The Holiday Bartender

There are bartenders who make a living mixing cocktails, and baristas whose wages are earned behind espresso machines. There are high-concept tea masters, sommeliers, and soda jerks, too. At home we are never expected to be any of these, but when guests arrive for your holiday parties some simple instruction might be helpful. After all, there's a week's worth of celebrating still to be done. I tend to restrict drinks at my dinner parties to champagne and wine and perhaps one great cocktail. I suggest you try all the ideas here, or create your own, but choose only one as your "house special." "What you don't need," says wine writer Anthony Dias Blue, "is people sidling up to your bar expecting a Singapore Sling or a mai tai," or both!

I know a thing or two about drinks. At age 16, I was a bartender, illegally, at the Olde London Fishery in Queens, New York. I was tall for my age and looked the part. Next, I had the ultimate pleasure of helping create two of New York's most spectacular bars - the Rainbow Promenade at the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, where Sleepless in Seattle was shot, and the Greatest Bar on Earth on the 106th floor of the now legendary Windows on the World. A great drink is always remembered.

When making cocktails, apply my 1-2-3 principle: 1-The best drinks are made from the best raw materials -- including freshly made ice cubes. 2-Temperature is critical. Serve mixed drinks in chilled or frozen glasses and white wine properly cooled, and keep a pitcher-full of a pre-mixed cocktail in the fridge so it doesn't inflict global warming upon your ice cubes. 3- Use the appropriate glassware. And you'll notice that unlike most cocktail recipes, which measure the alcohol in ounces or shots, I use tablespoon measures for simplicity's sake.   Great drinks are not about lots of ingredients: Rather it is about the discreet balance of flavors - with acidity and sweetness being key factors.

While it's always festive to serve name-brand bubbly to put your best foot forward, it can be very expensive and not always necessary. In fact, just this week I invented a beautiful cocktail for Lenox China called "Bittersweet" - using Prosecco (or cava or any other inexpensive brut sparkling wine) - to which I add Campari, Chambord, and a bit of freshly-squeezed orange juice. It is a perfect match with my Smoked Salmon Quesadillas strewn with bits of grated lemon zest and snippets of fresh basil.

Many guests are opting for sparkling water and nonalcoholic "mocktails" these days, so you'll be a great host if you offer those. Even a jug of freshly-squeezed blood orange juice, which I call "Nature's Kool-Aid," shows that you have considered the needs of all your friends.

A note about wine: The party line on party wine is to go "big." Offer wine or bubbly from magnums - it's always impressive and there are great products from around the world that provide terrific value. We have found a "house red" from Argentina that is a blend of malbec and bonarda (an ancient grape of northern Italy.) It is $10.99 a magnum! Reserve your premium wines for smaller dinner parties and start celebrating now.

"Bittersweet Champagne Cocktail" You may substitute Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) for the Chambord.

1 bottle brut sparkling white wine (prosecco, cava or champagne) ¼ cup Campari ¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons Chambord (raspberry liqueur)

Pour all the ingredients in a large pitcher and stir gently.   Pour mixture into chilled champagne flutes.  Serves 6

"Apple and Anisette" This is a sophisticated highball and one of my seasonal favorites.

1 lemon ½ cup fresh (unpasteurized) apple cider 1 tablespoon anisette

Remove a long strip of lemon peel using a small sharp knife.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze to get 1-1/2 teaspoon juice for each drink:  Put 4 ice cube in a large rocks glass.  Add cider and anisette and stir.  Add lemon juice and stir again.  Garnish with lemon peel and add a colorful stirrer.  Makes 1 drink

"Christmas-tini" Very elegant. especially in an extra- large martini glass.  Excellent choice for the entire Christmas season.

1 tablespoon peppermint schnapps ½ cup cranberry juice 1 tablespoons vodka or currant-flavored vodka

Make sure all the materials are chilled, including the martini glasses.  For each drink, pour schnapps into the glass.  Top with cranberry juice and float vodka on top.  Serve with little green straws.  Makes 1 drink

"Ginger-Pear-Lime Martinis" Make these by the pitcher so that you don't need to be shaking and stirring when your guests arrive.

1-1/2 cups pear nectar 2-1/2 cups apple juice 4 limes 4 teaspoons honey 1-1/4 cups vodka 4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

Stir pear nectar and apple juice together in a pitcher. Halve 3 limes and squeeze 6 tablespoons juice into the pitcher.  Add the honey and stir until dissolved; stir in the vodka. Grate ginger on the large holes of a box grater.  Place the grated ginger in a paper towel and squeeze to extract 1 tablespoon juice; add to pitcher.  Stir, cover, and chill well. Pour into chilled martini glasses or serve over ice.  Garnish each with a thin slice of the remaining lime.  Serves 6

"Cocteau" A very special holiday libation - here's an after-dinner drink invented by me to honor the artist.  A "Cocteau" instead of a cocktail!

4-1/2 tablespoons Armagnac 1 tablespoon yellow Chartreuse 1 tablespoon crème de cassis, plus more for floating

Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice cubes.  Stir vigorously.  Strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Float more cassis on top, letting it filter down into the drink. Serves 1

Lidia's Italy in America

Lidia Bastianich is one of my personal heroes and, in a moment's notice, I would lead the campaign to make her our next Ambassador to Italy. (Mr. Obama, are you listening?) Nothing, of course, against our current Ambassador, but I can think of no one who is so recognizably respected. Lidia has all the makings: savvy business acumen, formidable intelligence, and the perfect demeanor fitting such a position. And I love the notion that political prowess may actually begin in the kitchen. Lidia has introduced us, through her seven cookbooks, television shows, and as doyenne of a handful of Italian restaurants in America, to the complexities of Italy's culture and to the simplicity of Italy's authentic cuisine. For decades we have accompanied her on journeys across the culinary landscape of Italy and now, in her newest cookbook, Lidia takes us on a culinary exploration of Italian cooking in America.

And while you'd think there's nothing left to say about Italian-American food given the thousands of magazine articles and dozens of cookbooks that have scrubbed this particular gastronomical cupboard clean, nugget after nugget of good food and delectable ideas pop out of the recipes and stories lovingly told by Lidia and her daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, in Lidia's Italy in America (Alfred A. Knopf).

Lidia Bastianich, who by most reckoning must be Our Lady of Italian Cooking, traveled the country, revisiting places where Italian immigrants originally settled and where, even today, there's great resonance. From Arthur Avenue in the Bronx to San Francisco and California wine country, with stopovers in robust Italian enclaves like New Orleans (think muffuletta sandwich), Philadelphia, Federal Hill in Providence, Chicago (think chicken Vesuvio), Baltimore and Boston, she adds places and faces to what certainly is America's favorite "foreign" cuisine.

I put the word "foreign" in quotes because, by and large, we eat domesticated versions of true Italian food here and in many cases we eat Italian dishes that never existed in the old country. Many of the dishes -- spaghetti and meatballs and veal parmigiano --were invented here by immigrants who made good and creative use of products then available to them.

Most of the time-worn dishes in this book no longer appear on menus of trendy, upscale Italian restaurants. After all, when was the last time you went out for lasagna or veal marsala or chicken tetrazzini? -- dishes that have been co-opted by the likes of Olive Garden. So you won't find sea urchins or burrata or guanciale or lardo here. You will find perfectly clear recipes of all your old favorites along with some interesting twists.

She notes that, contrary to most recipes in Italian-American cookbooks, the steak in bistecca pizzaiola should be cooked separately from the sauce so that both retain their distinct identities; most recipes have the meat simmered in the sauce. She has the same advice for those old standbys, sausage and peppers and veal marsala: cook the meats separately from the vegetables, then toss together at the very last moment.

Lidia theorizes that pasta alla puttanesca soared to popularity here in the 1970s because authentic Italian ingredients such as cured olives and cured capers were just becoming available, so the dish delivered what she calls a "wallop of flavor" that keeps people making it right up to today. She explains that even though Thomas Jefferson had a macaroni-making machine and served his baked pasta doused with cheese, maccheroni al formaggio also has an Italian rendition, hers with sage, grated fontina, cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Although they're authoritative, many of these recipes are nostalgic because they require an ingredient many of us no longer have: time -- time to make and fill ravioli with sausage and ricotta, or to assemble the various components of a first-rate lasagna, or to pound thin, stuff, roll and braise braciole. Where are our grandmothers now that we need them again?

There's one very up-to-date recipe for brined turkey breast, from the New York restaurant Torrisi Italian Specialties, in which the bird is cooked very slowly in a quasi-sous vide plastic pouch, then smeared with a fabulous paste of garlic, oil, honey and vinegar and broiled until the skin crisps.

I asked Lidia which recipes best represent the Italian-American kitchen. She chose Fried Marinated Artichokes, Clams Casino, Penne Rigate in Vodka Sauce, Spaghetti with Meatballs, Chicken Cacciatore, Sausage and Peppers, and Almond Pine Nut Cookies as the "stellar expressions."

