American Recipes
2886 recipes found
Bread Stuffing
Mark Bittman writes that this bread stuffing, based on a James Beard recipe, has been a staple on his Thanksgiving table for decades. First you make fresh bread crumbs: just whiz a few cups of slightly stale cubes of decent bread (crust and all, unless it’s super-hard) in a food processor. Keep the crumbs very, very coarse. Cook them with plenty of butter (yes, you can use olive oil) and good seasonings. Baked in a pan, this is delicious, with or without gravy. You could use it to stuff the turkey if you’d like — but once you've tried it cooked on its own, you won't look back.
Citrus Custard Pie
This citrus custard in this pie is undeniably creamy, but it’s made more luxurious with a layer of whipped cream on top. It’s finished with raw strips of citrus zest — you can candy them in simple syrup, if you like, though it’s not necessary — which create an exuberant design to finish the pie. It can be baked a day ahead, but the raw citrus zest will begin to curl within an hour or two, so it’s best to apply it just before serving.
Spicy Red Pepper Cranberry Relish
A kicky condiment, usually made with cranberries, can offset the neutral (read: bland) yet rich nature of the Thanksgiving meal. This hot red-pepper cranberry relish with jalapeños and cayenne fits the bill. You can keep the seasoning somewhat tame, or ramp up the heat to taste. It will keep for 2 weeks or so; make it in advance, as soon as cranberries are available, and have it on hand in the fridge through the holiday season.
Berry Apple-Butter Pie
The deliciously tart apple butter filling in this pie has a deep rosy color, bolstered by raspberries and blackberries. Apples with darker red skins will produce a filling that contrasts beautifully with the decorative golden brown crust: We opted to top the pie with triangle cutouts, but you could use any shape, or even substitute a woven lattice. You can make the apple butter up to 5 days ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container, but the pie itself is best the day it is made. Store leftovers at room temperature, tightly covered with plastic wrap.
Sourdough Stuffing With Kale and Dates
This stuffing from the chef Suzanne Goin, a Los Angeles native, pays tribute to California, with nods to the sourdough that you associate with fog-strewn San Francisco and to the almonds and dates of the Central Valley. Turkey sausage, kale and sliced chiles are also tossed into the mix. As Ms. Goin explained, “There is no egg and no real attempt to emulsify it like your mom’s stuffing — it’s loose, laid-back and doing its own thing, California-style.”
Turkey Gravy From Scratch
The stock can be made weeks ahead; so can the gravy itself. The golden turkey fat from the roasting pan is reserved and forms the base for a rich roux. The finished gravy freezes beautifully and only needs to be whisked in a hot pan and tasted for salt and pepper before serving.
Condensed Milk Pound Cake
A dulce de leche swirl adds caramel sweetness to this light, moist pound cake, adapted from Margarita Manzke of République in Los Angeles. Although Ms. Manzke makes her own dulce de leche, the jarred kind works just as well here, especially after being marbled into the vanilla-scented, buttery batter. This cake is best served within 2 days of baking. Store it, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator, then bring it to room temperature before serving to best appreciate its gentle flavors.
Granny’s Chocolate Cake
This cake recipe was adapted from the chef Larry Forgione, who served his grandmother's cake recipe at his restaurant An American Place. The dessert proved so popular that every time he tried to take it off of the menu, he said his customers threatened to riot. It's a perfect proportion of crumb to buttercream, ideal for birthdays or other celebrations where layer cake is required.
Cheddar Cheese Puffs
Cheddar replaces the more traditional Gruyère, Roquefort or Parmigiano-Reggiano in this French recipe for gougères. The Cheddar performs admirably.
Sweet And Salty Popcorn With Orange-Blossom Honey
Broccolini and Edamame Salad With Coconut
Sprouting broccoli (or broccolini) mixed with edamame and coconut is typical of the inventive combinations favored by the British chef Yotam Ottolenghi. After blanching, the vegetables are seasoned with black mustard seeds and curry leaves, which makes for an extremely aromatic and compelling dish that’s good warm or at room temperature. As for the fresh coconut, you can buy frozen freshly grated coconut at many international grocery stores. Otherwise, to use a fresh coconut, use a screwdriver to poke two or three holes, preferably in the eyes of the coconut. Drain any water, then use a hammer to bang along the equator of coconut until it splits open, and scoop out the flesh. Place flesh in a food processor fitted with a grating disc and grate. One coconut yields more flesh than you’ll need for this recipe; freeze the extra for up to three months.
