The Kitchn Archive: Dec 2014

Q: I have transitioned to being a stay-at-home mom and have enjoyed the challenge of cooking more of our meals from scratch. My biggest problem is weekend lunches. Inevitably, we finally get out the door to have fun or run errands, and breakfast was hours ago and dinner is far away. What can I grab for us to eat? I am looking for five-minute-or-less prep — including any cooking in advance! — and able to be eaten in the car. Our only standby is a turkey sandwich. Help!

We’re always on the lookout for new ingredients that we never thought we could eat (hello, pumpkin leaves!), as well as trendy ingredients that start popping up everywhere, like black garlic. Check out these 10 ingredients that we fell in love with this year and see if you like them as much as we do. If you’re tired of cooking with the same ingredients, try swapping in cashew meal for almond flour or cooking with those carrot tops that you usually toss into the compost.

They appear just once each year, but what to do when you’re stuck with more candy canes than you know what to do with? Rather than tossing these festive sweet treats, transform them into baked goods and even cocktails and use up every last (even broken) piece! Read on for some creative uses for your leftover candy canes this holiday season. Perfect for even the broken leftovers, crushed candy canes make tasty and cute garnishes for holiday treats.

I’ll confess that I’m a bit of a skeptic when I come across very off-the-wall cooking tips that are supposed to blow my mind, so when I started writing here at The Kitchn, trying out some of these tips was really fun. Here are 15 popular tips that we put to the test. Find out if they were duds or world-rocking techniques that we’ll actually be using in our cooking!

Q: I’ll be preparing a whole ham for the first time. How far in advance can I buy the ham? Sent by Chuck Editor: Readers, what do you think about this? How far ahead do you usually buy ham?

I used to hate cold winter days. Sub-freezing temperatures, whipping wind, icy sidewalks — no, thank you, I’ll happily pass. But, I’ve recently come to not only accept the winter chill, but embrace it. It’s not because I’ve suddenly come to love cold weather. Nope, I’m in it for the hot chocolate! And not just any hot chocolate. Thanks to one simple ingredient, I’m passing the winter days with a mug of the richest drink you can imagine.

Each year we splurge on this amazing locally made eggnog since it’s the only time of year they make it. One of our family traditions is to trim the Christmas tree while drinking eggnog and munching on cookies. And one of the best parts about having this eggnog around? It makes the best French toast ever. The downside of this local eggnog is that it doesn’t have a long shelf life, so I feel sad whenever we don’t finish it in time.

Q: We met a lovely couple via a mutual friend around a month ago, and they just moved into our neighborhood this week. We’ve hung out a few times since meeting, and they are very sweet. They have asked us to look in on their cats every day while they make the long drive to the Northeast and back to move the rest of their belongings.

Q: My department at work (about 30 people) holds frequent lunch potlucks at staff meetings. I’ve exhausted my cache of recipes that fit the necessary constraints: …must be made the night before (bonus points if parts of it can be made two nights before), must be served cold or room temp, must work on a buffet table (easy to serve quickly), and must feed a lot of people. Salads and desserts are obvious choices, but I’m looking for new and impressive dishes that taste great.

In the past, when I hosted a party and served a cheese platter or a cheese course, I stressed out about the right kind of wine to pair with it. Should I go red, which would go better with strongly flavored cheeses, or do I go white to complement tangy goat cheese? Should I offer both? Then I stumbled on the solution, and it’s become the only wine I now serve with cheese: Champagne. Call it sparkling wine if you must, but I just call it the perfect pairing.

One of the best things about growing up in India was all the holidays we celebrated. As a multicultural country, all festivals are celebrated with lots of joy and gusto. Some of the popular festivals are Diwali, Holi, and Eid, but you may be surprised to know that India is home to a considerable population of Christians, who, along with the rest of the country, celebrate Christmas with their own rituals and traditions. Here are some of my memories of celebrating Christmas in India.