The calendar requires that we shake off our turkey comas quickly, especially this year, as Hanukah, should you celebrate it (and you should because: latkes and doughnuts) comes approximately 5 minutes later. If the push to shop and be abundantly festive is coming too fast for you, may I recommend some gifts from your kitchen instead? Below, a collection of my favorite food gifts. Each are not more appreciated and loved than something you could buy in a store, they buy *you* a little time, hanging out in your kitchen, enjoying the holidays on your own, hopefully relaxing, terms.
Cheers,
Deb
FRESH AND NEW
drop cornbread biscuits The weekend before Thanksgiving, we hosted our 2nd Friendsgiving, stuffing 17 people in an apartment that has no business holding 17 people (but it’s okay, there’s wine for that). I'm sharing the menu, some completely random tips, and some craggy, delicious, unbelievably easy biscuits for dinner and beyond.
9 HOMEMADE GIFTS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST
sugar-and-spice candied nuts The secret to making unsticky perfectly-spiced nut mixes that pack up perfectly for gifts with a long shelf life? An egg white. Feeling a little sugar-and-spiced out? There's a wholesome, snack-perfect granola version, too.
make your own vanilla extract Making vanilla extract at home is insanely easy, spectacularly more delicious than anything you can buy, and a perfect quick project to set you up for the holiday baking -- and gift-giving -- frenzy to come. Be warned, however: it will be impossible to go back to the prebottled stuff after this.
gingerbread biscotti Want to get a lead on: 1. breakfast tomorrow, 2. holiday baking that freezes well, and 3. making your kitchen smell like everything delicious blew up in the middle of it? I know just the way.
chocolate caramel crack(ers) Salty, buttery, chocolaty, crunchy, and so easy to make, you'll do it again and again. Understand that the moment you open the box a great mass of hungry people appear from every corner to descend upon and eviscerate the contents. Learn from me and always double it.
chocolate-peanut spread For people who enjoy Nutella but wondered how it would taste with peanut butter instead. Wonder no longer!
marbled banana bread Half dark chocolate banana bread, half classic and gently spiced, marbled in distinct swirls, I know for a fact that all of our days will be better with this in it.
coffee toffee You know how sometimes no matter how much coffee you drink, it's not enough? Good news, there's a candy for that.
decadent hot chocolate mix Cocoa, sugar, ground bittersweet chocolate, a hint of vanilla and salt (trust me, it brings it all together) make the perfect hot chocolate mix, ideal for gifts (keeps in jars for up to 2 months) or just arming your pantry for the cold weather ahead.
granola bark Why choose between granola bars or loose granola? This does both with a big satisfying sheet of granola in the form of breakable “bark” that's not too sweet, but light, crisp, and 100% clusters—you know, the best part.
4 HANUKAH MUST-HAVES
potato pancakes, even better A few no-fail tricks to create crispy, golden latkes that look precisely like flying spaghetti monsters/tiny piles of rope mops, plus a new one: these days I use potato starch instead of flour for the clearest flavor and lightest texture. Make a big batch this week and have them on hand as long as needed; potato pancakes reheat fantastically.
my family's noodle kugel Trying to explain noodle kugel to someone who has never had noodle kugel is hard. Trying to convince someone who has had this noodle kugel to eat it again... doesn't happen. Once you have it, there's only asking for seconds, and then for you to make it again every year forever. In this post, my mom shares our family recipe (and a little secret). I hope it becomes your family's recipe too.
tangy spiced brisket Bid adieu to dry, beleaguered, underwhelming brisket forever -- this technique never fails.
jelly doughnuts Whether you call them sufganiyot, pączki, Berliners, bomboloni, ponchiki, pampushky or munkki, whether you eat them because you're celebrating Hanukah this weekend or just because, trust me, we all need one exceptional jelly doughnut recipe in your life and this is mine.
