For the last 104 Thanksgivings, I've broadcast my late mother-in-law – Mama Stamberg's — recipe for cranberry relish. This year is no exception, but there is a twist.
Traditional ghee is made by slowly simmering butter until the liquid has evaporated and the milk solids have started to brown. The solids are then strained out so that all that’s left is pure butterfat. Because the milk solids have been removed, ghee no longer contains dairy, making it paleo-friendly. It’s an invaluable ingredient in the paleo pantry, since it is well suited for most high-heat cooking methods, and provides a rich, buttery flavor to many a dish. Making ghee at home is very simple and more economical than buying it.
We experimented with the familiar cast of characters used to develop vegan cheese-like sauces—cashews, nutritional yeast, and miso, along with various vegetables. Tasters were largely distracted by their vegetal flavors and pasty textures. The most neutral-tasting ingredient in the lot was potato, and we had a revelation when we broke a cardinal kitchen rule: We whirred boiled potatoes in the blender at high speed to release as much gummy, gluey starch as possible.
It may seem silly to give a recipe for avocado toast, but there is an art to it, as with most things that are both simple and perfect. Here, you want to make sure of a few things: that the bread you use is sturdy and has some taste; that there's enough salt and citrus to bring out the avocado's flavor; and that you use a good olive oil to bring it all together. These garnishes, from the Australian café Two Hands in Manhattan, are tasty but unnecessary. —Julia Moskin
Muhammara is a spicy-tart dip for flatbread made from walnuts and roasted red peppers. The name comes from the Arabic word for reddened. The dish originated in Syria, where it often is served alongside hummus and baba ganoush.
Aleppo pepper is made from ground dried Halaby chilies; it tastes subtly of cumin and fruit, with only mild heat. Look for it in well-stocked markets and spice shops, but if you cannot find it, simply leave it out — the muhammara will still be delicious. Serve with flatbread or vegetables for dipping or use as a sandwich spread.
Romans use the leaves that grow around heads of broccoli to make a flavorful sauce for pasta. In the United States, most of the leaves are stripped off before broccoli is sold. Our recipe instead uses the stems, which are equally flavorful and produce a silky sauce. Baby spinach maintains the color of the original recipe.
Undercooking the broccoli stems could throw the sauce off. We’re accustomed to cooking vegetables until crisp-tender, but the stems here should be cooked until fully tender.
In Provence, the garlic-infused mayonnaise called aioli is typically served with a platter of raw and boiled vegetables and sometimes fish. With its intense creamy texture and deep garlic flavor, it turns a humble meal into a spectacular one. In this recipe, an assortment of colorful roasted vegetables stand in for the raw and boiled ones. It makes a very elegant side dish to an entrée of roasted fish or meat, or can be the main event of a vegetable-focused meal. The aioli can be made up to three days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
If you can’t find Aleppo pepper, substitute a pinch of cayenne.
The consistency of the dip is best after being refrigerated for at least 12 hours, but its flavor is fullest at room temperature, so allow it to stand on the counter for about 1 hour before stirring in the herbs and adding the garnishes. Serve the dip with warmed pita bread or seeded crackers.
Don’t use eggplants that weigh more than 1 pound each; they tend to have more seeds and can be bitter. Choose eggplants with taut, glossy skin and no bruises or brown spots.
Minced anchovies and garlic add a complex salinity to seared salmon, enriching and deepening its flavor. To get the most out of them, the anchovies and garlic are mashed into softened butter, which is used in two ways: as a cooking medium and as a sauce. Used to cook the salmon, the butter browns and the anchovies and garlic caramelize, turning sweet. When stirred into the pan sauce, the raw garlic and anchovies give an intense bite that’s mitigated by the creaminess of the butter.