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The annual holiday party is coming up...and remember last year's incident with the mysterious brown dip? Let's make sure you're not THAT person this year.
Holiday Party & Potluck Appetizers
Walking into a party carrying these snacks? You'll have the same swagger as a mall Santa who knows he's rocking that velvet suit.
Artichoke hearts are an essential store-cupboard ingredient for me. This recipe is one of my favorites—delicious, quick, and simple to make, it's inspired by my mother. I always serve this at Christmastime, with toasted rosemary focaccia. It is rich, comforting, and everyone always wants the recipe.
This easy slow cooker cassoulet calls for beans, garlic, store-bought duck confit, and sausage, just like the traditional cassoulet recipe from France.
This butternut squash gratin is a lot like like a scalloped potato casserole except it's made with winter squash instead of spuds along with onions, garlic, butter, heavy cream, cheese, and bread crumbs. A simple--and simply elegant--side for Thanksgiving as well as a random weeknight.
Think of the most delicious hermit bar you ever ate, the moistest, chewiest, nicely spiced bar, with a crisp shiny top and dense center. Okay? This bar beats that one, we guarantee it. If you count molasses cookies, spice cake, or gingerbread—any of the old-fashioned, dark and spicy baked goods with their long international history—among your favorites, you’ll love these bars.
Think of these twice-baked potatoes as an easy mashed potato casserole loaded with bacon, Cheddar, sour cream, and chives. Talk about awesome game day grub or meals kids—heck, any of us—can't resist.
This wild rice with roasted chestnuts and cranberries is a healthy Thanksgiving side dish that also happens to be gluten-free. Made with dried fruits and chestnuts, it's ideal for holiday entertaining as it can be made in advance.
Who doesn’t love garlic bread? And this tear-and-share style is always a winner. I’ve written the recipe for 12 because it’s an easier quantity of dough to work with. What I like to do is make up both pans of bread, then whack one in the freezer, ready to bake another day—you won’t regret it.
These mac and cheese canapes, essentially baked mac and cheese bites, are made from macaroni and sharp Cheddar cheese and baked in mini-muffin tins. Perfect finger food for kids and adults. Cocktail party, anyone?
These IKEA Swedish meatballs, made with ground beef and pork, and served in a Dijon cream sauce, are the real deal, except you don't have to leave the house or walk through the store to enjoy them. Here's how to cook them.
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, On some special nights, The One and I play a game called “What Do You Want for Dinner?” It’s a full-contact sport.He’ll say, “I don’t know—something light.” Then immediately follow it with, “But not salad.” I’ll counter with, “How about chicken?” and he’ll wince like I’ve suggested boiled shoe leather. Twenty minutes later, I’m halfway through a mental Rolodex of recipes, he’s scrolling takeout menus, and the cat has judged us both.But somehow, chicken saves the day. Every. Single....
Hi Reader, The windows were fogged, the air thick with the smell of onions and olive oil, when The One wandered into the kitchen and said, “Did you set off the smoke alarm again, or are we having soup?”“Caldo,” I corrected, because some habits are eternal.There’s something nearly spiritual about stirring a pot of soup in January. Maybe it’s the quiet choreography of it—the slice, the sizzle, the slow surrender of vegetables into something far greater than themselves. Or maybe it’s just the...
Hi Reader, The idea hit me somewhere between a second cup of coffee and a mild identity crisis: I was going to start baking bread again.The One looked up from the crossword, sighed, and said, “Do I need to clear counter space or buy fire insurance?”Fair question. My early attempts could’ve doubled as medieval weaponry. There was one loaf that clanged when it hit the cutting board.But that’s the thing about bread—it forgives. It’s a slow teacher, a quiet companion that rewards patience more...
