Innehållsförteckning för December 2016 från Bon Appetit

CLIPS $24 FOR 24 Are we really telling you to give bag clips for the holidays? You bet. They’re indispensable— stronger than bargain brands and chic enough that they won’t seem out of place holding a stack of papers. Bet you can’t use just one. food52.com NORDIC WARE JUBILEE BUNDT PAN, $40 A great cake never goes out of fashion, but that doesn’t mean the Bundt pan couldn’t use a makeover. This geometric pattern will make any cake seem downright futuristic. wayfair.com CHOCOLATE PANETTONE, $50 Roy Shvartzapel bends the laws of physics to make a panettone so good it reduced our food editors to gasps and groans. Worth the price. thisisfromroy.com STAINLESS STEEL ICE PACK, $16 Your teenage niece doesn’t want an ice pack in her stocking. But those who…

THE HOLIDAYS make me feel extra generous, especially with my pours. While standard wine bottles may be fine for evenings around the fire, they don’t cut it when I’m trying to give the gift of full glasses to my family of 40 (and that’s just my dad’s side). Large-format bottles are the best way to get all your aunts feeling good and still have some left for yourself, but that’s only one perk of their size. Large-format wines have a lower percentage of air to wine than standard bottles, decreasing the risk of flaws. But perhaps most important, pouring wine from a large format has the same effect as putting on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—everyone’s heart bursts into confetti and the festivities truly begin.…

SCHILTZ FOODS WHOLE SMOKED GOOSE Schiltz, out of South Dakota, brines the birds in brown sugar and smokes them over hickory chips. It’s decadent—think duck confit meets pastrami. $82; schiltzfoods.com HERITAGE FOODS USA DORSET HORN LEG OF LAMB This meat from Vermont arrives uncooked; Dorset Horn is richer than other breeds, with lots of marbling inside and a grassy, floral-sweet flavor. $149; heritage foodsusa.com NORTHERN WATERS SMOKEHAUS PORKETTA An iconic Minnesota gourmet market rubs its Berkshire pork with tons of parsley, garlic, and fennel before rolling and smokeroasting it. $65; nwsmokehaus.com ÉPICERIE BOULUD TOURTE DE JAMBON The flaky 12x5" puff pastry contains house-cured ham in creamy mushroom duxelles with shallots. Perfect for a cocktail party. $99; epicerieboulud.com…

I WAS SIX years old when my great-grandmother, Nano, died. She was born in the small mining town of Pittsburg, Kansas, to immigrants from what’s now Lithuania, then moved to Spring-field, Missouri, where my dad grew up. For decades I’ve heard my dad talk about her schnecken, which she baked for the Jewish high holidays. “They were like snowflakes,” he told me. “No two were alike, even though they had the same ingredients.” If my dad is to be believed, schnecken are the ur-cinnamon buns: hockey puck– shaped dough spirals baked in pools of butter and cinnamon sugar until the exterior is so caramelized it crackles. But my dad’s fascination is about more than taste. This is a man whose only hobby is researching the genealogy of our family, and…

THE KEY to making a good fruitcake is not to make a fruitcake. Forget about that syrupy-sweet, hard-asa-brick loaf studded with colors that don’t even exist in nature. Instead, start with a straight-up delicious Bundt cake—then add fruit. This version begins with a riff on a rum Bundt that my mom made every year for her work holiday party. I loved this cake so much that when I was five, I started asking for it for my birthday. (She used imitation rum.) In a nod to fruitcake, I soak dried apricots and cherries in (real) rum, infusing the alcohol with flavor that permeates the cake. A slice goes beautifully with a cup of coffee at brunch or a glass of Champagne in the evening. It’s also great for a child’s…

THERE’S AN ART TO ASSEMBLING A TRULY MEMORABLE NOSH. It’s not about cooking so much as it is sourcing—curating, if you will—a spread of delicacies that celebrates abundance and variety and keeps guests at the table long after the ball drops. There will be no courses, no full plates, just an endless series of infinitely customizable bites, cold vodka, and increasingly rowdy toasts. This isn’t a sit-down dinner party; it’s a sit-down party. 1 THE VODKA Setting down a bottle that’s been frozen in a block of ice is dramatic, sure, but it’s also practical: It keeps the spirit ice-cold the whole night, which mellows any, er, harshness. The one rule? Make sure you don’t run out. A crowd can easily burn through four or five bottles over the course…

Hazelnut and Buckwheat Financiers with Figs MAKES 6 LARGE OR 12 SMALL These are moist and nutty from the addition of brown butter and hazelnuts; resting the dough amplifies all of those flavors. ¾ cup skin-on hazelnuts 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar ⅓ cup buckwheat flour ¾ tsp. kosher salt ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 4 large egg whites Nonstick vegetable oil spray 3 fresh or dried figs, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges (optional) Demerara or raw sugar (for sprinkling) Preheat oven to 350°. Toast hazelnuts on a large rimmed baking sheet until skins are slightly darkened and split, 12–15 minutes. Let cool, then bundle in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove skins (there will definitely be some stubborn pieces that refuse to come off—do what you…

