Peter Kelsch, a third-generation farmer in southeastern Idaho, kills Kelsch Farms’ russet Burbank potato plants three weeks before harvest. Once the plants are dead, the potatoes’ skins harden and cure over time, leading to less starchy potatoes and, ultimately, better mashed potatoes. “If you dig a green potato, it won’t mash as well,” Mr. Kelsch…
If you’re cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time, there’s no need to panic. Plan ahead, keep it simple and delegate when necessary. Below are 18 foolproof recipes to guarantee a memorable meal for you and your guests. Melissa Clark’s recipe for simple roast turkey will not steer you wrong. So many readers say this…
Thanksgiving isn’t exactly a colorful vegetable-forward occasion. The holiday’ palette is rather somber: There’s a lot of brown, beige, camel and dull green, and a few nice autumnal colors thanks to cranberry sauce and candied yams. Don’t get me wrong — I have no quarrel with brussels sprouts, bread stuffing and mashed potatoes on my…
Egad, it’s November — let the countdown to Thanksgiving begin! The first item on your to-do list should be to order the turkey if you haven’t already done so. Remember that if you are getting a frozen turkey, you’ll need a day for every four pounds to defrost it safely in the fridge. That 16-pounder…
Today’s wildly ornamented creations veer even further from tradition and toward self-expression. In Berlin, Hana Betakova, 29, sells surreal tiered cakes through her bakery, Růstcakes, that are edible studies in opposition. She likes to work with aquafaba meringue, which is easily shaped into peaked dollops, obscuring the fluffy crumb within. Her signature style pairs frosting…
My first pecan tart came from a crush. A guy who lived next door. In the way of queer latchkey teenagers globally, we baked at his place in the afternoons. I crushed pecans. He sifted sugar. Sometimes we brushed hands, folding butter into flour. Once the tarts had been baked, we split them down the…
The countdown to Thanksgiving has officially begun. And while most people gather at a loved one’s house for dinner (4 p.m. or bust!), a brave, avant-garde few forgo the headaches and the dishwashing and their worst relatives, choosing instead to leave the work to the professionals. Whether you’re a restaurant Thanksgiving lifer, or you’re just…
For some people, a bad table is one where nobody can see them. For others, it’s one where everybody can. In my book, a table is bad when it distracts you from settling down and paying attention to the meal. There’s a table like that at the new East Village restaurant Claud, a lone two-top…
Liane Emerson picked the place for her third date with Austin Bailey. She knew the Midtown bar was cool, but her date wasn’t so sure. “He thought it was weird,” she said. But by the time their cocktails arrived, Mr. Bailey, 25, had come around. “The drinks are good,” he said as he sipped his…
As a child, her brother said, Ms. Powell was both bookish and dramatic. “She loved to be onstage, and loved just being over the top and having everyone watch her,” he said. And, he added, she was “the most experimental and sophisticated cook among us, and we were all people who cooked.” She met the…