese sauce but blanketed with a layer of ooey, gooey blend of three cheeses. Easy and on the table in less than an hour.

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​Classic Tuna Melt​

This classic tuna melt, with its toasted bread, melted cheese, and creamy tuna filling, is proof that good food need not be fancy.

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​Fromage Fort​

Fromage fort is a beautifully transformative way to use up the scraps of all those expensive cheeses that are crammed in the fridge. It’s a classic, frugal, and flavorful French technique shared here by Jacques Pepin.

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​Pasta With Butter & Parmesan​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.81 from 21 votes

Pasta with butter and Parmesan appeals to nearly everyone. This pasta’s brilliance lies in it’s simplicity, universal appeal, and endless add-in options.

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​Cheddar Cheese Sauce​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.85 from 66 votes

This quick and easy cheese sauce recipe is a versatile homemade go-to to stash in your recipe repertoire. Use it to top veggies, burgers, pasta or as a stand-in for nacho cheese sauce. Here’s how to make it.

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JANUARY IS WHEN WE ALL SUDDENLY WAKE UP, survey the wreckage of December, and whisper, I regret nothing… except maybe everything. Overnight, the internet fills with people drinking chlorophyll water, swearing off gluten, dairy, sugar, joy, and—if we’re being honest—most reasons to live.

Some folks start the Great January Reset on January 1. Others, still hungover from champagne and bloat, start on January 2. Either way, the mood is the same: grim determination, monkish resolve, and food that tastes like it was designed as a punishment.

I’ve done it. Oh, I’ve really done it. The no-carb years. The “this is basically cardboard but virtuous” years. The times I mistook self-denial for self-care. And every January, without fail, I find the whole thing fairly heartbreaking. We start the year by being cruel to ourselves—right when we’re most fragile.

So this year? I’m capitulating. I’m caving. I’m joining the January reset—but with conditions. Lots of and lots of conditions.

Eating “healthier” doesn’t mean eating food that tastes like clinical depression. It doesn’t mean drinking smoothies that scream “LOOK AT ME! I’M FREAKING HEALTHY” so loud my ears bleed. It doesn’t mean pretending butter never existed. It means cooking real food, with flavor, texture, pleasure—and, yes, enough protein and vegetables to make our doctors nod approvingly.

And let’s face it kids, the odds aren’t in our favor. Roughly a quarter of people abandon their resolutions within the first week. By the end of January, nearly half are kaput. Within two months, close to 90% have walked away entirely. Only about 8–9% stick it out long-term.

Now, I’m not saying you’ll be one of them. Truly, I hope you stick to every resolution. Still, I’ll be right here arms open, oven on, fatty-fat-fat recipes waiting patiently like a kitchen nightlight to guide you home.

Until then, dear hearts, let’s reset without misery. Deal?

​Chow,

What I Finally Learned About January Resets

• Healthy doesn’t have to mean joyless. Steamed fish can be lush. Lentils can be crave-worthy. Roast chicken is basically cheap therapy.

• Flavor is non-negotiable. Ginger, garlic, spice, butter, citrus—this is how you make “good for you” food actually good.

• Protein is your friend. Fish, chicken, pork, lentils—these keep you full, sane, and far less likely to face-plant into a sleeve of Chips Ahoy! at 10 p.m.

• Simple beats sanctimonious. Four-ingredient pork roast > seventeen-step detox bowl.

• This is not a vow of silence. If your reset makes you miserable, it won’t last. Cook food you want to eat—or don’t bother.

I’ll behave. For now.

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The Recipes

Steamed Halibut with Ginger

This steamed halibut with ginger and scallions is drizzled with a soy sauce, sherry, and sesame oil mixture and then sprinkled with scallions. A quick, easy, healthy, surprisingly satisfying weeknight dinner.

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French Roast Chicken ~ Poulet Rôti

Poulet rôti, or French roast chicken, is classic French cooking at its best. And it's trés simple: Season a chicken with herbs, place it on top of root vegetables, and baste it with plenty of butter. C'est incroyable, non?

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Roasted Cod with Potatoes and Lemon

This baked cod with potatoes and lemon is an easy yet elegant dinner made simply by slicing potatoes and topping them with the fish fillets and a little butter, thyme, and lemon. The whole shebang is roasted in the oven. A cinch.

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Tikka Masala Lentils

These tikka masala lentils, which can be made in your Instant Pot or on the stovetop, are healthy, easy to make, and packed with flavor from the combination of fragrant Indian spices, coconut milk, and tomato paste.

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Vermicelli Noodle Bowls with Chicken

These vermicelli noodle bowls with chicken combine tender vermicelli rice noodles, marinated pan-seared boneless chicken thighs, fresh vegetables, and a sweet chili dressing all jumbled together into a healthy meal that can be on the table in just 35 minutes. Faster than delivery.

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Pork Loin Roast

This pork loin roast recipe calls for boneless pork loin, olive oil, salt, and pepper to be slow-roasted. Four ingredients. Incredibly easy to make. No-fuss. And it makes the one of best pork roasts we've ever had.

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How to Make a Perfect Smoothie

Learn how to make a perfect smoothie with this simple formula that includes fruits, vegetables, flavor boosters, healthy fats, and natural sweeteners. Say goodbye to boring blends forever.

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WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE PAST YEAR, I don’t look at trends or analytics dashboards—I look at you. What you cooked. What you clicked. What you rated with five stars and a “David, this recipe saved my life” message.
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And let me tell you: this year, you had opinions. Glorious, passionate, fork-wielding opinions. Some recipes shot straight to the top so fast I wondered if you were all texting each other behind my back. Others quietly climbed the charts week after week because you kept coming back to them like trusted friends.

