When you're celebrating a holiday or some good news, what is your favorite dish to make? You know, that special thing that you only cook once in a while. Do you use a regular standby, or do you use the occasion to try a new recipe? Do you go all out, or do you stay within a budget? Do you cook something fancier, or something more humble and comforting? Tell us - we'd like to know!
My special occasion dish is either Julia Child's beef bourguignon, a plate of local cheeses with jams, honey, pickles, and champagne, or a nice seafood spread of steamed crab with fresh oysters.
Recipes Shown In Photos:
• 2 Jamie Oliver's Chicken In Milk
• 3 Cipollini and Mushroom Tart
• 4 Sustainable Caviar On A Budget
• 5 Braised Beef
• 6 Potato, Squash, and Goat Cheese Gratin
(Images: Elizabeth Passarella, Sara-Kate Gillingham Ryan, Dieter Wiechmann, Beef Checkoff Culinary Center, Faith Durand)
How To Make Cake Pops
How To Cook a Steak: 15 Recipes for a Weeknight Valentine's Meal
Like us on Facebook
Our reading list
RSS Feed (Atom)
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Valentine's Ice Cre...
Before & After: Trashed Hutch Turned Vanity Dresser 
Ashley & Kyle's Personality Packed Home 
Comments (13)
Roast chicken is pretty easy and yummy.
If it's a small dinner party, I really love to make my own pasta and ragu. Ragu cooks forever and smells heavenly when guests walk in.
I tend to go one of two ways, depending on how I'm feeling:
1. Try something new - I love to cook, so part of what makes it a special occasion is getting to try out a new recipe.
2. Beef Rib Roast or Rack of Lamb. Special occasion makes me think about red meat on the bone. As a bonus, they're simple to make - that way, I can concentrate on the special occasion itself instead of the cooking.
MikeV
DadCooksDinner
A big, GIANT paella. With the absolute best ingredients I can find.
Lamb chops, a creamed potato dish of some sort and sauteed greens.
Roast chicken is one of the few things I can cook well. Easy and impressive at the same time, especially with white-wine gravy made from the drippings. I also make a low-fat cheesy hash brown casserole that is super easy and awesome.
My absolute favorite special-occasion food to *eat*, however is Southern-style dressing (with gravy!). Best food ever. Why must it only be served for Thanksgiving and Christmas??
Country fried steak, the crispy kind with a moderate amount of gravy, not the kind that looks like dog food. Also, chicken in milk, because I accompany it with homemade bread. Or duck breast, just because it's very impressive but always an ordeal for me to get just right.
Caramelised pumpkin risotto. A special occasion dish mainly because I have to have a reason to stir continuously for 25 minutes.
Any variation of Pork Tenderloin. It's cheap and easy. I love any Bobby Flay recipe.
Shrimp scampi (if I'm feeling generous) or lasagna (if I'm feeling cheap). I like to make other things, but pasta is the only meal I'm guaranteed will turn out right.
My uncle's roast beef and gravy on rolls. It's an old family favorite--spicy, peppery, and rich with memories.
My special occasion dish is also from Julia Child: cassoulet. It can only be for special occasions because with all that duck and pork fat it would kill us to eat it more than once a year!
We have a huge extended family so I love to try new things when we all get together. The challenge is several very picky eaters, so the menu is usually classic with a meat dish and several savory sides prepared in an unexpected way. Epicurious is always a great inspiration for special occasions.
our special occasion food is our everyday comfort food, with some extra touches added. like mashed potatoes, but with rosemary, roasted garlic, and sour cream* added. or spaghetti, but with homemade meatballs* and crusty garlic bread on the side. so soothing and smile-instilling.
* = [soy]