Innehållsförteckning för November 2023 från Bon Appetit

As I began reading this Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appétit as its new editor in chief, my first thought was that the only side dish that really matters to me is the mac and cheese. It’s the ultimate celebration food, warm and comforting, something that exemplifies the communal joy of the holidays. At its most delicious, a dish like mac and cheese can become the source of friends’ taste memories and the foundation of family lore. (Who doesn’t want to be the cousin who gets a round of applause when they arrive carrying extra trays?) To me, mac and cheese is serious business. Perfecting a recipe requires years of kitchen observation, decades of practice, and high levels of skill—plus a security clearance from aunts and grannies to guarantee its worthiness…

Once the dessert forks have been surrendered and everyone swears they couldn’t possibly take even one more bite, a final pour of something special on Thanksgiving just feels right. While I can see the merits of trotting out a bottle of bark-bitter amaro or a mellow bourbon that’s seen a few years in oak, these days I take a different tack. When I want to round out a big meal in style, the choice is clear—a clear spirit, that is. I’m talking about things like eau-de-vie, grappa, mezcal, and clairin. Though these liquors are unique in terms of their geographic origin, composition, and production, they share a brazen character, making them ideal meal-enders. Instead of relying on extensive aging in wood to lend complexity, each spirit tastes unabashedly of the…

I know what you’re thinking: Salad is a desk lunch. Salad is a weeknight side. It has no place on a Thanksgiving menu. But I’m here to say it definitely does. Not for fiber, but for flavor. Not for virtue, but for verve. Think of salad as a moment of relief, like an intermission at a long play or the shade of a tree on a sunny afternoon. On a holiday table chock-full of dishes that are rich and richer, something raw and tangy is a welcome contrast. Salad tastes good on its own, but it also makes everything around it taste better. Its crunch peps up silky-smooth mashed potatoes. Its zing brightens gravy-smothered turkey. And it doesn’t have to be complicated either. In fact, come Turkey Day, it should…

As the saying goes, rules and drinking glasses are made to be broken. This is why I’ve never managed to keep a full set of six wine glasses intact for more than a year. And it’s also why, while planning my wedding, I decided to embrace disorder and serve wine in a smattering of completely mismatched vintage stemware. I started saying yes to every impractical, idiosyncratic glass I normally would have to pry myself away from in a thrift store. I scoured flea markets, Etsy, and eBay. This shopping spree resulted in a ragtag team of etched, cut, molded oddball glasses from the 1930s through the 1970s. Since every glass was a little bit different, I managed to hang onto the same one through eight hours of partying. At breakfast…

THE 101 Turkey gets all the glory, but, if you ask us, it really wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without tangy, ruby-hued cranberries. One of the few fruits truly native to North America, particularly New England and the upper Midwest, they’re arguably even more American than apple pie and have been a valuable source of sustenance for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Whether they take the form of a crimson sauce, a raw relish, or a wobbly can-shaped mass, cranberries offer a rare moment of acidic brightness—not to mention a welcome pop of color—to a spread dominated by rich beige foods. And while these little fruits are holiday stars, there are tons of reasons to keep them on the menu all year. HARVEST MOON Cranberry plants are low shrubs that are…

BUTTERY MILK BUNS MAKES 24 We combined the richness of classic Parker House rolls with the texture of Japanese milk bread to create the kind of flavorful, pillowy buns dreams are made of. A cooked flour-liquid paste known as tangzhong is the secret to their fluffiness and staying power. The extraordinary delight of eating them warm is a given, but they will retain their lighter-than-air buoyancy and softness even after sitting out on the table all day. ⅔ cup plus ¾ cup plus1 Tbsp. whole milk3 Tbsp. plus 4 cups (523 g) all-purpose flour¼ cup (50 g) sugar1 ¼-oz. envelope instant yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt3 large eggs½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces, plus6 Tbsp. melted, slightly cooledVegetable…

Boxed stuffing. Fried onions. Canned cranberry sauce and pumpkin purée. Many people, even committed scratch cooks, turn to these nostalgic ingredients for one special day each year. If that sounds like you, then you’ve probably found yourself with some tricky-to-use-up leftovers. Maybe your go-to recipes require less than a full box or can, leaving you with extras that sit in your fridge until trash day. Or maybe you took advantage of a two-for-one special (who can resist a deal?!), only to have that bonus stash languish in the pantry well beyond its expiration date. If you’re a no-waste fan like me, there’s a distinct satisfaction in using up all you’ve got. So I decided to create a couple of weeknight-friendly dishes that put these very specific ingredients to good use.…

