Recipes built around what’s in season, from spring produce to holiday classics.
The cheapest way to build a christmas themed charcuterie board is to buy two blocks of cheese instead of a pre-sliced variety pack, cut each block three different ways to fake the look of four or five cheeses, and lean on rosemary sprigs, pomegranate seeds, and homemade dried orange slices for the festive color instead
The best make ahead skewer appetizers use firm, well-dried ingredients threaded in an order that keeps the wettest piece, usually mozzarella, near the top and added last, with any dressing held back until right before serving. I have brought soggy antipasto skewers to a party exactly once, and the memory still makes me wince a
The easiest Christmas breakfast recipes are the ones you build the night before, and a hash brown sausage and egg casserole is the one that gets the whole table fed while you’re still in your pajamas. I used to think a big holiday breakfast meant getting up at 6 a.m. to stand over a skillet
Wild rice stuffing with cranberries is a side dish made by simmering wild rice in stock until the grains split and go tender, then baking it with sautéed onion and celery, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and fresh herbs until the top turns golden. I make some version of this every year starting in October, long
The best cranberry sauce substitutes are fresh cranberry relish, a quick orange marmalade thinned with a little water, or a cherry sauce made the same way you’d cook cranberries, since all three land close to the tart-sweet flavor and jammy texture people expect on the table. If you’re standing in your kitchen right now realizing
The most elegant Christmas appetizers use just two or three high-quality ingredients arranged simply, like cranberry brie bites, whipped feta with hot honey, marinated shrimp, or prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and most of them take about 15 minutes of hands-on work rather than any real cooking skill. I used to think elegant meant complicated. My first few
A halloween 7 layer dip is a classic seven-layer taco dip made with refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, and olives, finished with a sour cream spiderweb piped on top and dragged into a web pattern with a toothpick. I’ve made some version of seven layer dip for basically every Halloween party I’ve hosted
A sparkling pomegranate fizz is 100% pomegranate juice and fresh lime mixed with club soda over ice, roughly 2 parts juice to 1 part sparkling water, finished with pomegranate arils for garnish.
A Halloween batch margarita made with blanco tequila, fresh lime juice, orange liqueur, and a splash of blue curacao for that eerie green witch’s brew color is the easiest Halloween tequila cocktail to mix ahead and serve a crowd straight from one pitcher. I used to make individual margaritas at every Halloween party I hosted,
Leftover Halloween candy cookies are just a basic brown sugar cookie dough with chopped candy bars folded in and pressed on top, baked as one pan of bars instead of individual scooped cookies. You dump in whatever chocolate candy is left in the bowl, chop it small, and let the oven do the rest. I
A healthy salmon bowl made with garlic butter salmon, rice, and quick veggies, ready in 15 minutes. My go-to reset dinner when the week gets away from me.
Coquito is a rich Puerto Rican coconut and rum drink you make by blending coconut cream, coconut milk, evaporated milk, and condensed milk with warm spices, then chilling the whole batch for at least a day so the rum and coconut actually taste like one drink instead of two.
A candy charcuterie boo basket is a Halloween gift basket where you arrange snack-size candy, chocolate bars, and spooky treats on a board or tray like a mini charcuterie spread instead of just dumping it all into a bag. That’s the whole idea, and it’s why the format took off. A regular boo basket is
The best halloween snack mix recipes combine crunchy cereal and pretzels with a melted white chocolate coating, then finish with candy corn and M&Ms for a sweet and salty bowl that actually gets eaten to the bottom. That’s the whole idea behind candy corn chex mix, sometimes called monster munch. You get a salty, crunchy
Cranberry brie bites are mini muffin-tin appetizers made by pressing squares of puff pastry into the cups, tucking in a cube of brie and a spoonful of cranberry sauce, then baking at 375°F for 15 to 18 minutes until the pastry puffs golden and the cheese turns soft and melty. That’s the whole idea, and