I'm up for any of these dishes -- or for her voluptuous eggplant parmigiana -- next time Lidia plans to spend an afternoon at the stove.

The soulful pictures of Italian-American chefs, cooks, fishermen and butchers are almost worth the price of this lovely book. Ambassador Bastianich has a nice ring.

Tastes of the Week

December 13 through December 19th, 2011

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. With a jolt of electricity in the air, and a frosty chill too, my body and spirit began to crave lustier fare this week, including some wintery dishes from France, Italy and Poland!

At the trendy, tiny Buvette in Greenwich Village, one supped on “small plates” offered no where else in the city. This is the personal food of chef Jody Williams, reflected in the vim, vigor and professionalism of the staff who are clearly jazzed to be working there.

Accompanying our jammy red wine from Sicily and an alluring French cabernet, a dear friend and I (on the eve of her birthday), shared shredded oxtails on toast (the French equivalent of ropa vieja), creamy aligot – a peasanty French recipe made from cantal cheese and potato; wonderful onion focaccia, a voluptuous cauliflower gratin with a burnished copperedcheese crust, a thick soppy porridge of tiny lentils and kale, and the most amazing “sticks” of salsify cooked in red wine and honey which we decided could suffice as dessert. Although not sweet, it satisfied the urge for an uplifting taste of something supernal at the end of one’s meal, and it proved to be the perfect foil for the last dregs of our own red wine. It’s a bit of Left Bank in our very own city.

At Bell’s Mansion in Stanhope, New Jersey, my best friend Arthur Schwartz (the food maven) and I did a holiday book signing this week at the invitation of Jack and Maria Kaczynski, the affable, generous owners of this beautiful restaurant, garden and orchard. It may be one of the best examples of the newest trend of “hyper-locavorism” – where chefs and owners are not only buying local ingredients but growing their own vegetables, planting their own fruit trees, and in the case of Bells Mansion, smoking their own kielbasa, tuna, and salmon, and pan-frying thousands of homemade pierogies to order. They are simply the best we’ve ever had. Due to the oncoming winter season, and our endless curiosity, Maria prepared two authentically Polish dishes for us. One was zurek (also known as white borscht), thickened with “sour starter” and made with a lusty pork broth, fresh marjoram, and some of that divine smoked kielbasa. We were also feted with kapusniak – another voluptuous soup – this one made from meltingly-tender smoked pork ribs and sauerkraut. The mesmerizing flavors of Italian, new American, and Polish delicacies befit the lovely holiday decorations in the mansion’s historic rooms. You might consider it for Christmas Eve or any time during the holiday week.

Another place to experience the holidays – this time in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is at the hyper-trendy Brooklyn Winery – yes, a real winery where you can even make your own wine. More fun than a barrel of monkeys, you can become an oenologist in just a few months under the tutelage of the owner Brian Leventhal, and the winemaker Conor McCormack­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ who once worked at California’s esteemed Rutherford Hill Winery and at San Francisco’s successful wine-making playground Crash Pad. Also impressive was the food I wolfed down at a holiday party: I couldn’t get enough of the spice-crusted shrimp with saffron aioli, the great array of salumi, the best eggplant salad I’ve ever had, and fabulous meatballs made with lamb, pork belly and feta cheese.  The chef Brian Pierce (by way of Williamsburg “Radish” restaurant), is certainly a player.

But today brought a taste of warm sunshine, as I sipped fresh pineapple juice over ice at Club Med’s Sandpiper Resort in Florida. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Two Great Cooks, Two Great Cookbooks

'Tis the season to give and receive...and if you're lucky, this year's best cookbooks will be part of the exchange. I recently was given a gift of Ellie Krieger's new book "Comfort Food Fix" and later that week bought for myself Melissa Clark's "Cook This Now." There was something strikingly sympatico about both books -- each meant for a unique audience -- and I was eager to find the treasures within. Both titles are "calls to action," compelling the home cook to get into the kitchen immediately and do something! Their subtitles tell the rest of the story. Ms. Krieger's book is filled with "Feel-Good Favorites Made Healthy," while Ms. Clark offers "120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make." As the author of twelve cookbooks, I know the vicissitudes of creating original dishes that satisfy home cooks' deepest wishes: Recipes that balance a sense of ease in both the time they take to prepare and the "stress factor" in making them. If the recipes "feel healthy," so much the better -- especially for weekday or family cooking. Add to that an interesting new ingredient, technique or combination of flavors, and you've got a book full of enticing new dishes to try.

While the food world is small and many of us know each other, I am only an acquaintance of the authors, meeting up for an occasional chat at a cookbook launch, a chance meeting in the farmer's market, or once an encounter at a very short lunch. But I have been a fan of both authors for years. Ellie is host of one of TV's more credible food shows --Healthy Appetite, shown weekday mornings on the Cooking Channel, and the author of "The Food You Crave" and "So Easy." Melissa is the triumphant food writer for The New York Times' column "A Good Appetite" and the author of 32 cookbooks.

I asked both authors which five recipes in their books were personal favorites. An unfair question, I know! Ellie selected her Blueberry Muffins, French Onion Soup, Shrimp and Grits, Scalloped Potatoes au Gratin, and Mini Cheesecakes, while Melissa highlighted her Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate and Salted Yogurt, Roast Chicken with Chickpeas, Lemons & Gremolata, Vietnamese-Style Steak with Cabbage. Pistachio Shortbread, and Maple Pecan Pie with Star Anise. Unknowingly they created little menus for you and me. Ellie's approach might seem the more familiar and homey to Melissa's more adventurous riffs -- the very embodiment of interesting ingredients and new flavor combos.

Each author has successfully carved out a special niche in the crowded marketplace of cooking and cookbooks. As a registered dietician with a master's degree in nutrition from Columbia University, Ellie brings formidable knowledge and expertise to her craft. Her goal in Comfort Food Fix was to re-formulate pleasurable recipes -- banana-walnut pancakes, oven-fried chicken, lasagna, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie -- so that you could include them in a healthier regime. Particularly useful, and insightful into her methodology, is her list of "The 15 Fix Factors" -- including ideas such as using low-fat milk thickened with a bit of flour or cornstarch to create a creamy mouthfeel; the concept of the "un-fry" -- achieving crispiness in a low-fat way; adding whole grains, cooking to keep nutrients, trimming portions, and sweetening smartly. I especially like the notion of keeping it real, and using a bit of butter to enrich foods. According to Ms. Krieger, only 1 tablespoon of sweet butter is needed to add supernal creaminess to her recipe for mashed potatoes. Another wave of her magic wand? A Mushroom, Onion & Gruyere Quiche with Oat Crust was 530 calories before her "fix" and only 290 calories afterward. It also looks delicious.

Melissa, on the other hand, in Cook This Now brings one of my favorite Japanese proverbs to life: "If you can capture the season on the plate, then you are the master." Her recipes feature organic, fresh ingredients that can be uniquely obtained during each month of the year and has us thinking about the procurement of ingredients and cooking as though there were 12 seasons in a year. I love that notion. December brings us Beet & Cabbage Borscht with Dill, Golden Parsnip Latkes, Braised Leg of Lamb with Garlicky Root Vegetable Puree, and lovely sounding Red Chard with Pine Nuts, Garlic, and Golden Rum Raisins. Know what, Melissa?  I am going to "Cook This Now!" Melissa's cooking style, as well as her writing style, is personal, knowing, and seasoned liberally with brilliance.

So there you have it. Two new books to curl up in bed with. Happy Holidays.

Melissa Clark's Pistachio Shortbread (from "Cook This Now") According to Melissa, if she had a signature dish, it would be shortbread.

2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 teaspoons orange blossom water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar, pistachios, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are coarsely to finely chopped. Pulse in the butter and orange blossom water until a moist ball forms. Press the dough evenly into an 8-inch-square baking pan.  Prick the shortbread all over with a fork. Bake the shortbread until barely golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Slice the shortbread while warm.

Tastes of the Week

Dec. 5 through Dec. 11th, 2011 Without a doubt, the taste of the week was the hand-sliced "5J Jabugo de Bellota" ham from Spain, meticulously carved by a master ham-slicer, also known as a cortador, at a private tasting last week. There is great romance around the entire production of the beloved 100% pure bred Iberico pig of Spain. Unique in myriad ways, it's worthy of a taste of your own. Read more about it.

I made a cake from Arthur Schwartz's wonderful and encyclopedic book Naples at Table, while I listened to the soundtrack from John Turturro's voluptuous film Passione. Talk about having a good time (by yourself!) The cake is the famous Torta Caprese from the Amalfi region of southern Italy, which we enjoyed this summer during our trip to Ravello, Atrani, and Amalfi. The cake is flourless and based on an abundance of ground almonds. I had a hankering to make it for company this weekend. I added some espresso powder (not an authentic but a still-in-the-vernacular touch) and served it with my own homemade chocolate sorbet. Recipe below. But you might have to browse Arthur's book, or website, for his marvelous torta.

