Innehållsförteckning för November 2021 från Bon Appetit

The Bright Sides IN COLLEGE I LIVED THE DREAM and took advantage of my university’s study-abroad program. Atop a windy road in Florence, I settled into la dolce vita. It’s nearly impossible not to sound clichéd when describing that first encounter with Italian life. Like so many before me, I loved the idea of eating pasta virtually every night, loved the experiential learning that involved bold Tuscan reds and bright proseccos—to say nothing of that special indulgence, bistecca alla Fiorentina. Come Thanksgiving I was so happy that I didn’t fret when roast duck instead of turkey graced the table. It didn’t matter to me because there were still plenty of potatoes, veggies, rice (okay, risotto) and, of course, desserts. Not everyone shared my “when in Rome” attitude. Indeed, one classmate…

PUT SOME RESPECT on radicchio. Despite the visual similarity, this red wine–hued roughage isn’t actually a cousin of cabbage, but rather a member of the chicory family. Radicchio is sturdier and more bitter than other leafy veggies and has long been lauded for its antioxidant benefits—Pliny the Elder celebrated radicchio as a “blood purifier” in his A.D. 77 tome, Naturalis Historia. Use it raw to bring a balancing bitterness to citrusy salads (like the white bean salad on p. 18), or sear it on the stovetop or braise to mellow out its bite. Radicchio, Bean, and Feta Salad A gently infused olive oil and lemon mixture does double duty as a marinade for the white beans and a dressing for the salad RECIPE BY KENDRA VACULIN 4 SERVINGS 1 lemon4…

New Providence I CONSIDER MYSELF a culinary griot. As in, I’m a storyteller, and the unapologetic theme that underlies my storytelling is that each major island in my native Bahamas has its own unique flavor. The Bahamas is an archipelago of 700 islands, so let’s start with New Providence, where I grew up and honed my skills as a chef. This island capital, which is only 21 by seven square miles, is a melting pot of natives, immigrants, and tourists, which influences the food culture. Here you’ll find burgeoning craft cocktail bars alongside conch salad stands and restaurants featuring the food of fellow islands the world over (Thai curries!) a short drive away from no-frills kitchens focused on Bahamian cooking. These are the restaurants, bars, and shops I visit again…

When it comes to making desserts for the holidays, best-selling cookbook author and Back in the Day Bakery co-owner Cheryl Day has a lifetime of expertise to share. “My mom and I would make so many pies,” Day says while reminiscing about her late mother, Janie Queen. “I can still visualize her hands rolling things out. That’s probably my greatest memory of Thanksgiving—my favorite holiday, by the way.” Memory and heritage are central themes in Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking, a comprehensive guide to mastering scratch baking featuring more than 200 new and revamped recipes. “It’s about paying homage to my ancestors and talking about the pride in the craft of Southern baking,” the Savannah-based baker says. Here we share a few of her prized desserts from the book,…

If you don’t count last year, I’ve always hosted Thanksgiving at my place in the West Village. It’s one of my most favorite holidays. I love renting long tables and arranging flowers, squeezing 25 people into my apartment and cooking everything from scratch. It’s very come one, come all. That’s just how it was in my family when I was growing up in San Francisco. We’d have anyone who was free over: assorted aunties and uncles, neighbors, a family friend’s son or daughter in the States for college. I’m Chinese American, so our Thanksgiving table was always a mash-up of those cultures. We had the turkey, the sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, and then steamed gai lan or bok choy and my grandmother’s no mai fan—sticky rice studded with…

1 ’Tater Talk Solanum tuberosum: the tuber that changed the world. Believed to have been domesticated by the Indigenous peoples of the Andes and brought across the Atlantic by Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, many argue that the potato gave rise to modern agriculture in Europe. Today it’s the world’s fifth-most important staple crop. It’s by far America’s most consumed produce item—we eat nearly 50 pounds per person each year. (Tomatoes take the number two spot because: ketchup.) 2 Which to Use for What Broadly speaking, your local grocery store is likely to have a few main types of potatoes on offer, each suited to different preparations, so knowing the difference between them is crucial. FLOURY/STARCHY Relatively low in moisture and high in starch, with rough skins, types like…

Playa Grande Beach Club If you want to get away right now (and I don’t blame you), think about the Dominican Republic. Traveling in the era of COVID-19 will always be tricky, but Playa Grande Beach Club’s on-site testing option makes it easier to enjoy their gorgeous, secluded beach; local, casual, and sumptuous approach to food; and the region’s activities: hiking, snorkeling, tennis—and beach naps, of course. Their house drink of lime juice and mint, served with yuca chips and guacamole, is reason enough to return. Dunmere House I love the aesthetic of Dunmere House, Kahina Van Dyke’s second inn in Oak Bluffs, MA, which is an area on Martha’s Vineyard that has long provided a space for African American community, friendship, and fellowship. I imagine myself escaping here to…