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​The One claims he can predict which dishes will win the popularity contest each year (um, he can’t, thank you very much), but even he had to admit he didn’t see that sleeper hit of a cider chicken and bean dish storming the list. Mama Leite would’ve been proud of the classics you championed, and absolutely delighted by the wildcards you voted for like they were running for office.
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So today isn’t about resolutions or fresh starts. It’s a curtain call for the recipes you turned into hits—your Most Valuable Plates of 2025. These aren’t just good dishes; they’re the ones you came back for seconds, thirds, and enough ratings to make even ME blush!
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Thank you for your readership and support in 2025. Soooooo many of you took to heart my message of leaving reviews and star ratings to help combat the pressure of AI. And boy, did you come through. Please keep the reviews and ratings and photos coming! I love them all.
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And here’s wishing you and yours a wonderful and delicious 2026!

​Chow,

Keep Cooking the Recipes You Loved

1. Revisit the Winners. If thousands of readers gave a dish five stars, there’s a reason—put those MVPs on repeat.

2. Read the Comments. Your fellow cooks leave gold: smart swaps, time-savers, flavor boosts. Crowd wisdom is real.

3. Batch the Fan Favorites. The top recipes earned their status because they work—double them, freeze them, rely on them.

4. Use MVPs as Templates. Loved that chicken? Try it with pork. Obsessed with the soup? Swap veg. The structure holds.

5. Share the Hits. The best-performing recipes of the year make perfect “cook this next” recommendations for friends and family. Spread the deliciousness.

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The Recipes

Gnocchi With Gorgonzola Cream Sauce​

Tender, pillowy gnocchi is bathed in creamy blue cheese sauce for an easy but elegant meal. Serve it as a hearty main dish or an indulgent side.

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One-Pot Tortellini With Prosciutto & Peas​

Give your favorite store-bought tortellini a facelift with the addition of prosciutto, peas, and a creamy leek and Parmesan sauce. With only one dish to clean, it’s guaranteed to end up on permanent rotation.

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Rosemary Chicken & Beans In A Creamy Cider Broth​

This recipe for rosemary chicken, beans, and leeks is a cozy weeknight meal that combines tender roasted chicken, cannellini beans, and leeks in an apple-infused broth. The simplicity of the recipe and the outstanding flavor will have you returning to it over and over again.

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Chocolate Cake With Salted Caramel Frosting​

This stunning dessert is made with two layers of rich chocolate cake that’s filled with salty-sweet caramel buttercream frosting.

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Classic Shrimp Scampi​

This version of shrimp scampi keeps the shells on for maximum flavor and moisture, slowly infuses the garlic into the butter and oil for a gentler, deeper flavor, and doubles the sauce—because, let’s be honest, you come for the shrimp, but stay for the sauce.

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Slow Roasted Boneless Leg Of Lamb​

This applause-worthy roasted boneless leg of lamb is easy to make with just four ingredients--lamb, oil, garlic, and rosemary--and 15 minutes of effort.

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Basque Cheesecake With Pomegranate Molasses​

This burnt Basque cheesecake knocks it out of the park with the addition of pomegranate molasses. The classic caramelized top and a melt-in-your-mouth creamy center are there, but the pomegranate molasses adds a distinctive fruity tang. The only problem is: NO ONE MAKES IT!! You won’t find an easier dessert. If you want cheesecake, dammit, make this!

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Meatball Stroganoff​

This updated version of the classic, made with mini meatballs and creamy mushroom sauce, is so rich and comforting that you may never go back to the original.

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Lemony Chicken Piccata Meatballs​

Tender, bite-sized chicken meatballs take a luxurious swim in a vibrant lemon-caper butter sauce. This is chicken piccata, reimagined and redonkulously delicious. Cue applause.

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Macedonian Spiced Chicken​

Macedonian spiced chicken livens up your everyday chicken by marinating it in a blend of paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, and garlic before roasting it all on a bed of sliced onions. Smoky, a little spicy, and outstandingly juicy, this chicken dish will become a cool-weather favorite.

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HOLIDAY HOSTING has a way of testing your reflexes and working your last nerve. One minute you’re blissfully sinking into the sofa, polishing off the last of the peppermint bark, and the next you hear the four most adrenaline-spiking words in the English language: “We’re stopping by...soon!”
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Instantly, I snap into action like a short-order cook with a minor superiority complex. The fridge door swings open, the mental math begins mathing, and suddenly I’m transforming stray cheeses, that half-used jar of olives, and a lemon that’s lived three lives into a platter that whispers, Yes, I planned this. The One drifts in, helpfully (and by helpfully, I mean recklessly) taste-testing whatever I put down for half a second.

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I learned a long time ago you could take the most humble ingredients and make people feel like they’d stumbled into a feast. Hospitality isn’t about having everything—it’s about making something, anything, with heart and a little flourish. And maybe origami-like folded napkins if you’re feeling the drama.
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This, my friend, is the real holiday magic: fast hands, bold choices, and snacks so good your guests think you’re effortlessly put together.

Last-Minute Appetizer Glory

1. Lean on Heat. Warm anything—cheese, nuts, olives, pita—and it instantly feels intentional.

2. Use the Rule of Three. Something creamy, something crunchy, something briny. It never fails.

3. Add a Drizzle. Olive oil, honey, balsamic glaze…the finishing touch that makes store-bought look handmade.

4. Garnish Like You Mean It. Herbs, citrus zest, cracked pepper—micro-drama with macro effect.

5. Serve It Beautifully. A wooden board, a good platter, or even parchment on a baking sheet can hide all manner of culinary shortcuts.​

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​The Recipes​

Hot Artichoke Dip​
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5.0 from 3 votes

Artichoke hearts are an essential store-cupboard ingredient for me. This recipe is one of my favorites—delicious, quick, and simple to make, it’s inspired by my mother. I always serve this at Christmastime, with toasted rosemary focaccia. It is rich, comforting, and everyone always wants the recipe.

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​Peppery Cheese Straws​
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5.0 from 4 votes

These crispy, peppery cheese straws are inspired by the famous pasta cacio e pepe, which means cheese and pepper in Italian. And like the pasta, it’s just as delicious, cheesy, and spicy.