A gentle reminder to Ryan Seacrest’s pals: He’s booked solid on December 31. “To this day, some of my friends still text: ‘Where should we go?’” says the host of ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. “I keep telling them, ‘You should know I have to work!’” Seacrest honors a few NYE traditions the night of his marathon broadcast, like hugging someone within arm’s reach when the ball drops (“could be a crew member, could be a pop star”) and hitting Nobu Fifty Seven at 2 a.m. for a private postshow dinner with producers and performers (“We order the yellowtail and the rock shrimp tempura. As we say on the radio, ‘Play us the hits.’”). Given his unique end-of-year schedule, Seacrest covets the time he spends with his family the week…

SPARKLING JULEP Muddle 6 mint leaves and ¾ oz. simple syrup in a large goblet or julep cup. Add ½ oz. cognac, 3 oz. Champagne or dry sparkling wine, and 1 dash bitters (such as Angostura). Fill glass partway with crushed ice and stir gently to combine. Mound more crushed ice on top and garnish with a mint sprig and a lemon twist. Makes 1 CRAN ROYALE SYRUP Cook 6 thyme sprigs, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, ¼ cup sugar, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan over low, swirling pan occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and cranberries have released their color, 12–15 minutes (do not reduce liquid). Strain into a heatproof measuring glass; let cool (you should have 4 oz.). ASSEMBLY For each cocktail, combine 1 oz.…

CHEESY SESAME PHYLLO BITES Preheat oven to 375°. Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan; let cool slightly. Lightly beat 1 room-temperature large egg white in a small bowl. Set out 6 sheets thawed frozen phyllo pastry on a work surface. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with butter; top with another sheet of phyllo, pressing gently to adhere. Brush with butter and top with another sheet, pressing gently again; brush with egg white. Sprinkle half of " cup black and/or white sesame seeds and half of ½ tsp. smoked paprika over phyllo; season with salt and pepper. Scatter half of 2 oz. Gruyère, finely grated, over top. Cut into 2" squares. Bake crackers until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool on baking…

Braised Chicken Thighs with Squash and Mustard Greens 8 SERVINGS Don’t have an acorn squash? Use butternut. Not into mustard greens? Use kale, Swiss chard, or spinach. 4 lb. skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 12), patted dry Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 8 scallions, white and pale green parts sliced into 1" pieces, dark green parts thinly sliced 4 dried chiles de árbol 1 2" piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced 1 cup dry white wine ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce 3 Tbsp. dark brown sugar 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided 1 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced ½" thick 1 bunch mustard greens, tough stems removed, leaves torn 2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds Cooked…

Boozy Grapefruit-Pomegranate Gummy Candies MAKES ABOUT 32 Left unadorned, these look like precious gems, or they can be transformed into sparkly crunchy treats by tossing in coarse sugar before serving. GRAPEFRUIT LAYER ½ cup fresh grapefruit juice ⅓ cup honey or light agave nectar 3 Tbsp. Campari 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 2 Tbsp. unflavored powdered gelatin POMEGRANATE LAYER ½ cup pomegranate juice ¼ cup honey or light agave nectar 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier 2 Tbsp. unflavored powdered gelatin Sanding sugar (for serving; optional) GRAPEFRUIT LAYER Combine grapefruit juice, honey, Campari, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over and let sit until gelatin is softened, 10-15 minutes. Cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved and mixture is translucent with…

I LOVE DOING dishes. Always have. As a housemate, as a boyfriend, as a business owner. Not too keen on putting the air-dried plates away, but that’s a completely different skill— one that I have no desire, even to this day, to acquire. Leave me alone at my restaurant, Superiority Burger, on a Tuesday when we are closed to the public? I’ll roast a tray or two of russets and whip up a batch of Marco Canora’s two-ingredient gnocchi for absolutely no reason except that I want to. I’ll make a colossal mess. And later I’ll do all the dishes in silence as the tray of curvy wine-cork-size potato dumplings are safely hardening in the freezer, soon to be dropped in Ziplocs and dispatched as post-service sta! meals in the…

On Giving & Getting THE UNREDEEMED P !Are gift cards ever a good idea? Only for the stores. Last year $1 billion worth were lost down the back of sofas or “fiiled” into oblivion. If you insist on giving one, ensure it’s for a store the recipient shops from. CASH IN HAND P !For service providers (like my dog walker), is cash really the only gift? Yes! But give it with a (dog-themed) card. NO MEANS NO P !How do I convince people I really, truly mean “no gifts”? To demonstrate your request is sincere— suggest a charity. PARTY WHINE P !Is there anything to take to a dinner party besides wine? It’s baffling that wine is the go-to gift, since many get nervous buying it. Instead, give exceptional examples…