Safer Storage “Sustainable design,” Jones explains, “is not just about how your choices affect the environment, it’s about creating healthy homes.” In the kitchen, that starts with storage. “Cabinetry can be the biggest offender in terms of off-gassing,” she says, referring to the noxious chemicals released by the materials in many furnishings. She suggests using timber that is free of urea-formaldehyde (a toxic resin) and is labeled as FSC-certified, like the ApplePly birch used for this Aptos, California, home. DESIGNER Jennifer Jones of Niche Interiors HOME BASE San Francisco GREEN BONA FIDES LEED Accredited Professional; ambassador for the Sustainable Furnishings Council; founding member of the Good Future Design Alliance GO-TO MEAL Homemade pasta and marinara sauce LEARN THE LINGO Jones offers a quick lesson in sustainable vocabulary ZERO-VOC “There’s no…

AROUND A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, my grandparents’ house in Galveston Island, Texas, was moved from the interior of the island to the beachside. The island had been wiped out by the historic 1900 storm, a hurricane that killed thousands and flattened the landscape. One of my mom’s favorite bedtime stories was telling us about the nuns at an orphanage who tied the kids together to keep them safe in the storm—only to have them drown because of it. Every time she told the story the number of orphans grew. So this is the place, and the people, I come from. We’ve scattered the ashes of so many relatives in the Gulf that now I can’t swim in those brown salty waters without thinking, Mom? You out here? And a hermit…

Who but Stanley Tucci could charm us on social media with his Negroni-making skills, eat his way through Italy for a documentary series, and publish a food-heavy memoir all during a global pandemic? We almost forgot that he’s also a Hollywood star. But what we really want to know: What’s Tucci doing for Thanksgiving? 1 First, a Martini “Too many people say too many things, and I wish they’d stop,” writes Tucci about the iconic cocktail’s origins. “The only thing that matters is that the martini exists.” Tucci has been drinking his the same way for ages: gin or vodka (each has its time and place) with just a whiff of vermouth, and stirred not shaken—sorry, 007. It’s “the quintessence of elegance that we all aspire to and believe we…

Simply Organic Five Spice Made of fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns, this spice is infinitely versatile. It brings warmth to whatever I’m making—banana bread, meatballs, fruit crumbles, brownies. I like to say it’s pumpkin spice’s bolder cousin. $5 for 2-oz. jar; iherb.com Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Dark soy is thicker—and yes, darker—than the usual light soy sauce with which most of us are familiar. It’s also slightly sweeter and lends a lovely amber color to anything, like rice and chicken. $3 for 500-ml bottle; umamicart.com Koda Farms Sweet Rice Also known as sticky rice or glutinous rice, this round-grain rice becomes sticky when cooked and is widely used in Chinese cooking (and many other Asian cuisines too). I grew up eating it in my…

Scented candles are lovely, but turkey redolent of tuberose isn’t. That’s why I focus my tablescape on eclectic shapes and colors instead: an amber tower of river rocks, a pyramid with golden inlay, a bust that could’ve been sculpted by Michelangelo. They bring the vibes but let the stuffing biscuits (page 44) speak (er, smell) for themselves and make the fact that none of my plates match look intentional.…

A couple of spoonfuls of miso adds a little extra umami and saltiness to these spuds, a subtle bridge between the roasted garlic and dairy that nobody will quite be able to put their finger on. And yes: These potatoes are actually mashed. I’m not going to stop you from pulling out a ricer or food mill if supersmooth is your thing, but I personally like a bit of texture—a few bits of intact potato remind you that you’re actually eating, you know, potatoes. —BRAD LEONE, VIDEO HOST I personally gravitate toward a holiday stuffing with a more classic flavor profile, but I’m also a firm believer that a little bit of spice improves most things. That’s why I incorporated meaty bits of spicy-tangy Mexican-style chorizo and a handful of…

Lost Quarry Ribbed Plates My friend Doris Josovitz started this ceramics studio a few years ago. I love the feel and the nuanced finish to her pieces. Starting at $35; lost-quarry.com Loyale Grey Stripe Linen Napkin I’m into these Japanese cotton napkins for many reasons, but the main two are because they’re from an AAPI women-owned company and they’re made in my hometown, San Francisco. $24 each; loyalestudio.com Bowen Liu Saddle Cutting/Serving Board There is no chicer way to serve charcuterie than on these crisp-looking boards. $265; bowenliustudio.com Wing on Wo & Co. Dragon Bowls These are perfect for anything, from rice to cereal, and the tonal dragon motif goes with any table setting. Wing on Wo & Co. has been a fixture in NYC’s Chinatown since the 1890s! $25…