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Phyllo Crisps​
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5.0 from 3 votes

Phyllo crisps are sweet, crispy, and just as flaky as you would imagine. Flavored with orange zest, cardamom, and a drizzle of runny honey, they might not even need an accompaniment besides a cup of tea.

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​Croque Monsieur Casserole​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.55 from 11 votes

Croque monsieur—that perennial French classic—is the little black dress of the bistro set. Here I’ve given it a string of pearls, if you will, by making it a breakfast bake and using croissants. This is insanely rich, so a small piece goes a long way. (Or in our house, a not-so-long way.)

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​Turkish Cigars​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 2 votes

These Turkish cigars, known as rakakat, are a popular middle Eastern mezze made with phyllo pastry and two types of cheese. They’re incredibly delish and will impress the pants off your guests. Seriously.

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​Salmon Mousse Pinwheels​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 from 3 votes

These salmon mousse pinwheels, made with pumpernickel bread, smoked salmon, and a creamy smoked salmon mousse are an elegant and impressive canapé or tea sandwich.​

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​Chow,

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BY MID-DECEMBER, my social feeds are full of Portuguese people recreating their grandmother’s exact Christmas Eve menu from the Old Country—same codfish, same sweets, same everything, down to the brand of paper napkins. That… was definitely not my childhood.

I grew up as first-and-a-half-generation Portuguese: my father right off the boat from Maia, São Miguel (above), my mother American, and me planted somewhere between the Azores and the mall. There wasn’t a laminated list of What We Eat on Which Holy Day taped to the fridge. We didn’t have the whole “on the 23rd we soak the salt cod, on the 24th we eat it, on the 25th we roast this, on the 26th we fry that” thing nailed down.

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Our holidays were a little more freestyle, a little more Fall River than Fátima.

But what we did have was the making of the food.

Some of my most vivid Christmas memories aren’t of sitting at the table—they’re of standing in overheated kitchens watching the women in my father’s family go to work. My Leite aunts and my Vo Leite would haul out enormous metal wash tubs—actual wash tubs, like the kind you could bathe a toddler in—and that was their mixing bowls for dough. They’d plunge their arms in up to the elbows, working this silky, elastic dough meant to feed what felt like the entire Portuguese population of Massachusetts. On every flat surface in the apartments were bowls and pans of something soaking, drying, or proofing. I remember it as “salt cod on every surface,” a kind of nativity scene in which the baby Jesus smelled faintly of the Atlantic.

Because so much of what we ate was homemade, there was this constant round-robin of ingredients passing through the family. My father would make his wine and his brick-red massa de pimentão—the garlicky pepper paste of the gods. My aunts, his sisters, would use that wine and paste to marinate pork for chouriço sausage. Then THAT chouriço, stained with my father’s peppers and scented with his wine, would find its way into our soups, stews, and roasts. It was like eating a family tree: roots, branches, and all.

And in the background of all this was another story, from the Old Country, that always catches in my throat when I tell it. Back on the island of São Miguel, where my family’s from, there was a different kind of holiday “tradition”—a rotating one. The women on Rua dos Foros would take turns baking.

My grandmother might bake eight or ten loaves of bread or massa sovada (think Portuguese challah) on a Monday. On Tuesday, a neighbor would do the same. Wednesday, another woman’s turn. If you ran out of bread or massa, you didn’t panic or run to the store; you simply went to the house of whoever was baking that day and borrowed a loaf. And when it was your baking day, you knew someone would show up at your door, empty-handed and hungry.

No one went without. The tradition wasn’t “this exact sweet bread on Christmas morning.” The tradition was “we quietly take care of each other.”

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The recipes below—caldo verde, pastéis de bacalhau, bifanas, papo secos, bean soup—these weren’t reserved for high holy days in our house. They were Tuesday-night food, Sunday-afternoon food, just-because-someone-was-in-the-mood food.

But around the holidays, I became more aware of them. Aware that this was our version of tradition: my father’s wine in the sausage, my aunts’ hands in the dough, my Vo Leite’s soft voice whispering instructions over mountains of flour. Aware that every bowl of soup or custard tart carried a quiet bit of symbolism—of leaving no one out, of stretching what we had, of sharing the load.

So if you didn’t grow up with capital-T “Traditions,” here’s your permission slip:

1. Let the process be the ritual. The memory you’re making might be a sink full of sticky bowls and a floor dusted with flour, not the final Instagram shot of the tart. That counts.

2. Borrow from someone else’s oven. Make a neighbor’s soup, your partner’s grandmother’s cookies, my family’s caldo verde. Like those women on São Miguel, we’re all just borrowing loaves from one another.

3. Use what’s in your hands. Maybe you’re starting with store-bought chouriço instead of your father’s. Maybe your “wash tub” is a scratched-up mixing bowl. The holiness is in the stirring, not the equipment.

4. Repeat what feels good. If you make something this year that brings you even a flicker of comfort or connection, make it again next year. That’s how traditions begin—one ordinary December at a time.

That’s the Old-Country spirit, even if you, like me, grew up a few thousand miles—and at least half a generation—away.​

The Recipes

​Pasteis De Nata (Portuguese Custard Tarts)​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.83 from 316 votes

This pastéis de nata recipe makes as-close-to-authentic Portuguese custard tarts with a rich egg custard nestled in shatteringly crisp pastry. Tastes like home, even if you’re not from Portugal.

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Caldo Verde​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.85 from 119 votes

Portuguese kale soup, caldo verde, is something you’ll experience literally everywhere in Portugal, from Lisbon’s trendiest restaurants to farmhouses scattered at the edge of villages. Understandably so. Its simple yet sustaining character is appreciated everywhere.

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Pastéis De Bacalhau (Salt Cod Fritters)​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.94 from 47 votes

These Portuguese salt cod fritters, called pastéis de bacalhau, are made with salt cod, potato, onion, and parsley and are fried for a traditional Portuguese treat.

