Lunch
2804 recipes found
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.
Hot Yogurt Soup with Barley and Cilantro
In the Middle East, yogurt is used in hot dishes as well as cold. To stabilize the yogurt so that it doesn’t curdle when it cooks, you stir in a little cornstarch. This simple soup is both comforting and light, and it’s good at any time of year. At this time of year I’d serve it warm but not simmering hot.
Turnip, Leek and Potato Soup
A simple French soup that works well regardless of which vegetable gets the emphasis. This is a simple French soup. If you want to vary the proportions of vegetables you can; it works well whether you emphasize the turnips, as I do here, the leeks or the potatoes. Turnips have a slightly bitter edge, and tarragon makes a lovely sweet garnish. Chives would also work.
Celeriac, Potato, Leek and Apple Soup
A sweet and savory mixture that works well as a soup. I’ve always loved the combination of celeriac, potatoes and apples, which I first tasted in France as a celeriac, potato and apple purée. The sweet and savory mixture works very nicely as a soup. I like to strain this soup after I purée it to get a velvety texture.
Puréed Tomato and Red Pepper Soup
I noticed that the most popular boxed soup at my supermarket is a tomato and red pepper soup, so I decided to come up with my own version.
Aunt Phillomena’s Pizzelle
At the holidays, these crisp, simple cookies are stacked everywhere in Italian kitchens. My family was from Abruzzi, and my mother always used the recipe from her older sister. You can scent these cookies with orange, almond or lemon or just vanilla, but we always made plenty with anise at Christmas. You can use a simple stove-top pizzelle maker or an electric one. I prefer the kind without a non-stick coating. A little shot of cooking spray or a wipe with some cooking oil helps prime the press. Like pancakes, you will probably throw away the first one.
Pureed Potato and Broccoli Soup With Parmesan Croutons
The broccoli is added to this classic potato soup towards the end of the cooking time, so that it maintains its bright color and sweet flavor. The soup will have a silkier texture if you take the time to strain it after pureeing.
Turkey Mole Verde
A few things may come to mind when thinking of mole: chocolate, long ingredient lists and even longer cooking directions. But mole verde is a bit of an exception. This version comes together in about an hour, combining a pumpkin-and-sesame-seed paste with a sauce built from tomatillos, chard, romaine and jalapeños. Cooked turkey simmers in sauce just long enough to pick up some of the green flavors. For balance, serve with white rice and corn tortillas.
Rich Garlic Soup With Spinach and Pasta
This is a heartier version of garlic soup, a meal in a bowl with a generous egg yolk enrichment and lots of iron-rich spinach.
Pecan Pie
Pecan pie is to the Southern Thanksgiving table what pumpkin, mince and apple pies are to the Northern version of the meal. Pecan trees can be found in back and front yards in Georgia, Texas and states in between, and pecan pie is a year-round dessert. The classic rendition is cloyingly sweet, because of the cup or cup and a half of corn syrup that most recipes call for. But you can dispense with the corn syrup and use a combination of mild honey (like clover or acacia) and Lyle’s Golden Syrup, which has a wonderful flavor that is almost like light molasses. It’s not the standard corn syrup, but you’ll end up with a pie that’s lighter but still sweet, true to Southern style.
Mashed Butternut Squash
Mashed squash makes a versatile side dish throughout the fall and winter, since it goes with just about everything. It’s perfect with roasted meats like duck, chicken or pork loin. Don’t mash too much though — leave it on the chunky side.
Egg Lemon Soup With Turkey
Modeled after a classic Greek egg lemon soup, this is one of many light, comforting soups that make a nice home for leftover turkey. If you haven’t made stock with the turkey carcass, a quick garlic or vegetable stock will do. Make sure that the soup is not at a boil when you add the tempered egg-lemon mixture, or the egg yolks will curdle. The soup should be creamy.
Beef Tenderloin Niçoise
It is human nature to want to spend money on food for an important occasion. It is not necessary, but we still do it. And every now and again, that feels good. A beautiful fillet or tenderloin of beef is something special: Even those who do not cook know that. The joy is that these cuts are simple to prepare, needing nothing except to be roasted, rested and sliced. The accompanying vegetables are not served in great heaping bowls on the table, but are chopped and added as an abundant garnish to the welcoming platter of meat. I have called this style niçoise because the components – potatoes, tomatoes, olives and beans – take their inspiration from that traditional stalwart, the salade niçoise.
Citrus Salad With Prosecco
This elegant, simple variation on fruit salad makes a refreshing first course, but could also be dessert, depending on the menu. A sprinkling of sugar and a splash of Prosecco elevates fresh fruit in a surprising way. In winter or early spring, make it with all kinds of colorful citrus— especially blood orange and pink grapefruit. In summer, use the same method with stone fruits and berries, like peaches and blackberries.
Wild Rice Stuffing With Apples, Pecans and Cranberries
Like many Thanksgiving dishes, this pilaf combines sweet and savory foods. Apples and cranberries are high in phenolic acids, which are believed to have antioxidant properties.