Hot dish hot take: It’s the most traditional sides that make the spread. Sure, there’s always room to try something new, but it’s important to leave ample space on the table for classics that help to set the tone. We’re talking dishes that deliver on comfort, and maybe a bit of nostalgia, all made with the care they deserve: cheesy casseroles, sauced and glazed vegetables, and yes, even sweet potatoes crowned with a sea of perfectly burnished mini marshmallows. These are the dishes your friends and family ask for by name, so beloved the leftovers will be claimed before the meal has even begun. It simply wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them. SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE WITH CRISPY CORNFLAKES 12 SERVINGS Sweet potato casseroles elicit some strong opinions. Some argue that marshmallows…

A tablescape designed by Doan Ly is unmistakable. In her dreamlike compositions, plants, produce, textures, and colors mingle in unexpected ways beneath an ethereal light. To make this scene, Ly started with traditional points of entry for a holiday table setting: flowers and autumnal textiles and hues. But the rest belongs to a land delightfully askew. Slouching calla lilies and serpentine garlic scapes spill out beneath waxy pink heliconia (reminiscent of lobster claws or toucan beaks, you choose). It’s a backdrop fit for the kind of feast Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar or modern dance choreographer Pina Bausch might attend, where the real and near-real playfully intertwine. My favorite details are the fresh grapes and lemons suspended in the air, like gifts, above glazed ceramic fruit—touches of whimsy and surprise. I…

In cross-cultural romances, it’s not a matter of if a food-related faux pas will be committed, but when. The room falls silent as Toula announces her American fiancé is a vegetarian in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Her aunt problem-solves: “That’s okay, I’ll make lamb!” When Waverly introduces her WASP boyfriend to her family in The Joy Luck Club, her mom brings a prized dish to the table with typical Chinese self-effacement, proclaiming it flavorless and “too bad to eat.” The oblivious boyfriend follows suit, dousing it with soy sauce as the family looks on in horror. My own culinary gaffe arrived, like a warty decorative gourd, at Thanksgiving. Mars and I were hosting for the first time as newlyweds, welcoming 25 friends, colleagues, strangers, and relatives—including Mars’s sister Katie and…

There are as many ways of approaching a holiday like Thanksgiving as there are cooks who celebrate. There are the rigid traditionalists whose unchanging yearly menus may as well be etched into the wood of their carving sets. There are the endless reinventors, those eclectic souls who let the whims of the day serve as the blueprint for a buffet overflowing with novelty. And then, happily marching down a middle path, there’s us—and the next 38 pages of this magazine. We’re not afraid to pick favorites, which is why you’ll find a handful of never-let-us-down, wouldn’t-be-The-Fourth-Thursday-without-them recipes from our archives here. But just as sure as we are that the mashed potatoes on page 57 are the best, silkiest, creamiest we’ve ever made, we also couldn’t resist the urge to…

If your holiday gathering permits a level of creativity or looseness (Friendsgiving, anyone?), the side dishes are your best opportunity to off-road. Maybe crisp-edged spuds inspired by chips and dip can replace the usual mash this year. Or creamed onions can get a bit of lift from sizzled tomato paste and a splash of vodka. Perhaps tender green beans in a nutty almond-butter-based sauce could stand in for the revered casserole—or at least peacefully coexist with it. The beauty of Thanksgiving sides is that there’s always space for one more, and we all know they’re the most fun part anyway—take a chance and live a little. SOUR CREAM AND ONION HASSELBACK POTATOES 4–6 SERVINGS Generous swooshes of homemade sour cream and onion dip provide a soft landing for crispy Hasselback…

Leftover turkey after Thanksgiving? Inevitable. And when you’ve got a deluxe melt like this to look forward to, it feels like a gift rather than a chore. Maybe you’re thinking, I don’t need a recipe for a sandwich; I can make one standing in front of the fridge. But we’re here to say that you deserve better than some cold concoction cobbled together with slippery bits of meat and congealed cranberry sauce. Fashioned after a tuna melt, this version has just enough mayo folded into the turkey to keep all those bits and bobs of picked meat in place. It’s oozing with molten cheese and has plenty of punchy alliums and pickled pepper to add pops of brightness. This is a sandwich that feels intentional and thought-out—almost like you bought…