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​Bifanas (Portuguese Pork Sandwiches)​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.86 from 48 votes

Bifanas are traditional Portuguese sandwiches made with thin slices of pork that are marinated and simmered in a sauce of white wine, garlic, and paprika and served on soft rolls with plenty of mustard and piri-piri sauce.

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​Papo Secos (Portuguese Rolls)​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.84 from 62 votes

These papo secos are light and airy Portuguese rolls that are the perfect vehicle for the classic --marinated pork slices--or your favorite sandwich fillings or simply a smear of butter.

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​Portuguese Orange Olive Oil Cake​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.91 from 150 votes

This Portuguese orange olive oil cake has an unforgettably tender crumb and a citrus smack thanks to fruity olive oil, winter navel oranges, and orange zest.

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​Carne Assada em Vinha d’Alhos
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 from 33 votes

This Portuguese carne assada from my VERY Portuguese Mama is a traditional Azorean braised beef dish made with meltingly tender meat, small red potatoes, chouriço, and onions in wine and garlic. It’s what Indian vindaloo is based on.

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​Portuguese Fish Chowder​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 6 votes

This Portuguese fish chowder is a tomato-based combo of stew and soup and chowder made of fish, potatoes, chorizo, also known as chouriço, and peppers that’s a time-honored classic in Portugal.

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​Portuguese Sausage Frittata​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 6 votes

This Portuguese sausage frittata calls for eggs, chorizo or chouriço (Portuguese pork sausage with garlic), onions, and potatoes. Serve it for breakfast, late supper, or cold as a snack.

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​Portuguese Bean Soup​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.89 from 17 votes

Perfect for a leisurely afternoon cook, this is one of those soups where you throw everything in the pot and simmer until pau (finished). Usually, the strong seasoning of homemade sausage is enough to flavor the broth, but if you’re using a milder store-bought variety like I often do, you can supplement the warm flavor with a little pumpkin pie spice.

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Chow,

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The first truly cold day always catches me off guard. I’ll be typing away, pretending productivity, when I realize my shoulders have crept up around my ears like I’m auditioning for “The Hunchback of Roxbury.” That’s my cue - it’s soup o’clock.
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The One rolls his eyes when I declare it, but he knows the ritual: stock pot, wooden spoon, something starchy, something soulful. Within minutes, the kitchen fogs up like a Portuguese sauna, and the windows sweat in solidarity.

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​I used to think soup was a side note - a warm-up act before the “real meal.” Now I know better. A good soup doesn’t just feed you; it steadies you. It’s the edible equivalent of being told, “You’re doing fine.” My mother had her version, my grandmother had hers, and now I’ve got mine - whatever happens to be bubbling on the back burner when the world feels a little too sharp.
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And yes, the laundry still isn’t folded. But the bowl in my hands? Perfect.

5 Ways to Soup Like You Mean It

1. Roast Before You Simmer. Roasting veggies or bones first deepens flavor tenfold—worth every extra minute.

2. Season in Layers. Salt early, taste often, finish bold. Soup isn’t shy, and neither should you be.

3. Texture Is King. Puree half, mash some beans, leave a few chunks—contrast keeps it interesting.

4. Herbs Last, Not First. Add fresh herbs just before serving so they whisper instead of gurgling after having drowned for hours.

5. Respect the Garnish. Croutons, olive oil, lemon zest—tiny crowns for your kitchen royalty.

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​The Recipes​

​Creamy French Chicken Stew​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.76 from 33 votes

This version of blanquette is slightly simplified in that it doesn’t involve making a roux but it’s no less flavorful. Serve this with plain boiled rice and garnish with fresh thyme leaves and parsley for a simple, comforting meal that comes together quickly, even on a weeknight.

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Red Chicken Posole
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.88 from 8 votes

This sassy posole, also known as pozole rojo de pollo, is an easy Mexican soup that’s made with chicken, hominy, and dried chiles. It’s a soupy, stewy, satisfying sorta supper.

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​Authentic Vietnamese Pho
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.86 from 7 votes​

Vietnamese pho is a soup made with a beef broth rich with ginger, onions, star anise, and fish sauce. Into that go rice noodles, beef, scallions, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs.

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​Beef Stew With Red Wine
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 6 votes​

This beef stew with red wine, made with beef chuck roast and a rich red wine sauce, can be made in your Instant Pot or braised in the oven.

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Brodo di Pollo ~ Italian Chicken Soup
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.7 from 11 votes

Brodo di pollo. That’s Italian for “the most gosh darn comforting and restorative chicken soup ever to cross the lips of someone who’s under the weather or just needs some soothing sustenance.”​

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Hot & Sour Soup​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.88 from 16 votes

Hot and sour soup may be something you’re used to ordering from your closest Chinese restaurant. But this easy and authentic version, filled with ground pork, tofu, and mushrooms, is done in less time than it takes to order takeout. And, quite honestly, it’s the best we’ve ever had.

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​White Bean & Chicken Chili​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.91 from 10 votes

This white bean and chicken chili, a Mexican-inspired meal that’s made with smoky bacon, onions, carrots, celery, peppers, and spices, is hearty, healthy, and completely doable on a weeknight.

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Ina Garten’s Easy Tomato Soup​
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.8 from 32 votes

This easy-peasy tomato soup from La Contessa herself, made with canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, stock, orzo, cream, and topped with Grilled Cheese Croutons, is as simple and comforting as soup gets.

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Chow,

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EVERY DECEMBER, I TELL MYSELF this will be the year I glide through the season like Martha-freaking-Stewart on a sleigh. I’ll bake ahead. It’s going to be that ellusive Norman Rockwell Christmas season. I’ll gift-wrap like an adult. I’ll remember where I hid the presents. And yet every December, I end up standing in front of the oven at 3 AM, flour in my hair, muttering, “I hate the holidays!” And always feeling guilty. So, so guilty. (You can read all about my pathological guilt in this essay.)

Still, there’s something about the glow of that oven light—the way cookies puff and brown, the way holiday roasts hiss and sputter—that makes me feel grounded when everything else (shopping lists, shipping deadlines, my sanity, my never-ending guilt) feels like it’s spinning off its axis. It’s my one-man rebellion against the season’s chaos.