To celebrate the completion of several years of research and a voluminous manuscript about a beloved food personality, we toasted our colleague, the author, with a bottle of 2000 Moet and Chandon champagne. The champagne was a beautiful golden color with yeasty complexity, honeyed tones and bright acidity. If only all champagne tasted this way! A perfect match with still-warm slices of smoked ham meticulously cut by another master ham-slicer (my husband), and my homemade tapenade whose salinity was softened by sweet butter and a touch of brandy. To finish? Deeply flavored espresso and amazing chocolate-covered pecans from Blue Apron gourmet food store in Park Slope -- a gift from our guest.

Another house gift, this time from my brother and his wife, was a box of the best Italian cookies from Giorgio's Bakery in Hoboken. They are famous for their cannoli and pignoli cookies, but I now love their chocolate-enrobed spice cookies (I don't know their official name but they taste like Christmas) and almond-studded quaresimali (biscotti).

There might be nothing more refreshing to drink than freshly-squeezed pink-hued grapefruit juice! At a breakfast I hosted at my home this week for students in my class (Foundations in Buddhist Contemplative Care), someone brought a jug of the said juice from Lambeth Groves. OMG! The brand is available at the famous Park Slope Co-op and, I imagine, many other places, too. Located in Vero Beach, Florida you can find out more about it by calling 1-800-JUICE-4-U. It's been a long time since I've even thought about grapefruit juice. So glad to get re-acquainted.

And since it's "the season," I enjoyed two wonderful dinners in town last week.  A superlative holiday hosted by Les Dames d'Escoffier at the glamorous Barbetta restaurant in the theatre district. The cannelloni alone were "da morire" (to die for) as was the risotto, braised beef in Barolo and many other specialities from the Piedmont region of Italy.

And there was the Indian feast for four at Tulsi, the Michelin-starred midtown restaurant owned by the great tandoori master and lovable chef, Hemant Mathur. I believe we consumed the entire menu (well, almost!) and savored the tandoori lamb chops, dum biryani -- a "time honored Mughal rice dish, slowly baked in a Handi pot sealed with naan dough" -- made with goat, ginger, cardamom, mace & saffron, lamb nargisi kofta (with cashew nut sauce and cumin-greep pea quinoa), black pepper and coconut shrimp, and masala ceviche (with citrus, green chile, cilantro and gun powder (!)...for starters.

Tomorrow I'll eat yogurt.

My Homemade Chocolate Sorbet You don't need a fancy ice cream maker. I make this in a $30 Donvier (just make sure the canister, and the chocolate mixture, are very cold) before starting to churn. If not eating right away, let the sorbet soften a little before serving.

3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup dark corn syrup 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder 4 ounces semisweet chocolate 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder pinch of salt

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, cocoa powder, and 1-1/2 cups water in a large saucepan. Whisk until smooth and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, whisking.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, the espresso powder, a pinch of salt and 1/4 cup water. Stir until the chocolate melts. Pour the mixture into a blender and process 1 minute, until smooth. Refrigerate the mixture until very cold. Stir briskly and freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Serves 6

Ham from Jabugo: $150/lb.

No, that's not a typo and not meant to be $1.50/lb. It is $150 a pound and that's for the shoulder of a very special pig. Its back legs are more: $180 a pound, and they will be available in select areas in the U.S. on Monday. Mustard would be a sacrilege. After all, this is "5J Cinco Jotas" Ibérico ham from Spain.

The back story: More than 20 years ago, I had one of those taste epiphanies, the Proustian kind, where, embedded in your brain is a memory, an aroma, a texture and a story. One that is released upon even a near encounter with that said memory. I was in Barcelona, sitting with my husband and business partner, at a dank wine bar, slipping short, translucent, wafers of cured pork into our mouths and letting them gently rest upon our tongues until they melted away -- not unlike the experience of transcendental sashimi. "What is this?," we asked in our best Catalan, and the answer was simply "Jabugo." Not like anything else we've had, but reminiscent of the experience of sampling a superlative prosciutto or culatello, I always thought Jabugo was the word for ham. That is, until last night.

Jabugo, in fact, is a place -- a town in the southwest of Spain, near Portugal, where the world's most prized 100% pure-bred pigs are raised. These pigs eat acorns, not the shells mind you, but only the "fruit" within, occasionally munch on some verdant grass, and have 5 acres each upon which to saunter and socialize. They know that they are special because their parents were pure bred and so are they. These pigs remain slender and strong, and their ankles look a lot like my mother's, who wore a quad-A shoe with a quintuple heel. Imagine. Thin indeed, and one of the many sublime qualities that define their uniqueness. Twenty years ago I sampled the prized pork when we were working on developing a hotel in Barcelona, called Hotel Arts, that was meant to open in time for the Olympics in 1992. Along with über-designer Adam Tihany we created a tapas bar and other dining facilities. Along with the taste of Jabugo on that trip we sampled green olives the size of golf balls and drank orange juice in wine glasses, served with a spoon, for dessert.

Twenty years later, I found myself remembering that mesmerizing taste, porky perfume, and texture of Jabugo at a small tasting last night at Despaña.  (Despaña is a fabulous food store in Soho specializing in the best products of Spain.) The secret of this particular ham is in the fat, which is alluring sweet and ethereal.  The fat of the pure breed Ibérico de Bellota pig gets infiltrated between its muscles. The flesh is dark red and unlike its porcine cousins, it is cut by a professional cortadores into short, thin, translucent slices:  Another unique quality of the product. Last night we had our very own master cortador whose name is Paco, who cut  translucent slices, discerning the correct ratio of fat and meat, from different areas of the leg, each with its own perfume and texture. Recently Paco spent time with Ferran Adrià who is considered one of the world's best chefs. Adrià hails from San Sebastián, Spain where in his revered (and now sadly closed) El Bulli he melted, or rendered, the prized fat of the Iberian pig to use it as "olive oil." (I have some of this fat in my fridge and am considering scrambling some eggs in it in any moment.) These amazing hams, made with only three ingredients -- the shoulder or legs of the Ibérico pig, salt, and the climate of the region, take two to three years to cure. Under the supervision of a "maestro jamonero" (master ham craftsmen), the "air" is manipulated simply by the opening or closing of glass panes.

The pig is bred for one purpose only: To be served at room temperature (so that the fat glistens) before a meal, like caviar or pâté de foie gras, accompanied only by dry sherry (a fino or amontillado) or a Spanish red wine, and perhaps a crust of bread. Why mess with perfection?

For more information on 5J 100% Pure Breed Iberico de Bellota visit http://www.osborne.es/ Where you can find it: 5J at Despana, Dean & Deluca in NYC, Epicure and Delicias de Espana in Florida.

La Tienda and Ham Lovers carry it online: http://www.tienda.com/jamon/jamon_iberico_cincojotas.html http://hamlovers.com/product/121/947/Cinco_Jotas_paleta_iberica_de_bellota

Tastes of the Week

November 28 through December 5 This week's tastes bridge a change in the calendar as well as a change in attitude. There is the seismic shift from ordinary food to the ritualistic fare that graced our family tables on Thanksgiving. It will continue in the weeks to come as we buy our prime ribs and smoked hams, peel potatoes (and a bit of our finger) for making latkes, start baking a thousand Christmas cookies as my friend Judy Rundel has done for 30 years, find a credible fruit cake, send honeybells from Florida to friends as gifts, clip new holiday dishes to try, while we preserve our unique heritages with tattered family recipes. With the holiday lights now flickering on every street corner, we observe piles of tangerines in the stores, Christmas trees and poinsettias lining the sidewalks, and a whiff of holiday expectation in the air.

Even restaurant going this week had a sense of the season. A meal at the venerated Four Seasons restaurant, located in the Seagrams building, always has a bit of festivity about it -- especially in the Grill Room during lunch. Eating across the way from Ralph Lauren, it was festive indeed to dive into a puddle of creamy polenta topped with a small poached egg and a shower of shaved truffles; followed by fluke sashimi with lemongrass, steelhead salmon with wild mushrooms and green beans with an almond-caper beurre noisette (a nutty brown butter sauce), and sauteed Arctic char -- an unappreciated fish as I see it -- accompanied by salsify (an unappreciated root vegetable!), mizuna, and a truffle sauce. Disks of key lime pie and walnut tart were a gastronomic kick-off to the holidays.

