The holidays have us thinking about ways to remember all those folks — some who traveled FAR — with whom we visited or shared a meal, celebrating and counting blessings. So compiled our collection of traditional and not-so-traditional forms of “guest books”.
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Hosting during the holidays can mean a lot of pressure. My husband and I didn’t want to spoil the joy of actually being with the people we love by fussing over inconsequential details. Instead, we have opted for what we lovingly call, Thanksgiving Picnic.
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In the run-up to Thanksgiving, we often get calls from friends anxious for easy, foolproof strategies for the big meal. Here’s our updated tried-and-true, “best of” recipe traditions that lend themselves to tailoring and improvising.
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If you’re planning on hosting a crowd, now’s the time to figure out what tables you’ll serve everyone on, and where the guests will sit… Here’s our best mostly makeshift ideas.
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This is my favorite basic mashed potato recipe: wonderful as is, or as a base for the many embellishments and improvisations listed below, including the astonishing Sage Oil and Crispy Garlic. You can modulate their richness and texture according to whim or the ingredients you have on hand, making them perfect for the Thanksgiving Feast.
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Buried in a photo series about C-Mine design center in Genk, Belgium at Vosges Paris is an image of someone rubber stamping what we thought at first were paper placemats or cloths. Wonderful idea!
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This is the best method I know for making perfect roast chicken. Even novice and/or terrified cooks find it foolproof, and it has become a staple of many of my friends. By some mysterious chemistry, roasting a chicken with a lemon in its cavity guarantees exceptionally crisp skin, moist, flavorful flesh and abundant pan juices:…
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(Video link here.) The Kids Should See This is a site full of wonders for kids AND adults. Dig this beautiful short video of what ACTUALLY happens when a kernel of corn POPS. I had no idea the stuff I threw into my trusty Presto PopLite Hot Air Popper is so magical. I’m thinking that browsing through The Kids Should See This‘ awesome videos while eating…
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A farmer friend of mind asked my advice on preserving the luscious tomatoes that are abundance in the last, dazzling burst of summer produce. “Do you can tomatoes?” he asked. “No”, I replied, “I roast them.” Slow-roasting tomatoes in a low oven, evaporates their juices, and renders them dense, creamy and melting, with a concentrated tomato flavor that is at once tart, sweet and savory. They last for a couple of weeks in the fridge and they freeze beautifully. They can be improvised with endlessly…
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The other day while grilling some pork chops, I quickly tossed quarter-inch slices from a huge sweet onion in butter until they were tinged with brown and barely wilted. They were like some lovely mild onion noodle! I realized that if I sliced the onion rings through the center, I’d get strips to make something even closer to a…
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Our friend Ellen Silverman, who photographs frequently for Improvised Life, sent us a compelling email the other day, with equally compelling photographs. She wrote: What you do when you don’t know you are having an emotionally challenged day, and then you suddenly do something that makes you realize that you are deeply distracted by…big emotions you…
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For many years La Merenda, a tiny restaurant near the Cours Selaya market in Nice, was considered by many to be one of the city’s finest bistros, renown for the simple preparation of perfect ingredients. There long ago, I tasted as lovely a dessert as I have ever encountered: an ordinary sounding “compote” of raspberries…
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I was pleased as punch when the great Food 52 told me they were going to feature my Slow Roasted Salmon recipe as a GENIUS recipe. Their words: “The most foolproof way to cook any fish—and a petition for a new cooking term” since slow-roasting fish can take as little as 15 minutes. I learned the…
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Ellen Silverman, who LOVES to improvise radically on my recipes, recently posted her iteration of my Improvisational Fresh Fruit Tart Formula on Instagram: a sensational Plum Cherry Tart with Thyme. She said it was a huge HIT at her dinner party. Made with lush summer fruits, freeform fruit tarts are the perfect summer dessert (though you can make it all year round). Here’s the simple formula:
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A reminder we found on Maria Robledo’s instagram: for a fab flower arrangement just float little blossoms (you can pick a few your garden or in the park) in a shallow bowl of water.
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Although we had a lovely time shelling and eating fresh peas recently, we know that some people just don’t have the time or wherewithall to shell. So we offer up two great strategies from Improvised Life’s Archives (they both make great hors d’ouevres):
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At twilight recently, I sat on the terrace with a friend shelling a huge bag of fresh peas. Our conversation meandered as we worked. We could have been sitting on a porch in the country. I wondered if THIS was what peas and shell beans were really made to do: bring friends and family together over a calming task that would yield something truly special.
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This weekend marks The Splendid Table’s 20th anniversary show. Lynne Rosetto Kasper launched the famous radio food show with a conversation with Julia Child about the 4th of July which you can listen to here. I am THRILLED to be included on the roster for this special show (talking about fresh cherries), along with Mario Batali (talking…
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Everyone is heading out-of-town early for the 4th of July weekend, and we’re just wrapping our heads around the fact that it’s HERE! Since we’re unprepared for the celebration, we figured others may be, too. So we compiled our best quick n’ easy, truly do-able recipes — from cocktail to dessert— with ingredients you can easily pick…
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Throughout the Mediterranean, the combination of garlic, anchovies* and olive oil finds its way into scores of dishes, from salads, pastas and vegetables to seafood and even lamb and veal. Here in America, it is the basis for the legendary Caesar salad. With the addition of Parmigiano, its dressing’s assertive flavors add up to something completely…
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