My December kitchen may not look like the sweatshops my Leite aunts ran. Back in the day, trays upon trays of golden sonhos, sugar fritters, and coconut cups cooled on every available surface while uncles and cousins were shackled to chairs, eyes bloodshot, filling Royal Dansk shortbread tins with treats. (Fun fact: My aunts would consume massive amounts of those cookies all year just to have the tins for the holidays.)

But that doesn’t mean I’m not just as crazy. I’m thankful to have loved ones to gift all these holiday goodies to—mostly so THEY can feel guilty for not doing the same. (Did I just say that?!)

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Keeping the Oven Hot and Your Guilt at Bay

1. Preheat Early, Often, and Always. Nothing kills a baking mood faster than realizing the oven’s cold. Turn it on before you even tie your apron.

2. Rotate Like a Pro. Halfway through baking, spin those pans. Unless you like cookies with multiple personalities.

3. Embrace the “Freeze Ahead” Gospel. Freeze cookie doughs now, thank yourself later. December is no time for culinary martyrdom. (Unless it wins you points with the family. Then by all means, please, bring a limp wrist to your forehead, sigh dramatically, and cry...just a little. Then whip out your Christmas list.)

4. Schedule Joy. Between the baking and gifting and decking and fa-la-la-ing, block off one evening to sit by the tree, nibble a cookie, and let someone else do the dishes.

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​The Recipes

New York Times’ Chocolate Chip Cookies​

​(I HAD to. I don’t have kids; these are my legacy.)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.89 from 141 votes

Say hello to the recipe that started an Internet craze and made bakers rethink how to make cookies. This originally appeared in an article I wrote for the New York Times on July 9, 2008. What makes them so damn special is the dough is refrigerated for 36 hours for a more complex flavor and greater variation in texture. Sea salt is the finishing touch.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Classic Shortbread Cookies​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.85 from 33 votes

These classic shortbread cookies are made with just 5 ingredients: butter, sugar, flour, vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt. A simple, perfect approach to a beloved Scottish tradition that’s a perfect Christmas cookie.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.67 from 54 votes

It’s simple: chocolate cookie dough surrounds a peanut butter center, and the whole is dredged in sugar before baking. In the oven, the cookie spreads out, and like magic, you end up with a peanut butter center between two wonderful chocolate layers.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Pistachio Shortbread Cookies​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.93 from 28 votes

These pistachio shortbread cookies are tender and crumbly like shortbread, yet subtly flavored and sweet like cookies. So which are they? Who cares when they taste this lovely!

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​Windowpane Cookies​

I first made windowpane cookies in catechism class when I was eight. (Do you know how hard it was to make the manger scene out of cookies?) These give the illusion of being made of stained glass thanks to melted Jolly Ranchers. The look of cathedral windows only adds to their joy at Christmas.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies​

These peanut butter blossom cookies are chewy and chocolatey like the classic, but they also go a little glam with the addition of Guittard milk chocolate wafers. Otherwise, they’re exactly the same as the kiss cookies your mom had waiting for you after school.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.97 from 30 votes

These old-fashioned peanut butter cookies, made with sugar, flour, peanut butter, and eggs, are like the cookies you grew up with crispy, chewy, and peanut buttery.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Gingerbread Men Cookies​

Gingerbread men cookies are simple to make and subtle in taste. Our kinda Christmas cookie.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Viennese Crescent Cookies​

Viennese crescent cookies are a tradition in Austria. They’re made with hazelnuts, shaped like a half-moon, and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. One nibble and we think you’ll understand why they’re a classic.

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​Biscochitos​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.92 from 12 votes

These biscochitos are a New Mexican Christmas cookie classic. Their trademark flaky texture and flavor come from using lard in the dough, along with cinnamon, sugar, anise, and brandy.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Chow,

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​

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER—AND OH-SO-VERY SINGLE—I treated Thanksgiving the way some people treat a new relationship: with enthusiasm, optimism, and absolutely no sense of boundaries. I experimented. Wildly. Indiscriminately.

One year, I made turkey-mashed-potato-and-stuffing burritos because…why not? Another time, I ditched the 18-dish spread and instead crafted a Thanksgiving pot pie that crammed the entire holiday—turkey, stuffing, gravy, the whole dysfunctional family—under one crust. Some years, I cooked at home. Some years, I ate in restaurants. I ate Chinese, Indian, and burgers on Thanksgiving more than once. And the low point (or high point, depending on how you feel about mid-century cuisine) was the year I stayed on at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, for the holiday and heated up three Swanson turkey dinners in the oven. Not the microwave—the oven. I had standards.

But all those creative, unusual, trendy, trying-way-too-hard Thanksgivings eventually led me somewhere unexpected.

They led me back to simple. And that happened when I met The One.

​He’s deeply, beautifully traditional—one of the things I adore most about him. While I was out there reinventing the holiday like some deranged culinary DJ, he was quietly loyal to the classics. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Gravy you can practically stand a spoon in. The things that don’t need explaining or reimagining.

And slowly, through him, I fell in love with the simple and the true.

We even do these little rituals now—tiny, ordinary things that somehow anchor the whole day. We eat on either his mother’s Liberty Blue dishes or my grandmother’s pink floral ones. We put out the Wild Turkey decanters that have been in his family for decades. We don “Gobble ‘Til You Wobble” T-shirts our niece, Megan, made for us. Every year, without negotiating, we watch the parade while having breakfast in front of the TV.

Although this year will be different. We’ll be in New York City…and for reasons I can’t quite wrap my head around, the man insists on going to the parade in person. Out there. In the crowds. While I fully intend to wave at him from the warm embrace of my friend’s couch, croissant in hand.

The point is: after years of trying every possible version of Thanksgiving, I’ve realized I don’t need clever or complicated or reinvented. I don’t need the turkey in a kimchi brine or the pie deconstructed or a tablescape curated within an inch of its life.