Another indication that the holidays are upon us is the level of activity in New York on Saturday night:  We had an impossible time trying to get reservations, anywhere!  After two hours of searching and relying on Open Table, we found ourselves at a very good, acoustically comfortable (yet very busy) restaurant on the corner of Thompson and Spring street in Soho. Few know the chef, or owner, and it is hardly a venue in which to see or be seen, however we enjoyed it very much --  primarily for those reasons, but also because the food was unexpectedly delicious and we had wonderful service, from a staff that hailed from Poland, India and Sicily. Also unexpected was a quiet table in the corner near the window overlooking the bustle of New York night life.  We devoured creamy burrata (a cheese from the south of Italy) with excellent tomatoes (from where I wonder?), terrific fried calamari with "strings" of crispy fried vegetables, fabulously toothsome spaghetti with a sauce of fresh clams (really cockles) zucchini, olive oil and spicy garlic; mixed homemade sweet and spicy sausage with lentils, squash and broccoli rabe; filet of king salmon with a mustard sauce, celery root (another unappreciated veg!) and asparagus (thick, meaty and fresh from somewhere). My husband enjoyed his pasta special laden with duck and we toasted his prowess, and patience, in finding such an unassuming spot. Oh yes, the restaurant is called Savore. The executive chef is Francesca Bergamini and the Chef is Edilberto Soriano.

And now begins a slew of holiday recipes to get you in the mood.  Here's a sugar-coated, crackling holiday ham which will trigger mouthwatering desire. Elemental in its flavors -- salty, sweet, sharp, aromatic, its simple cooking technique keeps it moist and succulent.

Sugar-Coated, Crackling Holiday Ham

10-pound smoked ready-to-cook ham, shank portion 1 cup coarse-grain mustard (such as Pommery) 1/4 cup bourbon 1 cup sugar 1-1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground cardamom kumquats with their leaves, for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place ham in a shallow roasting pan and add 1/8 inch water to the pan. Cover ham with foil and bake 2-1/2 hours. Remove ham from oven and increase temperature to 450 degrees. Pour most of the fat from the pan. Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife, remove the rind, except for the area around the shank bone, and most of the fat. Score the remaining fat by cutting diagonal slashes in a diamond pattern. Stir together mustard and bourbon and cover the surface thickly with the mixture. Stir together sugar, cinnamon and cardamom and coat the ham, patting down to cover completely. Add freshly ground black pepper and return to the oven for 25 minutes until the sugar melts and hardens: it will become a bit crackly. Present on a large platter and decorate with kumquats with their leaves. Carve and serve while hot. Serves 12

In Time for the Holidays: Star-Chefs Keep it Simple

Most of us prepare traditional, time-honored, often-complicated recipes during the holidays as a tribute to the slavish hours put in by our mothers in years gone by. These elaborate dishes are the culinary equivalent of a photo album, honoring not only our ancestors but what they ate around a shared table. But what if we were “given permission” by today’s star chefs to keep-it-simple? Then maybe we would! During the holidays, when too many people are in the kitchen, too many meals to prepare, and expectations that are exalted, this approach allows the harried cook to have as much fun as their guests. The idea? To fulfill the promise of abundance without the burden. This year, some of the world’s most revered chefs inadvertently satisfy this need in new cookbooks coming out this season.  Many of the most illustrious --  Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Marc Vetri, Daniel Humm, Heston Blumenthal, and Ferran Adria – share some of their simpler ideas  in titles such as “Home-Cooking with Jean-Georges,” “Heston Blumenthal at Home”, Vetri’s “Rustic Italian Food,”  Adria’s “The Family Meal,”  and Jacob Kenedy’s (from London’s hot restaurant Bocca), approachable tome, “Bocca.” Even Daniel Humm, in his uber-sophisticated book “11 Madison Park,” presents some do-able, holiday recipes. If you look hard enough, you will find them. I have had the pleasure of browsing these inspiring books and found recipes that meet "radically simple" standards: not too many ingredients, simple procedures, with an existential trade-off of time and effort. These are the dishes that one craves during the busiest time in our lives. Sporting the colors and flavors of the season while they infuse the spirit of tradition with a shot of modernity. Crafting a holiday meal from these collective works would look something like this:

Jean-Georges’ Crab Toast with Sriracha Mayonnaise Heston Blumenthal’s Creamy Leek and Potato Soup Daniel Humm’s Almond Vinaigrette on a salad of endive, watercress & Roquefort Jacob Kenedy’s Duck Cooked Like A Pig Ferran Adria’s Catalan-style Turkey Legs Heston Blumenthal’s Slow-cooked Rib of Beef (1 ingredient/new technique) Daniel Humm’s Extreme Carrot Puree (two ingredients) Marc Vetri’s Fennel Gratin Heston Blumenthal’s Beetroot Relish Jean-George’s Fresh Corn Pudding Cake Marc Vetri’s Olive Oil Cake Heston Blumenthal’s Potted Stilton with Apricot, Onion & Ginger Chutney

Some of the above tomes are intimidating indeed. But if you are lucky to get any of these books as holiday gifts, you might have fun looking for radically simple recipes to call your own. And before too long, as lights alight on Menorahs and Christmas trees everywhere, look no further than here for this year's radically favorite holiday dishes, including some of my own.

Food Lover's Guide to Wine

According to USA Today last week, the purchase of wine has gone up 14% this year and, for the first time, people are buying more wine than wine glasses! Good news: Smart public and better wine glasses. Another sociological shift is that people are buying more "experiences" (self-care, self-improvement) and products with more "prestige." That's a perfect fit for wine, and good news for Carol Berman, who runs Class in a Glass wine-tasting programs all over the country. It's also good news for the authors of the Food Lover's Guide to Wine (Little, Brown and Company), written by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. Just named one of the five best wine books of the year by the Wall Street Journal, the book addresses a curious public's need-to-know as they experience and buy more prestige wines. Their mission? To encourage more Americans to switch from their typical beverage of choice (i.e. a soft drink, like Coke or Pepsi, which is what a majority of Americans enjoy with their evening meal) to a glass of wine with dinner -- so one of the most important features of the book is a list of 150+ wines under $15. For just a dollar or two more per serving, everyone can enjoy something healthful and delicious that will make their dinner taste much better.

One of the book's special features is an A-to-Z reference of more than 250 different wines and their flavor profiles. You can see, at a glance, how to pronounce the name of a wine (a stumbling block for many novices), can anticipate what the wine is likely to taste like (who knew that an Austrian riesling might have a hint of kaffir lime), learn how to serve it, discover the wine's most notable producers, and, most importantly, learn what foods to enjoy with it. Perhaps this is the team's greatest wish for you in, what may be, their best book yet.

The book begins with a brief history of wine in America, which parallels the history of the United States itself. Few know that the settlers at Jamestown in the early 1600's were commanded by the King to grow grapevines, in the hope of developing a wine industry that would give England a cheaper source of wine than France or Spain. And few know that we are drinking the passion of our forefathers -- from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson -- in a shared love of wine and wine-making.

In a frenzied and scholarly approach to this vast subject, the four-legged team scoured the country for the best sommeliers from coast to coast -- representing restaurants such as Blue Hill, CityZen, Daniel, The French Laundry, The Inn at Little Washington, Manresa, No.9 Park and Spago -- where they gleaned insights and secrets from dozens of cellar zealots who cumulatively represent decades of training and on-the-job experience. Like scientists in a sexy lab, they distilled all the knowledge into a chart of essential knowledge -- that would generally take a lifetime to learn. I loved the "insider info" and relished some unexpected food and wine-pairing notions: Cashew chicken with Chinon (an idea from Virginia Philip at The Breakers), or an almond-thickened tomato gazpacho with a sparkly Cremant d'Alsace from Agape (a match made by Belinda Change at The Modern).

Their top ten secrets about how to get more pleasure from wine include attributes that sound like "mindfulness" to me, including perceiving a wine's character, using your judgment, and sharing the experience. And as someone who has composed menus, instead of music, during my 35-year career for legendary restaurants such as the Rainbow Room, Windows on the World, and the Hudson River Club, I particularly loved the kindred sentiment from Richard Olney in The French Menu Cookbook (1970). "Wine's principal role is to give pleasure, and that role is best played at the table in the context of a menu; when the two are carefully chosen, the wine and the food enhance each other, each subtly altering the other."

Page and Dornenburg, who have also written The Flavor Bible and What to Drink with What You Eat, humbly admit, however, that you can never know it all and feel excited to learn something new about wine every day. Why not crack open a bottle and take a peek into their book on YouTube? Imagine what George Washington would have to say about that.

Tastes of the Week

Nov. 21 through Nov. 28th Sometime last week, when I was very, very hungry, I walked through the food market at Grand Central Station. There lay a bag of the biggest, puffy, onion-topped rolls that made made my mouth water. I regretted not buying them and so returned the next day. Purchased at Zaro's, these small breads are called "onion pockets" but are really more like little loaves of challah topped with bits of caramelized onion. A bargain at $5.99, my family enjoyed them all week long in myriad ways--not least of which was simply toasted, smeared with sweet butter and topped with soppressata.  Strong coffee. Heaven.