Popcorn Soup
Roasted Garlic Mushrooms
Roast Chicken With Herbs
Chez Louis Potato Pie
Gingerbread Rum Balls
This is the perfect recipe to make if you’ve got crumbs leftover after building a gingerbread house. Or you can use a package of gingersnaps ground up in the food processor or blender. The flavor of rum balls improves after they sit for a couple of days, so plan ahead if you’re considering these for a holiday bash. They will last for two weeks or even longer if you store them airtight at room temperature. Rolling rum balls in confectioners’ sugar gives you a soft, moist confection while using granulated sugar results in a crunchier texture. And if you’d rather skip the alcohol, you can substitute orange or apple juice for the rum. Just reduce the confectioners’ sugar by a tablespoon or two, to taste.
Puréed Winter Squash Soup With Ginger
One of the most comforting dishes you can make with winter squash is a puréed soup. I use rice to thicken this one, but you could also use a potato, or not add additional starch at all, as the squash itself has a lot of body. To enhance the flavor, this one calls for ginger, with a little lime juice and a swirl of yogurt added before serving.
Turkey Waldorf Salad
This is not your classic Waldorf salad, which is traditionally a mélange of apples, celery, raisins, walnuts and grapes in a thick mayonnaise-based dressing. Here, the dressing, thinned out and lightened with yogurt, is spiced with curry and cumin, and the salad mix includes a generous amount of chopped radicchio or endive, which bring a bitter dimension into the mix. This salad is also an excellent home for leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
Maple Chicken ‘n’ Ribs
If meat is involved, you can find me covering it in flavor-enhancing tenderizing liquids before grilling, broiling, baking or roasting it. The more you do to the meat before you cook it, the less you have to do during or after. In this case apple juice or cider gives tang and wards off stringiness, a small amount of oil keeps things juicy and maple syrup, soy, star anise, cinnamon and garlic impart deep, luscious flavor. These two meats work well in conjunction: the relatively lean chicken is enhanced in taste and texture by the pork ribs, which give off flavorsome fat as they roast. You can use whatever ribs you like; meaty ones are best, but as long as the ribs are separated, rather than in a slab, they'll do just fine. As for the chicken, I implore you to use thighs, bone-in, skin-on because the meat is more tender and the taste infinitely better. (Make sure you use a large enough roasting pan so you don't have to crowd the pan. If the pan is crowded, the meat will steam, not brown.)
Cheddar-Walnut Gougères
Gougères, small cheese puffs made from the same neither-sweet-nor-savory dough you’d use for cream puffs or éclairs, are my favorite pre-dinner nibble with wine. They’re slightly crusty on the outside, custardy on the inside and, because I add mustard and chopped nuts, surprising. The traditional cheese for these is French Comté or Swiss Gruyère, but lately I’ve been using shredded sharp American Cheddar, which makes them a tad more tender and gives them a little edge, nice in a morsel that’s meant to whet your appetite. I like these a few minutes out of the oven, but room temperature puffs have legions of fans as well. It’s good to know that raw puffs freeze perfectly (pack them into an airtight container as soon as they’re solidly frozen) and bake perfectly from the freezer. Arrange them on a lined baking sheet and leave them on the counter while you preheat the oven.
Turkey Hash With Brussels Sprouts and Parsnips
Though it’s derived from a French word that means chopped, hash is quintessentially American. It’s most often made with roasted or boiled meat (sometimes corned beef) and potatoes, cut into cubes and fried into a crisp-bottomed cake. Invariably, it’s then topped with an egg, poached or fried. This one, made with roast turkey, makes good use of holiday leftovers. Scallions and jalapeño lend it brightness.
Kringle
A classic pastry that originated in Racine, Wis., the American kringle has a flaky, buttery crust and a sweet, tender filling. This one, which is adapted from “Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland” by Shauna Sever, is rich with almond paste. While kringles are best served within a day or two of baking, they can also be frozen. Just wait to ice them after defrosting, otherwise the icing gets a little sticky.
Black Pepper and Bourbon Caramel Chews
Soft caramels are not inherently elegant, but these are thanks to a gentle sprinkle of black pepper and a dash of bourbon. The recipe does require a candy thermometer.
Cinnamon-Date Sticky Buns
These sticky buns are positively habit-forming, with a winning flavor combination that’s a spin on the traditional cinnamon roll. Here, dates take the place of granulated sugar, pairing deliciously with orange zest and adding a sweetness that counters the salted caramel sauce drizzled on top. The lemon adds a slight tang against buttery brioche rolls. The dough comes together easily in a stand mixer, but can be done by hand if you’re willing to tackle some kneading (see Tip below). If this is your first time working with a rising dough, make sure to give yourself enough time (about 2 hours) for it to double in size.