I just need what we’ve built together.

Simple. Classic. Us.

How to Pull Off a Simple, Classic Thanksgiving

1. Stick to the staples. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pie. These five pillars will never let you down.

2. Prep smart. Do as much as you can the day before—chopping, mixing, even setting the table—so the day feels calm, not chaotic.

3. Season boldly. Classic doesn’t mean bland. Salt, pepper, butter, and herbs make simple food sing.

4. Don’t overdo sides. Three or four is plenty. Quality over quantity keeps everyone happy (and you sane).

5. Honor the ritual. Light a candle, pull out the good platter, let the table feel special—even if the food is beautifully simple.

WHAT’S INSIDE...

• ​Simple Roast Turkey​

• ​Classic Turkey Gravy​

• ​Easy Roasted Carrots​

• ​Pancetta & Herb Stuffed Turkey Breast​

• ​Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie​

• ​Green Beans With Browned Butter & Almonds​

• ​Three-Cheese Vegetarian Lasagna​

• ​Herbed Bread & Celery Stuffing​

• ​Maple Roasted Parsnips​

• ​Potatoes Dauphinoise​

​Simple Roast Turkey​

Simple roast turkey is an easy way to cook the perfect bird for Thanksgiving. And by that I mean the best, juiciest roast turkey imaginable. A failproof technique, even for beginner cooks.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Classic Turkey Gravy​

Everyone needs a classic, foolproof, go-to classic turkey gravy. This is it. And all it takes is pan juices or drippings from your turkey, stock, butter, flour, and 20 minutes of your time.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Easy Roasted Carrots​

These easy roasted carrots boast four ingredients—carrots, butter, salt, and pepper—and one simple and perfect technique for roasting them to magnificence, bringing out their earthy sweetness.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Pancetta & Herb Stuffed Turkey Breast​

Whether you’re hosting a small Thanksgiving gathering, or don’t have the space, time, or inclination to wrestle with a whole bird, this pancetta and herb stuffed turkey breast makes for an easy holiday main course.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Bourbon Sweet Potato Pie​

This bourbon sweet potato pie, filled with sweet potatoes, butter, cream, eggs, spice, and bourbon, is topped with a brown sugar streusel. Suddenly, Thanksgiving is even better.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Green Beans With Browned Butter & Almonds​

Lemon zest, shallots, and red pepper flakes—as well as fragrant toasted almonds—give classic green beans amandine a bold update with plenty of texture. The browned butter amplifies the nuttiness of the almonds, adds a touch of richness, and ties everything together.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Three-Cheese Vegetarian Lasagna​

Three-cheese vegetarian lasagna is easy and exceptional and even sorta elegant any time of year, BUT I especially welcome it at the Thanksgiving table when I need something vegetarian and lovely. Here’s exactly how to make it plus what kind of cheeses work best.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Herbed Bread & Celery Stuffing​

This herbed bread and celery stuffing, made with celery, onion, thyme, basil, and parsley, is a sort of basic blank canvas of a stuffing that will satisfy you as-is or make a terrific foundation for your other embellishments. Lovely with chicken as well as turkey.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Maple-Roasted Parsnips​

These maple-roasted parsnips are a simple yet unexpectedly delicious side dish. Few ingredients and easy prep make it a winner for both weeknights and special occasions.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Potatoes Dauphinoise​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 10 votes

[NOTE: Yeah, I know. Horrible photo. Don’t take it out on the Dauph!]

Potatoes Dauphinoise are potatoes, cream, cheese, and a French lineage. They’re like scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin, but are even more fancy, without being fussy. The One and I really don’t think comfort food gets any more comfort-y than this.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Chow,

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I’VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT LISBON —because next May, The One and I are going back. And we want you to join us.

Whenever I think of Lisbon, a certain version of myself comes flooding back: younger (thinner!), wide-eyed, lugging far too many notebooks, and trying to capture the tastes and rhythms of Portugal while writing The New Portuguese Table.

☞ LEARN MORE

I lived in Lisbon for months at a time. Not as a tourist, not as a passer-through, but as someone trying to understand why the city and country felt so familiar. I’d wake to the rumble of the electric trolleys beneath my window, wander down Rua Augusta with a bica in hand, and spend late afternoons in Rossio nibbling petiscos and watching the swirl of life. And then there was Bertrand—my bookstore—where I’d settle into a corner and let myself disappear for hours. It wasn’t glamorous living. It was real living. And it changed me.

And then one day, The One flew over. Suddenly, those tiny discoveries weren’t things I wrote down—they were things we shared. We traveled everywhere we could reach by train, bus, taxi, or shoes that had no business walking that far. We ate in tiny restaurants where the waiter had opinions on everything. We got lost in alleys that looked like movie sets. We stood on the roof terrace of my apartment at dusk, watching the city turn gold as the Tagus melted into night.

Next spring, I want to share that Lisbon with you.

☞ NAB YOUR SPOT

From May 12 to May 18, 2026, The One and I are hosting A Cook’s Tour of Lisbon—a week I’ve shaped with enormous love. A week that goes beyond “things to do” and instead creates a sense of place.

It’s the kind of experience you give yourself when you want to feel joy. And honestly, I think we can all use a little more joy these days. It makes a spectacular holiday gift for someone you love. If you do gift it, The One and I will record a personal video message for the lucky recipient.

Let me tell you what makes this week remarkable—not in the overblown, brochure-y way, but in the “this is what you will actually feel, taste, and remember” way.

Why This Trip Is Special

☞ You’ll experience Pastéis de Belém in a way tourists never can.

The bakery—the bakery—does not open its inner sanctum to the public. But it will open it to us. You’ll get a peek behind the scenes where the original recipe has been guarded since 1837. You’ll watch trays of pastéis come out blistered and caramelized. And you’ll eat them still warm…straight from the source. I promise you: this will be a moment you talk about for the rest of your life.

☞ You’ll cook with some of Lisbon’s best cooking teachers—and I’ll be right there with you.