PUNCH MAKES the party. Yes, the prime-rib roast matters too, but no one ever told an inappropriate joke after eating meat. Punch is also nothing if not practical: Shaking individual cocktails to-order is a chore—for you and your guests. Punch is the answer. It’s so lowmaintenance you’ll forget it’s even there…until your entire guest list is gathered around it. You could do the traditional bowl-and-ladle thing, but then you wouldn’t get to decorate your dispenser all nice and pretty (see Prep School, page 165, for a few pointers). No dispenser? Get one. We like the Godinger Dublin Crystal model ($70) from bedbathandbeyond.com (pictured). Just some advice: This cranberry-vermouthsherry punch goes down easy. You’ve been warned. Under-the-Mistletoe Punch 20 SERVINGS This recipe easily scales down by half, or even all the…

BROUGHT UP in Scotland, with an Irish father and Italian mother, I’ve never felt British—“Heinz 57 Varieties” was the family joke. And despite living in England for years, it’s painfully clear I’m not English. The UK’s recent Brexit has left me feeling more out on a limb. Who even am I? For those of us who came up along with the EU these past two decades, and who have long been grateful for England’s vibrant melting-pot heritage, the vote is little short of jaw-dropping. I always believed that my country rejoiced in diversity, especially when it came to eating. Even the traditional British Christmas dinner is a mongrel thing. There’s turkey, of course, originally from the Americas. Its trimmings: cranberry sauce, also American; brussels sprouts— well, the clue’s in the…

THE BEGINNING of the new year is the one time that I pass on a cheese board. Hunks of Stilton and great wedges of cheddar along with crusty bread are such a feature of the holiday season here in Britain. You can eat as much cheese at the end of a meal as you typically would for an entire lunch! But come January, there’s about a week when I just cannot face another cheese plate. After this time of indulgence, various recuperations are required. A meal needs to be assembled without going shopping, for a start. Leftover vegetables need to be used up, and the stocks already in the freezer need to be sought out. Meals should provide comfort and reassurance to both the body and the bank account that…

TURMERIC YELLOW FOOD DYE Bring 4 tsp. ground turmeric, " cup sugar, and 2 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-low; cook, swirling pan occasionally, until liquid is reduced by about half, 25–30 minutes. Let dye cool before using. Makes about 1 cup CABBAGE B LUE FOOD DYE Bring ½ small head of red cabbage, coarsely chopped, and 3 cups water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-low; cook until cabbage is soft and liquid is reduced by about a third, 20–25 minutes. Remove cabbage with a slotted spoon. Add ½ cup sugar to cabbage liquid and simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until very deep purple and reduced to about 1 cup, 10_15 minutes. Let dye cool, then stir in ½ tsp. baking powder. Makes…

Steak au Poivre 4 SERVINGS When you flambé the cognac, make sure your pan is really hot and your eyebrows are out of the way. 2 1 ½"-thick boneless rib eyes (about 14 oz. each) 5 Tbsp. grapeseed or vegetable oil, divided Kosher salt 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided 1 large shallot, finely chopped ¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp. cognac 1 cup heavy cream 2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. green peppercorns in brine 4 garlic cloves, crushed 4 small sprigs rosemary; plus more for serving (optional) Rub steaks all over with 1 Tbsp. oil and season generously with salt. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low. Cook shallot, stirring often, until golden brown, 10!15 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully…

Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies MAKES ABOUT 36 This ambitious Mallomars-inspired recipe is a project: Make the (wheat-free!) cookie base and top with marshmallow on day one; enrobe in chocolate on day two. COOKIES ¾ cup almond flour or meal ⅔ cup rice flour ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature ¼ cup granulated sugar ⅓ cup powdered sugar ½ tsp. kosher salt 1 large egg yolk MARSHMALLOW AND ASSEMBLY 1 1.2-oz. bag freezedried strawberries 1 envelope unflavored powdered gelatin (about 2 ½ tsp.) 2 large egg whites ½ tsp. kosher salt 2 tsp. plus ½ cup granulated sugar 2 Tbsp. light corn syrup 12 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped 2 Tbsp. virgin coconut oil Pearl sugar and/or red sanding sugar (for serving; optional) Red luster dust (for serving; optional)…

FROM P. 56 PUNCH_DRUNK LOVE A clear-glass dispenser layered artfully with ice and garnishes definitely makes for a boozy spectacle. Here’s how to do it. _CHRIS MOROCCO FROM P. 143 PIPE DOWN Using a piping bag can be challenging for beginners, but these tips make it much more manageable. When filling the cone, fold down the upper third of the bag and stand it upright in a pint glass or quart container to stabilize (and allow you to work with both hands). Once it’s filled, roll the sides back up, gather, and twist to close, then secure with a rubber band. When you’re piping, always use two hands, twisting the bag from the top to push the filling down (like a tube of toothpaste). And before you squeeze, hover the…

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