Happy Holidays from SE's Resident Grumpus

Just here for the food! No Images? Click here   Dear Serious Eaters, I'm not the most enthusiastic person when it comes to the holidays. I think I might have a mild allergy to the season, one that my Allegra-D can't fix. I don't get swept up in winter's traditions, not the ring-ding-a-ling Christmas carols, nor the bows of holly and mistletoe; not the dreidels or Hanukkah gelt, and most certainly not the candles burning everywhere—the last time I went to a Christmas party, a flickering flame set on a windowsill as decoration lit my sports coat on fire. One of my fondest Christmas memories is from about 20 years ago, when my father and I jointly decided to cancel our annual tree and just string up some lights on one of his houseplants. The Christmas ficus was charmingly ridiculous, and it didn't leave a mess of pine needles all over the floor. But for all my lack of sentimentality around the holidays, I sure do love the food. I may be tempted to subvert most other traditions this time of year, but the feasts that my family gathered for is one thing I intend to continue faithfully for the rest of my life. I may be something of a Scrooge, but I'm still human, dammit. Happy Holidays from SE's resident Grumpus, The Recipes That Make the Season Tolerable Old-Fashioned Latkes Latkes are a Jewish thing, but it was my dad—the non-Jewish side of the family—that made them every year on Christmas Eve. I'm not really clear on whether that tradition was a nod to his Swedish roots, or whether he just made it up because latkes are awesome, but man did I look forward to that spread every year. Duck à l'Orange While Christmas Eve was a feast of fishes and potato pancakes at my house, Christmas dinner was always a roast. Duck made many appearances over the years and this recipe, which I just published, is absolutely perfect for the winter months, with a citrusy sauce that's absolutely perfect for the season. Mulled Cider The wind whips, snow and ice frost the window panes, and inside we huddle under blankets to stay warm as a fire crackles in the hearth. As unforgiving as winter is, it sure can be cozy. A cup of spiced mulled cider is the perfect way to maximize that sense of toasty comfort.   My Must-Have Gift Pick ThermoWorks Smoke A big part of the holidays is relaxing, and you can't relax if you're constantly going into the kitchen to check on the roast in your oven. This leave-in probe thermometer from ThermoWorks is the solution. With two probe ports, you can track the internal temperature of your roast in two different places, while a portable handheld receiver can hang out with you on the couch.     Serious Eats 88 35th St Ste 602 Brooklyn, NY 11232 Click Preferences to control which emails you receive from Serious Eats. Clicking Unsubscribe will remove you from all Serious Eats emails…which would be sad. Preferences  |  Unsubscribe

Our Favorite Gifts for the Baker

What Your Pastry Wizard Wants No Images? Click here   Our Favorite Gifts for Your Very Own Pastry Wizard​ We've got way more than a baker's dozen of gift suggestions for you, but here, we'll take the opportunity to highlight some of our favorites.   BraveTart, the Book!​ Filled with fascinating histories that honor the American tradition of dessert-making, along with tons of irresistible recipes you won't find on Serious Eats, BraveTart, by our very own Stella Parks, is literally the best gift for bakers (providing they don't already have it). Anodized Aluminum Cake Pans These cake pans are extra deep, which makes them perfect for messy baking projects that tend to bubble up in the oven, like sticky buns. A Good Food Processor​ Food processors are incredibly useful for cooks generally speaking, but for bakers especially, they can be absolute necessities—some techniques, like the one Stella uses to create highly stable fruit-flavored whipped cream, won't work without one.    A Cast Iron Combo Cooker This piece of equipment is for the committed bread baker. Thanks to the superlative heat-retention powers of cast iron, this cooker gets extremely hot and stays that way. Meanwhile, the tight-fitting lid creates a little sauna for the bread, trapping in steam to help produce a crackly crust.   Piping Tips While piping tips are often considered exclusively for pastry projects, these tips are large enough to be put to a variety of non-baking uses, like filling up deviled eggs and packing buttery baked potato flesh back into its jacket. Of course, your giftee will find plenty of dessert-related purposes for these, too: dispensing whipped cream, piping cupcake frosting, portioning out chocolate mousse, you name it.   See the Rest Right Here     Serious Eats 88 35th St Ste 602 Brooklyn, NY 11232 Click Preferences to control which emails you receive from Serious Eats. Clicking Unsubscribe will remove you from all Serious Eats emails…which would be sad. Preferences  |  Unsubscribe

Gifts for the Cook Who Has Everything

Stumped? We Can Help! No Images? Click here   Gifts for the Cook Who Has Everything​ Everyone knows someone who seems to have every cooking tool and gadget in existence, and you might think that your best bet for buying them a good gift is either to go big and shell out a bunch of cash on something cooking-related or just go with something else, like a tie or a book. But we here at Serious Eats believe that even the cook who has everything deserves a thoughtful gift for their kitchen. Here are our recommendations.    A Supportive Floor Mat Obviously, your giftee spends a lot of time in the kitchen, and thus on their feet. To give their joints a break, treat them to a GelPro Floor Mat. With a 1/2-inch core of gel, it makes standing over a pot of risotto for an hour far more comfortable. Better Ingredients So maybe your giftee really does have all the equipment they could ever need. In that case, we recommend buying them some delicious specialty ingredients. How about Stella's favorite Dutch-process cocoa powder, which will make every brownie and cup of hot chocolate taste luxuriously rich?   A Clean House Simply put, having a Dyson vacuum makes cleaning fun. Ask any Dyson owner and you'll see the glimmer in their eyes as they describe the sheer joy that comes with sucking away dust bunnies, cookie crumbs, excess flour—anything that could possibly get in the way of a clean home.   Pizza Anywhere If the person you're buying a gift for has a kitchen that's already overflowing with tools and equipment, try getting them something they can use elsewhere. Like this amazing portable pizza oven. Stick it in the trunk and bring it to the park for a Neopolitan-style picnic. It can heat to 930°F in just 10 minutes, which means they'll be producing gorgeous, chewy, crusty dough with bubbling cheese and just-singed sauce in no time.   SPONSORED  The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven This Cuisinart fryer has seven different functions, so not only will it crisp up your French fries, it’ll do a spectacular job of making your morning toast (up to six slices at a time), and it can even cook a 12-inch pizza. You can replace your old toaster oven, your old toaster, and even your stand-alone air fryer with this Cuisinart model, and home cooking will get a whole lot easier.   See the Rest Right Here     Serious Eats 88 35th St Ste 602 Brooklyn, NY 11232 Click Preferences to control which emails you receive from Serious Eats. Clicking Unsubscribe will remove you from all Serious Eats emails…which would be sad. Preferences  |  Unsubscribe