Holiday Meals & Entertaining Articles

Article / Updated 07-28-2022

Holiday meal planning often includes a main course of roasted turkey, a Thanksgiving favorite baked to a golden bronze and served up with richly flavored and piping hot stuffing. Cooking and carving your turkey can be simple tasks, with these easy-to-follow instructions. In this recipe, the stuffing is baked separately, not in the turkey. You can also choose to stuff the turkey with stuffing and bake it. Just spoon stuffing loosely into the cavity right before cooking, and then tie the legs together. Increase the cooking time (as shown in the accompanying table) to allow time for the stuffing to heat thoroughly. Before serving, scoop the stuffing into a serving bowl. Roast Turkey Recipe Tools: Chef's knife, vegetable peeler, large roasting pan, roasting rack, meat thermometer (unless the turkey comes with one), kitchen string or twine, carving board Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 3 to 3-1/2 hours (for a 12-pound turkey) Yield: 12 servings 1 fresh or thawed frozen turkey (about 12 pounds) 1 medium yellow onion, quartered 2 carrots, peeled and quartered 2 large cloves garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Salt and pepper 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, with the oven rack on the lowest rung. 2. Set a wire roasting rack in a large roasting pan. Remove the giblets and neck from the turkey cavity and reserve for the stock; discard the liver. (While the turkey is roasting, you can prepare a quick turkey stock with the giblets and neck if you're making homemade gravy). Remove any excess fat from the turkey. Rinse the turkey inside and out with cold water and pat dry. 3. Place in the turkey cavity the onion, carrots, and garlic. Tie the legs together with kitchen string. If desired, bend the wing tips back and fold them underneath the turkey. 4. Set the turkey, breast side up, on the roasting rack. Rub the turkey all over with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of water to the roasting pan. If using a meat thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the thigh, close to the body, without touching any bone. 5. Roast for about 3 to 3-1/4 hours, or until the thigh temperature registers 180 degrees F. Add another 1/2 cup of water to the roasting pan if it gets dry. To brown the turkey evenly, turn the pan laterally about midway through the roasting. If the turkey turns brown before the roasting time is over, cover it loosely with aluminum foil to shield the skin. Start checking for doneness during the last 30 minutes of roasting, and baste with the pan drippings two or three times during the last hour. 6. Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a carving board, and cover loosely with aluminum foil, letting it rest for 20 minutes while you make the gravy. Remove the vegetables from the cavity and discard. Carve as shown. For an attractive presentation, garnish the turkey platter with fruits and other attractive produce. Try a heap of fresh cranberries, piles of leafy greens or fresh herbs (such as whole basil), a few kumquats or orange slices, or red and green grapes dusted in sugar. Per serving, with gravy: Calories 505 (From Fat 173); Fat 19g (Saturated 6g); Cholesterol 204mg; Sodium 598mg; Carbohydrate 2g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 76g. Per serving, without gravy: Calories 404 (From Fat 122); Fat 14g (Saturated 4g); Cholesterol 171mg; Sodium 206mg; Carbohydrate 0g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 66g. How long should you cook your turkey? Turkey roasting times vary by weight of the bird. Weight of Turkey Turkey Cooking Time (Unstuffed) Turkey Cooking Time (Stuffed) 8 to 12 pounds 2-3/4 to 3 hours 3 to 3-1/2 hours 12 to 14 pounds 3 to 3-3/4 hours 3-1/4 to 4 hours 14 to 18 pounds 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours 4 to 4-1/2 hours 20 to 24 pounds 4-1/2 to 5 hours 4-3/4 to 5-1/4 hours Every year, hundreds of thousands of people wind up in hospital emergency rooms as a result of kitchen accidents involving knives. Many injuries have resulted from time-pressed, hungry people trying to pry apart frozen hamburgers, slicing through hard bagels, or using dull blades that slip. Don't make their mistake! Slice away from your hand, keep your fingers clear of the blades, and don't ever use the palm of your hand as a cutting board. Keep your blade in peak cutting condition by keeping it sharp. Carving your turkey Learning how to carve a turkey properly is important to ensure that you get the most meat and that the portions can be distributed to your guests in an aesthetically pleasing way. For additional tips on carving a turkey, visit Carving a Turkey or How to Carve a Turkey video.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-05-2022

You've committed to having a large group of friends and family over for a meal — but now what? The hardest part about cooking for a crowd is figuring out how much to cook. The quantity you make depends on how many people you're serving, of course, and whether appetizers are pre-meal goodies or the main attraction. Fortunately, experienced, crowd-pleasing cooks have figured out the quantity thing and are willing to share it with you.