It's not my husband's cup of tea to go out for Thanksgiving dinner but we did anyway! We four (with son and daughter) went to the bustling Commerce, located, not unexpectedly, on Commerce Street in the West Village, one of the prettiest blocks in the city. Fabulous food -- roasted sweet potato tortelloni with hazelnuts, pomegranate & beurre noisette, devilled eggs, a wonderful bread basket, delicious moist turkey with all the trimmings, an order of very spicy artisanal spaghetti with 'Nduja sausage, garlic & parsley, and for me as a starter, a "Ragu of odd things: oxtail, trotters and tripe with hand-rolled orecchiette." Not that there was any room left in our bellies, but a mile-high coconut layer cake had to be one of the best cakes I've ever eaten. It was a lovely afternoon.

A solemn, but beautiful morning, at Ground Zero -- the memorial site at the World Trade Center. It was majestic in its intention, and gripping in its magnitude. Do go. It's a sacred place. But hours of walking, on such a balmy day, can make one hungry. We strolled to Stone Street in the Financial district -- cut off from traffic, it is a cobbled path between aged buildings of a more human scale. It felt a bit like being in London, or Naples; especially the latter as we delved into a really top-notch thin crusted pepperoni pizza at Adrienne's. Sitting outside on November 27th!, sipping red wine, was my idea of nice.

I made my first pecan pie to finish the weekend and my daughter made cranberry sauce -- the jellied block kind that makes me smile. Who knew you could make that?! It seems that the recipe has been on the back of the bag forever: All you need is a strainer, a wooden spoon and a strong arm to push those cranberries through the wire mesh. I also made a large turkey, stuffing, roasted butternut squash, string beans....it's important to have leftovers, no?

And I want to share a comment from a reader of Real Food magazine about my sweet potato, pear and walnut gratin. You don't have to wait for next year to make it. It would be lovely with roast pork or duck. Enjoy!

Dear Ms. Gold, I just had to tell you that yesterday I made your Sweet Potato, Pear, and Walnut Gratin recipe that appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of Real Food. It was the star of our Thanksgiving dinner, far outshining everything else on the table, and the kitchen is still redolent with the aroma of that magical concoction of cream, chipotle chile and curry! (Thank you so much for this inventive dish, and many others over the years.) -- KJ from Minneapolis 

Thanksgiving Paella & Cranberry Granita

While most folks use their cold turkey and fixings for retro favorites like turkey Divan, turkey loaf, hash, chowder, or a beloved Kentucky Hot Brown (a hot open-face turkey sandwich smothered with cheese sauce), I opt for more exotic tastes that evoke another time and place, as in my turkey paella! Or if truth be told, sometimes I make an entire Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, which I will be doing this year. Paella later in the week. The depth of flavor in the (almost) traditional version comes from turkey stock, simply made from a picked-over carcass with bay leaves and garlic or you can use broth from a can. Paella, which originated in the Valencia region of Spain, has as its basic ingredients, rice, saffron and olive oil. The rice is cooked in stock then the add-ons are cooked in the rice. Here, they include red pepper, sausage, smoked chorizo, peas -- and Thanksgiving turkey! Paella is generally served in a paellera, a broad, round shallow pan with handles, from which it gets its name. I make mine in a big casserole on top of the stove and then spoon it into a heated paellera for effect.

More leftovers? Leftover vegetables get marinated in a spunky vinaigrette. You will need about 3 pounds of cooked/steamed vegetables to which sweet grape tomatoes are added. If making vegetables from scratch because your Thanksgiving guests ate them all, simply steam a mélange of tiny Brussels sprouts, string beans, thick oval slices of carrots and small broccoli or cauliflower florets.

But the crown jewel on the table set with leftovers is my cranberry granita -- made from a jellied block of cranberry sauce. Refreshing with its citrusy flavors, it is especially dramatic strewn with fresh raspberries or shimmering pomegranate seeds.

Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving.

Marinated Vegetables

If using leftover vegetables, you will need about 3 pounds of cooked/steamed vegetables to which halved grape tomatoes are added.

3 pounds cooked or steamed vegetables (Brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, stringbeans) 1 pound grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise 3/4 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin) 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons water 2 cloves garlic, pushed through a garlic press 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco

If using cold leftover vegetables, put them in a large strainer and place the strainer in a large pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and pat dry. If using fresh vegetables, boil or steam them until tender. Drain under cold water and pat dry.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Toss with vegetables. Add salt and pepper. Cover and marinate at least 6 hours or overnight. Let come to room temperature. Adjust seasonings. Serves 6 or more

Cranberry Granita

2 oranges 2 large lemons 3/4 cup sugar 2-1/2 cups water 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 16 ounces jellied cranberry sauce

Grate rind of oranges to get 1 heaping teaspoon zest. Cut oranges in half and squeeze to get ½ cup juice. Grate rind of lemons to get 1 heaping teaspoon zest. Cut lemons in half and squeeze to get ½ cup juice. Put juices and zest in a medium saucepan with sugar, water and vanilla. Cut jellied cranberry sauce into large pieces and put in saucepan.

Bring to a boil, whisking constantly with a wire whisk. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook, about 5 minutes, until cranberry sauce has completely melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and cool.

Transfer mixture to a large shallow metal pan or two metal pie tins. Carefully place in freezer. Stir mixture with a fork, every 30 minutes, breaking up ice crystals. Freeze for 3 hours. Using a spoon, scrape mixture into chilled wine glasses. Serve immediately. Serves 6 or more

Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake, Your Way

So here we are, one day before Thanksgiving, and I urge you to count your blessings and be mindful of the tangibles, and intangibles, in your life for which you are grateful. Someone recently told me they are grateful for this recipe (below)! But if your gratitude has more to do with the people you love and care for, then why not consider making it for them? This one-bowl, crustless cheesecake sets beautifully after a day in the fridge and actually improves with age. The topping can be done your way -- I like to use a medley of pecans, white chocolate chips, and candied ginger, but you can use chopped-up Heath Bars, granola, crushed chocolate wafers, gingersnaps, tiny marshmallows, shredded coconut, dried cherries, or glacéed fruit. And whilst I make it in a 10-inch removable-bottom cake pan, it can also be made in a large square pan and cut into brownie-like pieces (as it's done in the photo. It's from an article I wrote for the fall issue of Real Food magazine.)

Wishing you all a happy and nourishing Thanksgiving Day.

Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake Having the cream cheese at room temperature is key to a smooth and creamy texture.

24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature 1/4 cup crème fraiche or sour cream 1/4 cup cornstarch 3 extra-large eggs 15-ounce can pumpkin puree 1-1/2 cups sugar 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger 2 teaspoons real vanilla extract soft butter for greasing pan

Suggested toppings: 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 1/3 cup white chocolate chips 3 tablespoons candied ginger, finely minced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, crème fraiche, and cornstarch until smooth. Add eggs, pumpkin puree, all but 1 tablespoon sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Heavily butter a 10-inch, removable bottom cake pan. Pour in batter. Bake 30 minutes. Top with pecans, white chocolate chips, and ginger (or toppings of your choice) or the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake 40 minutes longer until firm. Remove from oven and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours before serving.  Serves 12

Nice to sip with bourbon or brandy or Drambuie.  (It's in the back of your liquor cabinet.) Enjoy!

Tastes of the Week

November 14  through 21, 2011 Had one of the loveliest brunches -- at Maialino -- in the cool, plush Gramercy Hotel overlooking New York's park of the same name. Sitting at the bar (in the quiet sunlight of November) a friend and I shared an $8 glass of a red wine from Tuscany served in a very expensive wine glass. I love when that happens. It is a very Danny Meyer touch to do that. Maialino is Danny's "Roman" restaurant (one of many in his empire) and is a divine place to dine. We ate the welcome basket of focaccia with gusto and then moved on to a "budino" -- an orange-scented olive oil "cake-lette."  Not quite muffin nor tea bread, it satisfied the morning urge for something sweet but not-too-sweet. It was hard not to notice the extra-thick pepper-crusted bacon sitting in front of our bar neighbor so we ordered that, too. It was hard to resist the autumnal offering of poached eggs on roasted brussels sprouts and squash puree -- heavenly morning food. And I LOVED my bowl of tripe with an olive-oil fried egg on top. I enjoyed the tripe at Maialino the first time I went and thought the idea for breakfast was inspiring. It begged for a few sips of red wine. Then something funny happened:  I was spotted entering the restaurant by the owner from his apartment across the street and so out came a few more dishes to try:  amazing paper-thin slices of ham made from suckling pig (!) -- soft and tender, it simply melted upon your tongue; and a helping of squash-filled agnolotti with fried sage, butter and a sunny hint of lemon. That was another bit of Meyer Hospitality: He is the master. Brunching at the bar is so special at Maialino that a lovely woman next to us told us we could find her there every Sunday -- with newspapers in hand and a whiff of Rome in the air.

