In our opinion, a holiday table isn't complete without a big basket of fluffy dinner rolls. How else are you going to sop up the last bits of gravy? These soft and airy sweet potato rolls are perfect for the job. They're also very nearly fool-proof, making them one less thing to worry about when planning the meal.
Crème brûlée is simply one of the sexiest recipes going. You know that tap-tap moment, when the caramelized crust shatters, and you dip into the creamy custard below? Heaven. The rustic burnt topping makes each bite different and more delicious than the last. I confess, though, that I find classic crème brûlée a little fussy. I do make it and love it (see our basic crème brûlée recipe here), but when I was working on my forthcoming book about pudding, Bakeless Sweets, I wondered whether there was an easier way. Could I make crème brûlée without the oven and water bath?
Let me walk you through the experience of eating a fresh gougère. It's surprisingly light as you pick it up, almost insubstantial and still hot from the oven. The crispy shell crunches as you pull it open, releasing a puff of savory steam. Then you hit the middle: soft, eggy, and indecently cheesy. Two bites and it's gone. You're going to want to make a batch of these soon, trust me.
Ingredients
From Chef Mark Reinfeld's menu for A Holiday Vegan Feast:
Cook's Note: Choose ripe Anjou, slightly under ripe Comice, or very ripe Bosc pears for this tart. Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche.
[This recipe is part of Sally Schneider's fall menu, which includes Bruschetta of Wild Mushrooms, Herb-Scented Tuscan Pork Roast, Roasted Winter Squash Puree and Rustic Rosemary-Apple Tart.]
Our friend Brian Beadle is kind of a finicky eater -- he’s a meat and potatoes man. You could say he is sort of a "spuds specialist." His mashed potato recipe is fairly standard but his trick is to slip tiny pats of cold butter down into and throughout the hot potatoes when they are in their serving dish. The butter melts into hidden pools buried deep in the mashed potatoes to be discovered with each delicious forkful.
Baking the galette on a pizza stone ensures a very crisp bottom crust. But a baking pan or cookie sheet will work just fine too. Patch any little tears in the crust with extra pieces of dough and smooth them with a wet finger so the juices won’t leak out of the galette. Don’t fret when you are folding over the dough; if the edges are a little rough, they will only add to the rustic character of this delicious dessert.
We came up with this soup years ago simply by using two things we always have plenty of at Thanksgiving: turkey stock and leftover mashed potatoes. Now we make even this when we don’t have leftover potatoes. This soup is quite delicate and soothing after all the Thanksgiving gluttony.