Article / Updated 12-13-2021

An inexpensive way to decorate your table for a special occasion is to make fancy folded napkins. Crisply starched napkins or weighty paper dinner napkins that are folded in interesting shapes bring art to the setting and can accentuate a dinner table with style. Fancy napkin folding is not as difficult as it looks, and the creative table dressing is an additional way to impress your dinner party guests! How should you fold a napkin for a fancy dinner party or holiday event? You can try various napkin-folding methods; start with these ways of folding to create fancy napkin designs. Fan napkin fold Using a simple accordion-style pleating technique, you can do a few napkin folds that work really well with napkin rings. Place these napkins in the center of your dining plate at each place setting. Fold your napkin in half. Beginning at one short end, start folding the napkin in an accordion style, making folds approximately every inch. Insert one folded end into a napkin ring. Push the napkin ring up no further than one-third from the bottom. Fan out the top pleats. Decorative pocket napkin fold Decorative pockets can hold silverware, a sprig of holly, place cards, or any other treat that you want to tuck in. You can place it in the center of each dinner plate at each place setting at the table, or if it’ll be holding utensils, you can place it to the left of the plate. To make a decorative pocket, fold the napkin in half and then fold it in half again to make a square (or start with a folded paper napkin). Turn the napkin to make a diamond shape with the folded point closest to you. Separate the free edges and begin folding each layer down to the point. Continue folding down layers, leaving the last layer up. Tuck the sides of the napkin to the back. Insert your silverware or other desired item. Buffet parcel napkin fold Try this pretty wrapping technique for when you want to accent your table with special ribbon. To do this, fold the napkin in half and then fold it in half again to make a square (or start with a folded paper napkin). Turn the napkin to make a diamond shape with the folded point away from you. Center the silverware on the napkin close together. Fold the side points in to touch the edges of the silverware, making small triangles. Overlap edges over the cutlery and tie a ribbon around the center of the parcel. Flower napkin fold The center of this folded napkin lends itself to holding little objects that could, for example, relate to a holiday or other special occasion. Or, with nothing placed in the center, this fold still looks pretty. To begin, fold each corner of the napkin into the center. Repeat again by folding the newly made corners into the center. Press or crease folds into place. Holding the folds together in the center, flip the napkin over. Pressing a finger firmly in the middle of the napkin to hold folds in place, reach under the napkin and begin pulling all the points out until complete.

Article / Updated 08-31-2021

You want to use all your best china and crystal stemware—at least once a year, right? But where in the world do all the silver, stemware, and plates go? For a formal table setting, use this image as a guide.

Article / Updated 11-20-2020

An Italian Christmas Eve tradition involves a multi-course seafood dinner where you might enjoy a delicious seafood stew. This holiday dish is sure to impress. just round it off with some crusty bread and perhaps a salad and cheese course. Although this is a low-fat recipe, it doesn't skimp on flavor. Low-Fat Seafood Stew Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes Yield: 8 servings 1/4 cup olive oil 2 large yellow onions, diced 1 fennel bulb, chopped and diced, fennel tops reserved 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon thyme 2 teaspoons crushed rosemary 1 bay leaf 4 cups bottled clam juice 2 cups dry white wine 28-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped 2 dozen small clams, scrubbed 2 dozen mussels, scrubbed 2 pounds sea bass fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 dozen large shrimp (20 to 25 shrimp per pound size) Three 4-ounce frozen lobster tails, defrosted, cut into thirds Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel and sauté until beginning to soften, about 8 minutes total. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf and sauté 3 minutes more, or until the onion is translucent. Add the clam juice, wine, and tomatoes. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors. When the liquid is at a simmer, add the clams and mussels and cook 2 minutes. Add the sea bass, shrimp, and lobster tails and cook for a few more minutes until the shrimp is pink and the fish and lobster is opaque. Be careful not to overcook. While the stew cooks, chop the fennel fronds. Ladle into bowls, top with fennel fronds, and serve immediately. Break up this recipe to make your last-minute preparations as brief as possible. Prepare the recipe through Step 2 either the morning of the dinner or the night before. Just bring the liquid mixture to a boil and proceed from Step 3.