As guest lecturer at a luncheon for the Junior League of New York last week, I was treated to a menu of my own food! It's always interesting when that happens and sometimes the results can be alarming. But Chef Patrick did a special job of interpolating my recipes for 4 into recipes for 75. Not always easy to do. So the next time you have a crowd for lunch you might want to try:  a salad of Pea Shoots & Greens with Goat Cheese & Cumin Vinaigrette; Crisped Chicken with Chimichurri & Avocado, Walnut-Onion Muffins (which are perfect for Thanksgiving so look for the recipe below), and "The Little Black Dress Chocolate Cake" topped with raspberries and a one-ingredient creme anglaise (made from a reduction of egg nog.) The topic of the lecture was "mindful" cooking, including the concept of radical simplicity, and the recipes can all be found in Radically Simple.

And one of the most special lunches in New York, now going on for 25 years, is the Power Lunch hosted by the "insatiable" food critic, Gael Greene. It is an extraordinary event of extraordinary women (and a smattering of men who pay $10,000 to attend!) to raise money for Citymeals-on-Wheels. Gael started it decades ago with legendary food guru James Beard and it has grown into a NY institution -- both the lunch and the organization for which multi-million dollars have been raised over the years. The most meaningful moments occur when we are treated to the voices of actors reading the words of the older people, many who are shut-ins, who count on Meals on Wheels for their very sustenance. Not only is the meal important but also the companionship and care that accompany each delivery.  For many elderly there is no one else who knocks on their door any more. For many years, Joe Baum and Michael Whiteman used to host the event at the Rainbow Room (which we owned and operated for 13 years). Now it is held at the glorious Taj Pierre Hotel. I thought lunch was delicious:  It's not easy to prepare 300 portions of perfectly cooked bass, brussels sprouts the size of your fingernail, roasted beets, and the best assemblage of miniature pastries -- macaroons, tiny lemon meringue tarts, genoise cupcakes -- ever.

A nice tuna sandwich with a fried egg and hollandaise at April Bloomfield's restaurant John Dory...at the hip Ace Hotel -- accompanied by a Finger Lakes wine, a dry riesling, called the Gotham Project. Now who wouldn't love that!

Walnut-Onion Muffins (yum!) In the 1980's, I helped create a three-star restaurant in New York called the Hudson River Club, whose menu was based on the region's local bounty. My friend Wendy Dubit, who had a farm in the Hudson Valley, found this recipe in an old cookbook. I just made it radically simple. Its yummy moisture and flavor comes from pureed onion.

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped 2 extra-large eggs 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 6 tablespoons sugar 1-1/2 cups self-rising flour 1 cup shelled walnuts, about 4 ounces, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat 16 muffin cups with cooking spray. Process the onion in a food processor until finely ground. Measure out 1 cup. Beat together the onion, eggs, butter, and sugar. Blend in the flour and chopped walnuts to make a smooth batter. Fill the muffin tins and bake 18 minutes until just firm and golden. Serve warm.  Makes 16

Make these muffins on Thanksgiving morning and enjoy. Today the muffins, tomorrow a pumpkin cheesecake...

Crazy for Cranberries

I'm crazy for cranberries as I'm sure many of you are. The following recipes, chosen from a repertoire of dozens, are interesting variations on a standard theme but have more verve and vibrancy. One such newfangled version always appears on my Thanksgiving table and I often make enough to give away as gifts in pretty glass jars. But you may be interested to know that a wobbly block of cranberry sauce, straight from the can, takes center stage. I just love the stuff:  I love it's garnet color, its opaque yet translucent sheen, its tart-sweet syzygy, the way it waxes and wanes, and the way it is generally left untouched, slowly becoming unglued as the temperature rises around the table. Poor jellied cranberry sauce. What to do? I turn it into a delicious cranberry granita (!) -- a recipe I'll share with you on "Thanksgiving Leftovers Day" -- a new culinary holiday that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every November. Never heard of it? I just made it up! Anyway, the jellied cylinder, complete with the slightly indented striations from the can itself, is something I look forward to year after year. It's a tradition I would never change.

The first offering below is this year's favorite spin. It is a fresh, sprightly relish that cleanses your palate and adds electricity and color to each of the meal's components. And you can make it today, for it improves with each day that passes -- up to five days in advance -- and it takes only two minutes to prepare. Can you find the time? The second recipe is dark and jammy and reminiscent of a conserve (a thick jam made from two or more fruits.) Its deep color comes from dark-brown sugar and ruby-hued dried cherries which plump right up and add unexpected bursts of sweetness. Candied ginger and fresh lime zest tell the rest of the story.

For more saucy cranberry ideas, you may refer to my posts of 2010 (November 20 and December 1) which features a dynamic chutney and dulcet cranberry-maple syrup, and a simple and sophisticated apple-cranberry sauce. Not bad at all with a holiday bird (or with potato pancakes!)

Today the cranberries, tomorrow the...

Cranberry-Lemon-Apple Relish

12 ounces fresh cranberries 2/3 cup turbinado sugar 2 lemon wedges (skin and all, no pits) ½ large Gala apple, in large chunks 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice Large pinch salt

Pulse in food processor until finely ground. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Makes 2-1/3 cups

Cranberry, Dried Cherry and Ginger Conserve

1-2/3 cups dark brown sugar 24 ounces fresh cranberries ¾ cup dried cherries, about 3 ounces, coarsely chopped 3 tablespoons finely minced candied ginger 1 large lime

In a large saucepan, bring 2-1/2 cups water and sugar to a boil. Add cranberries, dried cherries, 3 tablespoons minced ginger and a pinch of salt. Bring mixture to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium-high. Grate zest of lime and add to pot. Cook for 15 minutes,  stirring frequently, until cranberries pop and mixture is thick. Let cool with cover askew.  Transfer to a bowl or jar; cover and refrigerate until cold. If desired, garnish with additional candied ginger or grated lime zest. Serves 8  (makes 5 cups)

Sweet Potato Triptych

Here are three fabulous seasonally-appropriate sweet potato recipes -- all perfect for your Thanksgiving feast. One is made with only three ingredients and is totally fat-free, the other, a gratin, can be made days ahead and simply reheated, and the third is a seductive spin on roasted sweet potatoes, blanketed with a sticky maple "honey" I invented. It is nothing more, and nothing less, than pure maple syrup simmered until sticky-thick, perfumed with cinnamon stick and zested lemon. It can be made early in the day and gently warmed when the potatoes are freshly baked. A cinch to make, the result is a cavalcade of sweet, salty, buttery, citrus flavors. Satisfaction guaranteed whichever you choose.

Sweet Potato, Pear, & Walnut Gratin

This is a lovely merger of flavors and a unique addition to your Thanksgiving table. It is delicious with, or without, the layer of sliced Muenster cheese tucked midway through the layers of sweet potatoes. The spices add a gentle perfume to the cream base which bathes and softens the vegetables. This can be prepared one to two days ahead and reheated: Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake 5 minutes longer.

 3 pounds sweet potatoes 1 large firm ripe pear 3 cups half and half 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1/8-1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder 1 large clove garlic, smashed 6 ounces thinly sliced Muenster cheese 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 cup walnut halves 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel potatoes. Slice very thin across the width. Peel pear. Thinly slice lengthwise; removing pits as you go. Put half and half in a medium saucepan with curry, chili powder and garlic. Bring just to a boil; lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Set aside; remove garlic when ready to use. Put parmesan and walnuts in bowl of food processor; process until finely ground.

In a very large shallow ovenproof casserole (12 cups), arrange half the potatoes in overlapping slices to form a cohesive bottom layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange pears to cover potatoes. Arrange Muenster cheese over pears. Arrange the remaining potatoes in an overlapping pattern to form a cohesive top layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour cream over and around potatoes. Cover top of potatoes with walnut-parmesan mixture. Dot with butter. Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Serve hot. Serves 8

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Sweet Whipped Butter & Maple "Honey"

8 large sweet potatoes 1-1/2 cups pure maple syrup 1 large cinnamon stick 1 large lemon ½ cup sweet whipped butter ¼ cup freshy minced chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash potatoes but do not peel them. Pierce them several times with the tines of a fork. Place them directly on the racks in the oven. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Put maple syrup and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan. Bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat to low to maintain simmer and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 25 minutes. Add grated zest of lemon and 1 tablespoon juice. Remove from heat until ready to serve potatoes. When potatoes are soft, transfer them to a cutting board. Cut them in half lengthwise and place on a platter. Gently heat maple sap. Dollop potatoes with whipped butter and spoon hot sap over potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and chives. Serves 8

Sweet Potato, Ginger & Orange Puree This amazingly simple, bright orange puree tastes rich and fattening but it's fat-free. Add a large pinch of Chinese five-spice powder if you desire -- it's a nice touch.

2 large oranges 4 larges sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds 3-inch piece fresh ginger

Grate the zest of the oranges. Cut the oranges in half and squeeze to get 2/3 cup juice. Set aside. Scrub the potatoes but do not peel. Place in a large pot with water to cover.  Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium. Cook for 50 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft. Drain well and peel under cold water. Cut the potatoes into large pieces and put in the bowl of a food processor. Using a small knife, peel the ginger and finely chop enough to get 3 tablespoons. Add the ginger, orange zest, and orange juice to processor. Process until very smooth. Add salt to taste. Reheat before serving. Serves 8

Today the Stuffing...