Three cooking classes. Three different kitchens. Three styles of Portuguese cooking. You’ll chop, whisk, sizzle, and stir with wine in hand, and I’ll float from station to station—answering questions, sharing stories about the dishes, helping where needed, and just being fully present. I won’t be a student with a cutting board; I’ll be your host, your resource, your wandering storyteller.

☞ You’ll take a pastel de nata masterclass with my former teacher, João Batalha.

João isn’t just a pastry chef—he’s an artist. He taught me the craft years ago. His technique, his humor, his generosity…you’ll understand why I wanted him to be part of this trip. Watching him guide you into that perfect, silky custard and shatteringly crisp pastry is worth the trip alone.

☞ You’ll stroll through markets and cook meals the way I did while writing my cookbook.

There’s no better window into Portugal than its markets—colorful, noisy, fragrant, human. You’ll walk the aisles with our teachers, choose ingredients for your menu, and cook the food you just bought. That moment when you taste your own sea bass or octopus rice, knowing you selected the fish yourself? That’s connection. That’s memory.

☞ You’ll dine at legendary Lisbon restaurants, each chosen with intention.

This isn’t a parade of tourist-friendly spots. These are places that matter—restaurants that define Lisbon’s past, present, and future. Places where chefs cook with pride, where the flavors are rooted in the land and sea, and where the hospitality feels like being welcomed into someone’s home.

And yes, we’ll end one evening at Pap’Açôrda—the Lisbon institution that’s equal parts nostalgia and sophistication.

☞ You’ll spend a day in the Alentejo, my favorite region to get lost in.

Golden plains. An unhurried pace. Earthy wines. Olive oils that taste like sunlight and grass. A long, lingering lunch. This is Portugal at its most soulful—and you’ll be in it, not just passing through it.

☞ And finally: you’ll be with me and The One every step of the way.

All week long. Every meal. Every tour. Every class. Every moment.

I’ll be there, along with our on-the-ground guide Joel Silva, to answer questions, translate nuances, share the stories behind the dishes, and give you a sense of Portugal that only someone with deep roots and years of experience can provide. And The One—well, he’s the heart of these trips.

If you’ve ever wanted to see Portugal—not as a tourist, but as someone welcomed in—this is the trip.

You can read the full itinerary, view the hotel, pricing, and book your spot here.

Only eight places left. First come, first served. And if you want to give this as a holiday gift, tell me—we’ll make that personal video for your recipient.

If you have questions, write me. If you’re on the fence, let’s talk. And if Lisbon has been calling your name, maybe this is the year you say yes.

COME, JOIN US!

​Chow,

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P.S. Won’t you consider tapping the ♥️, restacking this post, and/or leaving a comment? It takes but a moment, but its impact is enormous! xx

TRUE STORY: One year, I cooked Thanksgiving like I was auditioning for Survivor: Roxbury, CT, Edition. I started at dawn, juggling pies, stuffing, potatoes, sides, and a turkey the size of a mini-fridge. By the time dessert rolled around, I was slumped in my chair, fork dangling midair, too tired to taste the very pies I’d threatened to leave The One over if he even so much as touched them.

After our guests left, I crawled, and I do mean crawled, to bed, leaving the kitchen looking not unlike something out of a scene from The Walking Dead. When The One protested vociferously, I invoked the “I Cook, You Clean” mantra we’d been spouting since 1993. In truth, the kitchen was such a disaster that a reasonable person would’ve given him a pass on cleaning all the way to Valentine’s Day.

Alas, I am not a reasonable person.
​
Sound familiar? Thanksgiving has a nasty way of turning into an endurance test rather than a holiday. But here’s the secret: it doesn’t have to. You don’t need to play short-order cook while your guests circle like sharks. The magic word here is make-ahead. A few smart moves now, and suddenly you’re not sweating in the kitchen while everyone else is on the couch debating football calls and politics.
​
This year, let’s trade stress for sanity. Make-ahead isn’t just a strategy—it’s a lifeline that buys you time, energy, and, most importantly, a seat at the table when the pies appear.

WHAT’S INSIDE...

• ​​Thanksgiving Central

• 99 of Thanksgiving’s Biggest Questions, Answered

• LC’s Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

• Make-Ahead Mastery for Thanksgiving

• Recipes in This Newsletter

• Wild Mushroom Stuffing

• Classic Green Bean Casserole

• ​Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• ​Cranberry and Orange Relish

• Food Processor Pie Crust​

• ​Pecan Pie Cobbler​

• ​Caramel Apple Pie​

• ​Cranberry Pistachio Cookies​

• ​Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Cookies​

• ​Scottish Shortbread

• ​Your Make-Ahead Game Plan (Pro Tips)

• Your Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Questions, Answered

Thanksgiving Central

Everything you could possibly need, want, or wish for the holiday is right here.

99 of Thanksgiving’s Biggest Questions, Answered

This year, the Thanksgiving holiday is on November 27th. No matter if you live in Plymouth, Massachusetts, or Plymouth, North Dakota, you have questions. Lots and lots of questions. And we have answers for nearly every Thanksgiving question you might have. Ninety-nine of them, in fact. So read on!

LC’s Best Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

Say hello to 11 Thanksgiving turkey recipes guaranteed to impress everyone at the table--and that goes for in-laws, too. Whether you’re a fan of tradition and prefer to roast your bird or you want to go for something a bit different and smoke or deep-fry it, you’ll find your masterpiece, er, centerpiece below. And here’s a foolproof guide to carving to make things even easier.

Make-Ahead Mastery for Thanksgiving

1. The freezer is your friend. Pie crusts, rolls, even gravy can be made weeks in advance and tucked away until needed.

2. Chop, don’t drop. Vegetables hold beautifully prepped a day or two ahead—just bag, chill, and you’re halfway to dinner.