Article / Updated 12-05-2016

Cassoulet is a festive, budget-friendly main dish that's just right for a family Christmas dinner. This version of the classic French casserole makes a rich bean stew full of five types of meat. You can make it a month ahead and freeze, so it's a perfect dish for holiday entertaining. This cassoulet benefits from an overnight rest in the refrigerator. Serve this with crusty bread and a green salad for a complete meal. Rich Bean Cassoulet with Five Meats Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours Yield: 8 to 10 servings 6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch wide pieces 2 onions, diced 2 celery stalks, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons thyme 1 bay leaf 4 chicken thighs 1 pound cubed lamb (2-inch pieces) 1 pound cubed pork (2-inch pieces) 1 pound kielbasa or garlic sausage, cut into 1-inch thick slices Two 15-ounce cans Great Northern beans (or other small white beans), drained 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice 1 cup dry white wine Pepper to taste 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs, preferably from French bread 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley Sauté the bacon in large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until it’s just beginning to crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat and discard the rest. Sauté the onions, celery and carrots in the bacon fat over medium heat until the veggies soften and begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the thyme and bay leaf and chicken thighs. Brown thighs over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Remove the thighs and add cubed lamb and pork. Brown the cubes, about 5 minutes. You don’t have to cube the pork and lamb yourself. Ask your butcher to make the lamb cubes from the leg and the pork cubes from the loin, both of which are leaner than the shoulder. You should be able to make this request of supermarket meat department butchers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the bacon back into the pot, along with the thighs, sausage, beans, tomatoes, and wine. Season with pepper and bring to a boil over medium heat. Top with the breadcrumbs, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 1 hour, or until the topping is crisp and the cassoulet is bubbling. Top with parsley and serve immediately. To make this dish ahead, prepare through Step 3 without preheating the oven or bringing the ingredients to a boil. Cool to room temperature, place in an airtight container, and freeze for up to a month or refrigerate overnight. Defrost and/or reheat, bring back to a boil, and proceed with Step 4. Two kinds of bay leaf are on the market. Some come from California and have a quite strong flavor. Turkish bay leaf is preferred. It is milder and has a depth of flavor that the domestic variety just can’t match. Try using a bay leaf in salt-free dishes to perk up the flavors. And don’t forget to remove the bay leaf after cooking. You don’t eat it!

Article / Updated 04-26-2016

Most people have a mountain of leftover turkey the day after the big Thanksgiving meal. This soup is a creative and easy way to make use of those tasty leftovers, even if they are just scraps. Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes Yield: 10 servings 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 3 celery stalks, diced 3 carrots, peeled and diced 1 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon sage 3 large all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels 1/2 cup frozen lima beans 6 cups turkey or chicken broth 1 1/2 pounds (about 3 cups) cooked leftover turkey, diced or shredded 1/2 cup frozen peas 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup whole milk Salt and pepper to taste Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, thyme, and sage and cook until the vegetables soften, about 12 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, lima beans, broth, and turkey and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the peas, cream and milk, season with salt and pepper, and heat over medium heat, but do not let the soup boil. Serve immediately or cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat gently. You don’t have to use the precise frozen vegetables listed in this recipe. Use whatever you have or even leftover vegetables from the night before. Just replace with equal amounts. If you use cooked, leftover vegetables, just add them in Step 3 with the cream and milk. Per serving: Calories 294 (From Fat 171); Fat 19g (Saturated 11g); Cholesterol 72mg; Sodium 735mg; Carbohydrate 21g (Dietary Fiber 3g); Protein 11g.

Video / Updated 03-28-2016

Carving a turkey yourself can make Thanksgiving (or any holiday) even better. Turkey carving requires cutting with the right knife to enjoy meat from the drumstick, wings, thighs, and breast — no matter how you cook your turkey.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Before you bake and decorate a cake, make sure you have the right cake decorating ingredients and supplies readily available. Take your time and follow easy decorating steps when you frost your cake. If you’re in a time crunch, use some quick decorating ideas for your cake. Before you present your cake, go through a pre-showtime checklist so your cake looks great.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

This fruit and wine compote is basically fruit poached in liquid with sugar, which forms a syrup. Compote is perfect for making ahead and tastes even better after it’s been refrigerated for a day or two. Vary the compote according to the seasons and to your taste. You can make it with firm, fresh fruit, such as apples or cherries, or dried fruit, such as prunes or figs (as in this recipe). Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 30 minutes soaking time Cooking time: 25 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings Keeping kosher: Pareve 1/4 pound pitted prunes 1/4 pound dried apricots or pears 3 cups dry white, rose, or red wine 1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith, Pippin, or other tart apples 1 lemon 2 cinnamon sticks 1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed About 2 cups water Combine prunes, apricots, and wine in a glass bowl. Cover with a plate that fits inside the bowl to help keep fruit submerged. Let soak at room temperature for 30 minutes, or for 2 or 3 hours in refrigerator. Drain wine into a large saucepan. Peel and core the apples and cut them in thick slices. Put them in the saucepan of wine. Zest and juice the lemon. Add the zest, cinnamon sticks, and sugar to the pan. Heat for 2 minutes, stirring gently to dissolve sugar. Add dried fruit to saucepan and enough water to barely cover the fruit. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. You want the apples, apricots, and prunes tender when pierced with the point of a knife. Taste syrup and add lemon juice or more sugar, if needed. If adding sugar, stir very gently to dissolve it, without breaking up fruit. Pour compote into a glass bowl and let cool. Remove strips of lemon zest. You can leave the cinnamon sticks in the compote, if you like. Serve cold in bowls, or either warm or cold over ice cream.