Thanksgiving stuffing, also known as "dressing" (which always perplexed me), is one of my favorite parts of the meal. I grew up with Pepperidge Farm packaged "croutons" mixed with lots of butter and caramelized onions and I loved it when my mother baked it in a casserole and the topping got all brown and crispy. It is one of those childhood taste memories which I cling to, still. But I offer you a slightly more upscale, and definitely more interesting stuffing this year: Cornbread, Bacon & Shiitake Stuffing. It is meant to accompany almost any turkey flavor profile or cooking technique, but has real character of its own. It might seem labor intensive to make your own cornbread, but this recipe is speedy and can be done way ahead of time and frozen, if you wish. I hardly ever freeze anything but please feel free -- especially if it's going to keep the stress level down. In that spirit, I would like to offer the concept of Mindful-Based Stress Reduction and specifically apply it your Thanksgiving preparations. You should make the cornbread at least 1 to 2 days before using as it's best if it's a bit dry to better absorb all the delicious juices. You can use an equal amount (16 ounces) of store-bought cornbread or corn muffins, but the result will be sweeter. The stuffing itself can be made a day ahead and reheated.

Cornbread, Bacon & Shiitake Stuffing

Cornbread 1 cup flour 1 cup yellow cornmeal, fine or medium 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 cup milk 1 extra-large egg, beaten 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Stuffing 4 tablespoons olive oil 3 cups chopped onions 2 cups chopped celery 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped 5 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice 5 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms 2 extra-large eggs, beaten 2 cups chicken stock

To make the cornbread:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Stir in milk, egg, and butter. Stir well and pour into well-oiled 8-inch square pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until just firm. Let cool.

For the stuffing:  Heat oil in a 6-quart pot. Add onions and celery and cook 15 minutes over high heat, stirring, until softened and golden brown. Add rosemary, bacon, and mushrooms and cook 10 minutes until mushrooms are soft and bacon is cooked. Cut cornbread into 1/2-inch pieces and add to pot. Stir and cook 5 minutes. Whisk together eggs and stock; pour over cornbread mixture and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and serve. Serves 8

Today the stuffing, tomorrow the sweet potatoes:  Three fab recipes!  Stay tuned.

Thanksgiving Countdown 2011

Over the years I have created dozens and dozens of Thanksgiving recipes for Bon Appetit, cover stories for Real Food, and once concocted a 15-ingredient Thanksgiving dinner feature for Newsday. Yes, 15 ingredients for the entire meal!  One day I'll share that with you. But today I begin a seven-day countdown to America's finest holiday, the one we will all be sharing next week. What a lovely notion. And while today, the 3rd Thursday of November is known around the world as Beaujolais Nouveau day, and next Thursday is Thanksgiving day, it's not a bad idea, at all, to serve the former with the latter.

Thanksgiving is one holiday that begs for you to be at the table -- not in the kitchen -- so some stealth planning and creativity are required. Every dish of my colorful, flavor-packed menu can be done ahead. You'll find some new techniques; a few riffs on Thanksgiving classics -- a sweet potato-and-pear gratin, cornbread-bacon-shiitake stuffing, two-minute cranberry-apple-lemon relish (addictive!), and a creamy pumpkin cheesecake "your way."

If you have not already decided how to cook your bird, I present an idea that is not so much radically simple as it is radically delicious. It may be one of the longer recipes I've ever created, Double Crispy Roast Turkey in Apple Cider Brine with Do-Ahead Apple Cider-Tarragon Gravy, but the ultimate benefit may be that it requires less than 3 hours in the oven! My new technique of one-day brining and one-day "dry aging" in the fridge results in succulent, tender flesh and crackling, crispy turkey skin. It's a cinch to do and requires no basting. Even before your pan juices are ready, an apple cider sauce base is waiting for you, ready to amalgamate into a gorgeous turkey gravy.  And an extra bonus is that the turkey rests on a bed of scallions that delicately flavors the sauce and also prevents the turkey from sticking! Here you go:

15-pound fresh turkey (not brined) 3-1/2 cups fresh apple cider (from the refrigerated case) 1 cup kosher salt 12 cups water 3 large cloves garlic 2 large bunches scallions 1/2 cup chicken broth 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 small bunch fresh tarragon

Wash turkey; remove giblets. In a very large pot, combine 2 cups apple cider, salt and water. Add 2 cloves garlic, pushed through a press. Stir until salt is dissolved. Submerge the turkey, breast side down, in brine. Add water to cover the turkey, if necessary. Cover and refrigerate 16 to 24 hours. Remove from brine and pat very dry. Place turkey on a rack on a platter (to catch drippings) and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Trim scallions and place side by side on a large, shallow roasting pan. Place turkey on scallions. Roast 2-3/4 hours until done, tipping turkey into pan twice while roasting to remove juices. Meanwhile, put 1-1/2 cups apple cider, chicken broth, remaining garlic clove, pushed through a press, and butter in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer 20 to 30 minutes until reduced to 1 cup. Dissolve cornstarch in 3 tablespoons water and whisk into saucepan. Simmer 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon finely chopped tarragon and set aside.

Transfer turkey to large cutting board. Pour pan juices into a large measuring cup; let rest 5 minutes and remove fat from top using a spoon.  Slowly add pan juices, 1/4 cup at a time, to simmering apple cider reduction to achieve a well-balanced gravy, tasting as you go and keeping at a simmer until desired flavor is achieved. Whisking constantly, cook 5 minutes until thickened. Carve turkey and garnish with tarragon. Serve with gravy.  Serves 8

Today the turkey, tomorrow the stuffing.

Tastes of the Week

November 7 through 13, 2011 Jack o' Lantern leftovers! We never got to carve our pumpkin this Halloween and so a faceless orb has been staring at me for the last two weeks. Small to medium in size, about 3 pounds, including a long graceful stem -- I vowed to treat it with respect and serve it forth for dinner. A radically simple recipe ensued:  Cut a 3 pound, very round pumpkin in quarters. Place in a small paella pan or baking dish, upside down (the seeds and membrane are easier to remove after it's cooked.) Place 1 inch of water in pan and bake at 400 degrees until soft, about 45 minutes. Turn over, cover and bake until very tender. Remove seeds and membranes. Drizzle with good olive oil and a liberal sprinkling of ras el hanout (a Moroccan spice blend) and kosher salt. Drain water; place pumpkin in pan and bake until slightly caramelized. See my recipe for Calabaza Soup with Celery & Crispy Sage (below) -- just in case you, too, have a leftover pumpkin.

The sweet aromatics of ras el hanout (available in Middle Eastern markets and spice shops) are intoxicating. Meaning "top of the shop" in Arabic, each mixture is unique but generally combines more than one dozen spices (and sometimes up to 100!). The predominant perfume comes from cardamom, clove, cinnamon, chili, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, and turmeric. It is wonderful rubbed on lamb or chicken or simply sprinkled on tomato soup to take it in an exotic direction. It lent a playful aroma, and taste, to the nutty quality of the pumpkin. It is a spice mixture that has a definitive place in my pantry and in my heart.

Perhaps as I get older, I covet reservations at my friends' tables, even more than at the newest restaurant. And so, last night, we were lucky enough to be invited to the home of Jerry Adler and Beth Lebowitz. They are the perfect couple in many remarkable ways and also in the kitchen where Jerry is cook to Beth's pastry chef. This amazing meal began with homemade ricotta gnocchi -- I was knocked out by their lightness -- with a heady sauce of porcini, prosciutto and tomato paste (also homemade!). It was followed by a luscious pork shoulder (baked for 18 hours and inspired, perhaps, by a recipe in Radically Simple); tiny roasted brussels sprouts, lovely carrots with capers, and golden, crispy roasted potatoes.  A voluptuous onion sauce accompanied the pork which was already generously flavored with coriander seed and garlic. The skin on top of the pork got so crispy that we shared it like a peace pipe and nodded with the crunching brittle sounds of happiness. A wonderful pear clafouti and good strong coffee followed. A brisk, and needed, walk home. Jerry is a crackerjack journalist: Check out his story on heirloom grains in an upcoming article in Smithsonian, and his previous piece on scientist/chef Myhrvold.

This week's most extraordinary food experience, however, took place at the James Beard House during "A Dinner to Remember."  No doubt, I will remember it, and Jerry's ricotta gnocchi, for a long, long time.

You might want to start your own "week of tastes" with the following almost-winter soup:

Pumpkin Soup with Celery & Crispy Sage This soup, adapted from Radically Simple, has an air of the West Indies about it, with its earthy flavors of ginger, scotch bonnet, pepper, celery, thyme and sage (often found in "jerk" recipes.) Butternut or calabaza squash can be substituted for the pumpkin.