3. Stagger your cooking. Braised dishes and casseroles taste better the next day anyway—lean into that.

4. Batch cocktails. A pitcher of sangria or punch frees you from bartender duty.

5. Write it down. A timeline taped to the fridge is the difference between calm confidence and full-blown panic.

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Recipes

​Wild Mushroom Stuffing​

This wild mushroom stuffing combines a variety of umami-rich mushrooms with soft brioche bread, leeks, and nutty cheese to create an intensely flavorful, custardy stuffing. Be sure to make plenty, as everyone at your holiday table will be clamoring for seconds.

☞ ​GET THE RECIPE

Classic Green Bean Casserole​

This ain’t the OG, from-a-can green bean casserole. No, sireebob! This is made with green beans, mushrooms, and cream sauce. It’s a Thanksgiving tradition and a classic holiday side dish. Just say hell to the no when it comes to the can opener.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes​

These roasted garlic mashed potatoes are like mashed potatoes gone to finishing school with sour cream, Parmesan, and sweetly caramelized onions suffused with red wine. Quite possibly the best mashed potatoes we’ve ever had.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Cranberry and Orange Relish

This cranberry and orange relish is made simply with cranberries, sugar, oranges, and water, and comes together in just 5 minutes of your time. Because we know you have other stuff to think about on Thanksgiving.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Classic Dinner Rolls

These classic dinner rolls call for flour, yeast, honey, salt, and butter--plus more butter to slather on top, natch. You won’t believe how fluffy and soft these rolls are or how easy and quick they are to make.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

Food Processor Pie Crust​

This buttery pie crust comes together easily in your food processor and is flaky and tender. It’s perfect for pies that require a par-baked crust.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Pecan Pie Cobbler​

Skip fussing with pie crust this Thanksgiving and make this easy pecan pie cobbler, which delivers all of the rich caramel and nutty pecan flavors of the classic pie with a fraction of the effort.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​​

​Caramel Apple Pie​

This caramel apple pie takes classic apple pie to the next level. For this beloved autumn dessert, warmly spiced apples are embraced in a nutty whole wheat pie crust and baked until golden. A lacquer of sweet caramel to finish takes this pie over the top.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Cranberry Pistachio Cookies​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 from 10 votes

These festive cookies are adorned with sweet-tart dried cranberries and crunchy pistachios. They’re the perfect addition to your holiday cookie collection.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​​

​Chocolate Espresso Shortbread Cookies​

These slice-and-bake chocolate espresso shortbread cookies are studded with bits of semi-sweet chocolate and laced with espresso to create a slightly bitter, oh-so-chocolatey cookie.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​

​Scottish Shortbread​

This Scottish shortbread is made with butter, flour, granulated and powdered sugar, and salt to create a perfectly crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth biscuit.

☞ GET THE RECIPE

​Your Make-Ahead Game Plan (Pro Tips)

1. Read the “Store Separately” Rules: For gratins and casseroles (like the Green Bean and Broccoli), the secret to success is prepping the elements separately. Store crispy toppings (like fried onions or breadcrumbs) in an airtight container at room temperature, not in the fridge, or they’ll get soggy.

2. Label Everything: If you’re like me, you’ll never remember what’s in that foil-wrapped dish. Use painter’s tape and a Sharpie. Label what it is, what day it was made, and the reheating instructions (“Broccoli Gratin – BAKE 350°F / 20 MIN”).

3. The 24-Hour Rule: Most casseroles (like the Sweet Potato) can be fully assembled without their toppings and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

4. The 2-Day Rule: Most individual parts (like blanched green beans, gravy, and mashed potatoes) can be prepped and stored for up to 2 days.

5. The Freezer is Your BFFF (Best Frozen Friend Forever): The Cranberry Relish and Gravy can be made weeks, even months, ahead and frozen. This is the single biggest gift you can give your future self.

6. Create a Reheating Schedule: Don’t forget your turkey needs to rest for at least 30 minutes. This is your golden window. Plan your reheating around that time. Anything that needs to be baked (like the gratins) goes in the oven then. Anything that can be reheated on the stove (mashed potatoes, gravy, spinach) can happen simultaneously.

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Your Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Questions, Answered

What types of side dishes are best to make ahead of time?

The best dishes are those that reheat well or are served at room temperature. This post has several great examples, like the Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes (above), Creamed Spinach, and Basic Pan Gravy. Other sides, like our Sweet and Spicy Cranberry Relish, actually improve with time!

The general rule is that any side served cold (like cranberry sauce) or that reheats well (like mashed potatoes or gravy) is a perfect candidate. For other dishes, like the Broccoli and Blue Cheese Gratin, creamy gratins, or Roasted Brussels Sprout Hash, the best trick is to prep the components in advance and just bake them before serving.

Can I use frozen vegetables for these recipes?

For some, yes! For the Creamed Spinach, you can absolutely use frozen spinach; just thaw it and squeeze it bone-dry before using. For the Green Bean Casserole, fresh is best, but frozen will work in a pinch. Just make sure to thaw and pat them dry. Do not use canned green beans.

How many side dishes do I need for Thanksgiving dinner?

There’s no firm rule, but we recommend you aim for 4 to 5 side dishes, plus your gravy and cranberry sauce.

A good mix includes a couple of starchy sides and a couple of vegetable sides. This list gives you great options, like the Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes and Wild Mushroom Stuffing for your starches, and the Classic Green Bean Casserole or Roasted Carrots with Allspice for your vegetables.

If you’re looking for even more ideas, check out these other recipes from our collection, like Easy Roasted Carrots and Pan-Fried Green Beans, Black Pepper Mashed Potatoes, and Herbed Bread and Celery Stuffing. Of course, if your family demands a Buttery Sweet Potato Soufflé, then who am I to argue or disagree?

What’s the best way to store leftover side dishes?

Most side dishes will keep in sealed containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Some sides, particularly gravy and cranberry sauce, freeze well and can be stashed in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 6 months.

​Chow,

Leave a comment

P.S. Won’t you consider tapping the ♥️, restacking this post, and/or leaving a comment? It takes but a moment, but its impact is enormous! xx