In honor of the first night of Hanukkah (and my shiksa goddess aspirations) I made latkes, a variation of the classic potato pancake. Legend has it that latkes are served during the Jewish festival of lights because they are prepared in oil – which symbolizes the cruse of oil that was supposed to light the menorah for just one day, but miraculously continued to burn bright, lasting instead for eight.
While latkes are traditionally served either as a savory dish with sour cream or a sweet dessert paired with applesauce, I prefer to eat them naked. To elevate the centuries-old delicacy to the appropriate level of modern-foodie chic, I added a surprising sprinkling of homemade truffle salt. The lightly greased and perfectly crunchy potato mixed with delicate truffles made for a delicious holiday treat. Happy Hanukkah! xx tt
My best friend teases me whenever we plan one of our book club meetings, because my first question of the hostess is “what are you making?” rather than “what are we reading?” At least I have clear priorities! When it finally came time for me to host book club, I already had my menu perfectly in place. While the other girls chose their meals based on the book we were reading, my book, Bringing Home the Birkin (our ONE fluffy book of the year – don’t judge), did not easily lend itself to cuisine.
Instead, I based my fare on the season. We were just entering Fall, and the chill in the air called for something heartier than our staples of salads and cheese plates. I’ve always wanted to make beef bourguignon, but I was worried that the girls wouldn’t eat something so heavy – a colossal plateful of butter noodles drenched in huge pieces of meat and thick-cut vegetables doesn’t quite convey a ladylike carte du jour…
To remedy this, I served the bourguignon as a smaller course atop a bed of pommes puree, with parmesan popovers and herbed butter as a starter (see these recipes here). The result was flawless – the tender pieces of beef braised in lush red wine perfectly complimented the pearl onions, carrots, and butter glazed mushrooms. A few of the girls even had seconds! I think that Julia Child said it best when she described beef bourguignon as “one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man.” xx tt
Winter merriment evokes very particular ice cream flavors – Pumpkin, Peppermint, and Eggnog. Any of these delicious classics would be a joy to make, but I wanted something slightly more unusual to serve this holiday season. While flipping through recipes one sleepless night, I came across an ice cream described as a creamy Tarte Tatin, a caramelized apple upside-down cake. The recipe also called to mind my most favorite autumnal treat, candied apples. Instantly, I knew that this was just the ice cream I had been searching for.
A decadent marriage of luxuriously rich caramel and bitter tangy apple made for a delectable hybrid. Candy Apple Ice Cream was certainly not the easiest recipe I have ever made. The result, however, was to die for – and the accompanying sense of accomplishment was quite literally the cherry on top. xx tt
My exquisite friend Keylee Sanders, the much sought-after celebrity stylist and former Miss Teen USA, featured my Thanksgiving recipes on Style Studio yesterday. In case you missed it, or crave more detail, I have reproduced it below for your blogging pleasure.
Thanksgiving is the one time of year where the staid predictability of tradition can be supremely comforting. We’ve come to rely on the...
Roast chicken is my culinary pièce de résistance. The mouthwatering aroma that fills every room in the house, the anticipation of waiting two hours for it to finish, the delectably juicy first bite… It is fair to say that if I had the time to roast a chicken every single day, I would. It’s that good.
When I was initially approached to start Table + Teaspoon, roast lemon chicken with croutons was the first blog-worthy recipe that came to mind. The juices from the ambrosial lemons and caramelized onions infuse the croutons with deliciously rich flavor – making this one of my all-time favorites. Mysteriously, roast chicken is the recipe that I always recommend to friends, and also the recipe that they find hardest to make. I blame this difficulty on overly ambitious recipes with poorly written instructions. Roasting a chicken is extremely easy, and takes very little prep time (less than twenty minutes). Once the chicken is in the oven, you are free to do whatever you please for two hours! What could be simpler than that?
I truly believe that everyone should know how to make this chicken. I don’t know if this qualifies as a proper “engagement chicken.” But if you make it for me, I just might marry you. xx tt
I love caramel in any form – ice cream, macarons, chocolates, and especially salted caramel. When I found Barefoot Contessa’s Fleur de Sel Caramels recipe in her very newest cookbook, How Easy is That?, it was love at first read. I knew that it would be the perfect confection to bring to my friend’s Halloween party. Not only was it a dessert, it was candy – for big kids! And if Ina Garten tells you it’s easy to make, then it must be, right?
Wrong. I would love to tell you that the recipe turned out exactly like the Contessa’s. I even toyed with the idea of writing that my caramels were perfectly set, sticky salted sweets. But that would be a lie. Let’s face it, I am not a professional chef – and I learn mostly by trial and error. Fortunately for you, I figured out my mistakes, and you will not face the same rock hard caramels that my friends almost cracked their teeth attempting to chew… Truth be told, my caramels weren’t horrendous. They were actually quite delicious, and perfect to suck on – à la See’s lollypops.
My two missteps were as follows: (1) I used a meat thermometer rather than a candy thermometer, which has a maximum heat reading of 190 degrees, while I needed 248 degrees (rookie mistake). (2) I presumed that “firm ball” meant that the caramel should actually resemble something like a baseball. Oops. “Firm ball” is not something you can eyeball – it is a technical cooking term that refers to the point where the candy reaches 245-250 degrees. Because I used the meat thermometer, I let the caramels overcook, which is why they were hard. I was so anxious that the caramels would be too fluid, that I never considered the opposite result. Never one to make the same mistake twice, I ran out the very next day and purchased an apropos Martha Stewart Candy Thermometer.
Now that you know what not to do, you will be able to make these perfect sweets for your next party. p.s. they also make adorable stocking stuffers! xx tt
Yesterday, I guided you through the basics of table-setting. Today, I present instructions for the rest of your party’s milieu - those ultra-finishing touches that will set your dinner apart from the ordinary. xx tt
1. STRESS: If this were one of those interviews where the pesky man in the Brooks Brothers suit asks, “what is one quality that you need to work on?” I would undoubtedly answer,...