3-1/2 pound piece of pumpkin 6 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups finely chopped onions 1 cup finely chopped celery, plus leaves for garnish 2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger 1/2 small scotch bonnet pepper, finely minced 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 20 medium-large fresh sage leaves 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove seeds and membrane from pumpkin. Place in a roasting pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Pour 1 inch water into the pan and bake 1-1/2 hours until very soft. Scoop out the flesh. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a 4-quart pot. Add the onions, celery, ginger, minced pepper, thyme, 2 sage leaves, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook 15 minutes over medium heat. Add the sugar and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and add the squash. Cover and cook 15 minutes. In batches, puree the soup in a food processor until very smooth. Fry the remaining sage leaves in a small pan in 2 tablespoons hot oil until crispy. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.  Serve the soup hot with the fried sage leaves and celery leaves. Serves 6

Fast Track: Cars and Food

In my 35 years as a professional chef, I have come to know a lot about food. But I know nothing about cars and so was especially interested in the riveting juxtaposition of great chefs and great cars at a dinner celebrating the 125th anniversary of the automobile. In 1886, we were probably eating many of the same things cooked for us at the Beard House on Nov. 8th, 2011 -- fresh beets, gulf shrimp in courtbouillon, tapioca, suckling pig and turnips, and some version of chocolate cake -- but for the lucky us at this Grand Prix dinner, both food and cars were re-imagined. The event, hosted by Mercedes Benz USA, brought together some of the country's most illustrious chefs to cook a hi-test dinner for a crowd generally unknown to me. Who were they?  Men and women who write about cars!  Some, like me, who write about food, were tickled pink to talk about motor oil instead of olive oil. To discover what drove people to drive the cars that they do; to share memories of first cars instead of first meals, and to revel in the knowledge that cars and food are inextricably linked. How exactly?  Matthew Rudy, one of my dining partners for the evening, put it pretty eloquently:  "Great cars and great food are the same in an important way. They both give this immediate, visceral pleasure. You know you're not just getting to point B, or eating because it's dinner time. You get pulled out of every day for an hour or two." He went on to say that he had "tremendous respect for people with the skill and craft to build cars and meals with such sophistication and attention to detail."  Rudy, who is a senior editor for Golf Digest, including its monthly Long Drives automotive travel column, has written dozens of cover stories, ghostwritten 15 books about golf, business and travel, and is hankering to open a wine store any day now.

Another bridge between food and cars?  According to Christine Quinlan, deputy editor at Food & Wine, car companies are becoming the largest advertisers in food magazines! Last year, the Association of Magazine Media posited that, "Automotive manufacturers are continuing to invest in magazines because magazines and the Internet are considered the most influential source of information for brands especially in the final stages of purchase decisions." And who was the biggest winner of those auto ads in 2010? Food Network Magazine.

There is the obvious connection, as I see it, to lifestyle and aspiration, but whereas Nascar says fast food to me, Mercedes Benz says "slower" food --  hence the all-star line up of languorous dishes and libations. Even the cocktails were custom-designed by renowned mixologist Julie Reiner from Lani Kai in Soho, and the revved-up wine pairings were inspired -- from the 2007 De Forville Barbaresco (from Piedmont) to accompany Dan Kluger's Roast Pig with Smoked Bacon Marmalade and Braised Turnips (from ABC Kitchen), to the not-too-sweet 2003 Chateau Pajzos Tokaji 3 Puttonyos to partner with Karen DeMasco's remarkable Chocolate Brown Butter Cake with Roasted Pears and Hazelnut Brown Butter Gelato. Karen is the beloved pastry chef at Locanda Verde, with good reason.  (I wonder what she drives.)

For several years, Mercedes Benz has partnered with the Beard Foundation in an effort to preserve and celebrate America's culinary heritage as it seeks to link the idea of culinary innovation with automotive innovation. Aha! Clearly there's a precedent:  Michelin tires are "hand-in-glove compartment" to the famous Michelin restaurant guide.

So what else did we eat as we chatted like Car Talk hosts around our table? A first-class first-course from Daniel Humm (11 Madison Park) of "wheels" of perfectly poached and lightly pickled beets with chevre frais and caraway and John Besh's extraordinary Redfish Courtbouillon with Gulf Shrimp and Blue Crab Pearls, made from little tapioca orbs soaked in crab liquor (from restaurant August in Louisiana.) The hors d'oeuvres were pretty nifty too:  including Kluger's now-famous kabocha squash and ricotta bruschetta, and egg shells filled with chive oil and smoked sturgeon foam from four-star chef Daniel Humm.

There was a gorgeous Mercedes convertible parked outside the Beard House on West 12th Street that evening. But in case you were wondering, I took a yellow taxi home.

Tastes of the Week

October 31 through November 6 Notes from Napa Valley: The take-away from three days and nights at the Culinary Institute of America's food conference  -- "World Casual:  The Future of American Menus"--  comes the notion that the food of tomorrow will be a big mash-up of tastes and flavors all on one plate. No doubt you are experiencing that now. The "grab-and-go" food of yesterday and of the globe's most remote locations, is the knockout food of today and we can barely digest it all. It's "the experience" we all seem to be after -- whether at the $3 price level...or $300.00. Once upon a time, casual restaurants distilled their ideas from  "upscale dining." Today, upscale restaurants chefs are inspired by more humble tastes -- from ethnic street food vendors  and idiosyncratic food trucks.

There were more than 700 cooks, sponsors, and food companies present. And there were chefs from twenty-one countries who all weighed in on the interesting debate of "what's next?" There was a strong presence from Spain, particularly the Basque region, with a handful of chefs doing cutting edge pintxos (tapas) --with one dramatic showing of dry ice in a sardine can which "smoked" as the food was presented on top. Pretty cool stuff to accompany a glass of cava (of which there were numerous examples to try.)

And there were more authentic offerings too, from Paul Bartolotta from Las Vegas, the wonderful Indian chef Hemant Mathur from Tulsi in New York (a recent Michelin star recipient), and from Sara Jenkins, porchetta-e-pasta diva from the lower East Side. Jose Garces, the superstar chef from Philadelphia predicted that Ecuadorian food is the next trend (Peruvian food is the current one), and made delicious Slow-Cooked Pork Trotters with Spicy Peanut Curry, Scallions and Hominy. Historian and chef, Maricel Priscilla, owner of two great restaurants in Hoboken, seconded that notion with her tantalizing Ecuadorian Shrimp Ceviche with Peanuts in the style of Manabi. From another Latino kitchen came a fascinating dish presented by Rick Bayless (from Chicago's Frontera Grill, etc.) -- a "dry ceviche" made with ground yellowtail, lime juice, carrots, red onion and minced serrano pepper. It's an "a la minute" dish that can truly be made in seconds.

Most of the time we ate from the half-acre of food stalls and buffet tables -- the Iberico pork (fresh) from Spain was remarkable, as was the foccacia di Recco of Chef Bartolotta, the Sfincione alla Palermitana from Umbrian chef Salvatore Denaro, and the fragrant biryani from Nimmy Paul, a food writer and consultant from Kerala. During one of the wonderful presentations moderated by Michael Whiteman, I had the best pork belly bao of my life, from Charles Phan, owner and executive chef of San Francisco's Slanted Door. As Mr. Whiteman aptly said about so much of this food, "both time and distance have evaporated; you can get anything from anywhere."  I also enjoyed a classic salad from Singapore called "rojak" -- made with pineapple, cucumber, mango, fish sauce, shrimp paste and ground nuts, prepared by chef KF Seetoh. It was as classic as anything that translates as "chaos" could be. Very refreshing and mysterious. The longest line of the three-day festival, however, was Chef Phan's "Fried Chicken with Sriracha Butter."

One night we went out for dinner in St. Helena to one of the most beautifully casual/upscale restaurants anywhere, called Press. Specializing in wood-fired food and one of Napa's great wine lists, the restaurant is owned by Leslie Rudd (from Rudd Vineyards, 209 Gin, and owner of Dean & Deluca) and the CIA's "Advance Ambassador" Reuben Katz (who used to work with us at the Rainbow Room.) Great ambiance and lots of protein but the killer dish that night was...Wood-roasted Brussels Sprouts with big chunks of Nueske's bacon. Amazing. I also loved my side dish of smokey-buttery kale that I chose to have as my first course.

We also had a big deal dinner at one of San Francisco's most revered restaurants: Michael Mina. Loved the dry malvasia from Greece I had as an aperitif accompanied by oiled-grilled bread served with tiny ramekins of creamy ricotta and honey.

And the best bedtime "pillow treat" I've had in a hotel recently (the lovely Inn at Southbridge) was the shortbread cookie embedded in a disc of bittersweet chocolate. I may order a case. It's from a company called Totally Chocolate.

This was the 14th year that the CIA held their World of Flavors Conference. There's nothing quite like it.