New Year’ Day
4 recipes found
Smoked Salmon Without a Smoker
Cold-smoking salmon is a time-honored tradition in Indigenous communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, as well as other cold regions where wild salmon runs. The days-long process of infusing the fish with wood smoke without heating it is a tricky one that requires a smokehouse. To replicate the subtle smokiness and tender chew, this recipe cures the fish using a dry brine seasoned with coffee beans, smoked paprika and mezcal, ingredients that bear the scent of fire. A fillet of uniform thickness will yield a consistent firmness, while a tapered one will have thin ends that become like jerky. If you’re concerned about uncooked salmon, you can start with flash-frozen fish, thawing it thoroughly and patting it dry before curing, or you can cook the salmon after it’s been cured.
Nonalcoholic Negroni
It can be difficult to find a nonalcoholic version of the classic Negroni that captures the complex flavor notes without involving the use of pricy nonalcoholic spirits. This recipe, adapted from my cookbook “Let’s Party” (Union Square & Co., 2025), cracks the code by using a common pantry ingredient: hibiscus tea. It features grapefruit juice for bitterness, tea for floral and tannic notes, a little sugar for sweetness and black peppercorns for that subtle, satisfying tingle.
Pommes Dauphinoises (Creamy Potato Gratin)
A perfect dish to ease the transition from summer to fall to winter, this satisfying and comforting gratin can easily be the centerpiece of your meal, served with a bright, plucky salad and some roasted vegetables. As the colder months approach, it can be served more traditionally as a side dish to braised or roasted meat, providing a truly sturdy winter or autumn meal. However you choose to serve it, it brings a sophisticated yet superbly cozy touch to any table.
Broiler-Popped Oysters With Tomato Butter
These oysters taste like pizza, all thanks to a simple tomato butter loaded with garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. In this recipe, adapted from my cookbook "Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook" (Knopf, 2023), you still go through the motions of shucking, but start by broiling the oysters, which makes them give up their tight grip and open right up. Then all you need is a butter knife to release them from their shells, so think of this as oyster shucking with training wheels on. Each opened oyster is crowned with the tomato butter before another quick trip under the broiler to get bubbly and browned. Serve with crusty bread to sop up all the briny, garlicky sauce.