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Hi Reader, Come on, 'fess up. You think that stuffing is the star of Thanksgiving dinner. I know I certainly do. Sure, turkey is great. Smothered in gravy, it's even better. But it's the carb-loading of stuffing that makes me oh so happy on Turkey Day. I love it so much that in my cookbook, The New Portuguese Table, I offer up two stuffings for Thanksgiving. You'll find both at the bottom of this newsletter. Also, some of you were asking more about turkey stock. Here's a video I made a few years ago. I didn't have a recipe. I bought some turkey necks and chicken gizzards and tossed in stuff from the fridge and pantry. A great stock is really that easy. My Best Thanksgiving
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Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join more than 30,000 food lovers and subscribe.
Hi Reader, People are happiest standing around a bowl of dip pretending they’re not still hungry.I learned this early.Set out a really good dip and suddenly guests stop checking their phones. Conversations loosen. Someone inevitably plants themselves beside the table “just for a minute” before absentmindedly finishing half the bowl while discussing weather, politics, or whether Fleetwood Mac peaked in 1977.For the record: difficult question.Dip has that power. It turns people casual. A bowl,...
Hi Reader, Somewhere between poolside cocktails, questionable wallpaper, and my lifelong affection for anything served cold on a humid afternoon, coconut lodged itself permanently into my summer cooking brain.It’s a sneaky little thing. Quietly persistent. Toasted here. Creamy there. Suddenly showing up in cakes, shrimp, puddings, curries, drinks, and the occasional dessert I eat straight from the fridge while pretending I’m “just evening off the edge.”You know that lie. We’ve all told...
Hi Reader, Summer sides are the reason plates stop looking civilized five minutes into dinner.A little sauce drifts into the potato salad. Something buttery wanders under the chicken. Crumbs appear. Corn kernels go rogue. Someone starts mixing things together despite insisting moments earlier they were “just having a small portion.”And honestly? Good.A summer plate should not look like it passed inspection at a Swiss boarding school. It should be generous, a little unruly, and fully prepared...