Spiced Holiday Pralines
Living in the South, Elizabeth Choinski has seen plenty of pralines in her time, flavored with the likes of chocolate and coffee. But she had never come upon pralines imbued with the classic spice flavors of the holidays. So she made her own, mixing cloves and cinnamon into the pot. The resulting pralines are superb: aromatic, creamy as they melt in your mouth, then crunchy from the nuts.
Post-Thanksgiving Cobb Salad
The classic California Cobb salad is a composed salad made with chicken breast, lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, chopped hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and blue cheese. It should never be a jumble: the elements are arranged on a platter or in a wide bowl side by side, then dressed, and it’s up to the diner to mix them together. This version dispenses with the bacon and reduces the amount of Roquefort or blue cheese called for in the traditional Cobb. Tomatoes are not in season so I have eliminated them, too, and replaced them with grated carrots. Chopped toasted almonds, which can be salted if you can handle it, can stand in for the bacon.
Roast Duck with Orange and Ginger
For a festive occasion, a burnished whole duck makes quite an impression — fancier than chicken and more elegant than turkey. Roasting the duck is not so difficult to do, but it can be smoky; to be on the safe side, dismantle your smoke alarm and turn on a good exhaust fan. (If your oven has a convection fan, don’t use it; that way you avoid unnecessarily sputtering fat blowing about.). Seasoning the duck ahead and leaving it in the fridge overnight helps to deepen the flavor and keeps work to a minimum the following day. This one is seasoned with orange zest, along with fair amount of ginger and five-spice powder, which gives it a marvelous perfume; serve it with mashed butternut squash.
Glazed Bacon
Betty Groff, the home cook turned proprietor of Groff’s Farm Restaurant, once said that there were only two authentic American cuisines: Pennsylvania Dutch and Creole. Her brown-sugar-glazed bacon represents the former, and she occasionally served it as an hors d’oeuvre at her restaurant, which she started in her family’s 1756 Pennsylvania Dutch farmhouse in Mount Joy in the late 1950s. The restaurant became a place of pilgrimage for food lovers, among them Craig Claiborne, who wrote an article about it in The New York Times in 1965. This recipe, which Ms. Groff said “will amaze every guest,” serves six, but she noted that you can easily scale it up to serve 30, or possibly more.
Standing Rib Roast
Like many Nebraskans, the poet Erin Belieu’s family members use any large gathering as a pretext for serving prime rib. Thanksgiving is no exception. When Ms. Belieu, a fourth-generation Nebraskan, was growing up in Omaha, her family served prime rib alongside the turkey — until they realized no one really liked the bird and dispensed with it altogether. Her grandfather was a cowboy, and the whole family was steeped in the state’s ranching culture, even when they eventually moved to the city. In her house, the beef was minimally seasoned and roasted in a hot oven until the exterior was crackling and browned, the inside juicy and red. A little horseradish sauce might be served on the side, but her father always disapproved. Good beef doesn’t need it. “He thought sauce was for drugstore cowboys,” she said.
Ricotta Gnocchi With Parsley Pesto
Gnocchi are little savory Italian dumplings, most often served as a pasta course. They are often made from a dough of potato, egg and flour, but there are many kinds. Some are made with cooked semolina, such as gnocchi alla romana, which are baked with cream and cheese. Fresh ricotta is the secret for these exceedingly light, airy dumplings. Bound with eggs and only a handful of flour, they can be served in broth, with a light tomato sauce, tossed with butter and sage leaves, or with a simple green pesto. Look for the best fresh ricotta: The low-fat commercial type doesn’t qualify. Drain it well before using, or the dough will be too wet. Put it in a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Use the drained liquid whey in soups or smoothies.
Spanish Tortilla with Mushrooms and Kale
This is my take on a traditional Spanish tortilla, a filled omelet often served in wedges as a tapa. Flawlessly executing the tortilla, seeing that nothing sticks and flipping it over, can be tricky. A nonstick pan will improve the chance for success.
Thanksgiving Sandwich
Like many restaurant workers toiling in Las Vegas, Eric Klein, the executive chef at Spago, spends Thanksgiving Day on the line, dishing out turkey and trimmings to vacationing high rollers. Time with family and friends comes after the holiday. While the rest of the city combs shopping arcades for Black Friday deals, he’s making magic with the leftovers. One of his favorites is this play on a French dip sandwich. Shredded turkey stands in for the usual beef, while gravy, thinned out to make it brothlike, replaces the jus for dipping. To this he adds the requisite leftover stuffing, and he folds the cranberry sauce into a fragrant and creamy aioli. He likes to crumble mild blue cheese over the top of his sandwich for extra pizazz, but feel free to leave it out if you’re feeling more traditional.
Sedgemoor Easter Biscuits
These Easter cakes are from Sedgemoor in Somerset, in the southwest of England. A kind of cross between a scone and shortbread, and liberally studded with currants, they are meant to be nibbled alongside chocolate Easter eggs. And whether they are made at home or bought in a bakery, tradition has it that they should be bundled in threes and tied with ribbon, to represent the Holy Trinity.