Cooking for Others: Holiday Parties for Quarter-life and Beyond

Because of oven issues (more on them, and the creative meals they induced, to come soon), I brought over dough, not baked cookies. This had the pleasant upshot that guests got to inhale the sweet spices as the cookies baked, then taste them warm and soft from the oven. Made ahead and cooled, though gingersnaps keep well for days.

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
¾ cup molasses
¼ cup honey
¾ cup unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water

Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

Put the sugar, molasses, honey, and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted, the sugar is dissolved, and the whole mess bubbles a bit.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, spices, baking soda and salt. Add the sugar mixture and stir until combined. Add the water and incorporate it.

Refrigerate the dough until it solidifies to a workable consistency (about an hour). Roll heaping tablespoons into balls and place them about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies puff up and are slightly cracked on top. Cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a rack or serving platter.

Creamed Corn Crostini

Makes 10 servings

Dreaming of Kate’s family’s buffet stalwart, her mother’s warm corn pudding, inspiration struck, and I decided to do an appetizer adaptation of another corn classic for Wendy’s party. The resulting dish put a holiday spin on some late-summertime flavors: corn chowder sopped up by a piece of rustic, crusty bread. The addition of sage and the light topnote of cured meat make this dish all the more hearty, comforting, and complimentary to wintertime cheer.

Ingredients

1 French baguette (best if a day old)

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 sage leaves, minced

2 15oz cans corn, rinsed. If in season, use 5 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed

1/2 cup half in half

1/2 pound prosciutto, thinly sliced

Salt

In a medium saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat until it begins to brown. Add the garlic and the sage and cook until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the corn and half in half. Simmer gently until the half in half has thickened and reduced by at least (yes, you guessed it) half. The corn mixture should be thinner than chowder and have just enough liquid left to coat the kernels.

Sliced the baguette and arrange on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil and place under the broiler to toast. Remove the bread when it is a light golden brown, and very crisp around the edges. I tend to toast the bread more so for this recipe more than for other bruschetta or crostini concoctions due to the wet, creamy consistency of the corn.

Spoon the corn onto the bread, being careful not to soak it with the remaining cream sauce. With your hands, shred the prosciutto into small, rustic strips and garnish the top of each slice.

What color! Festive corn crostini with prosciutto

Green Beans with Spiced Nuts and Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Makes 10 servings

For Thanksgiving, my mother makes this simple, easy string bean side. The spiced nuts can be made days or weeks in advance if they’re kept in an airtight container, and the beans themselves take less time to cook than the water does to boil. Since I knew my mother’s cider gravy would not be available to drizzle atop, I gave the beans their own sauce, a variation of the foolproof vinaigrette I keep returning to in my Barefoot Contessa recipe book.

Ingredients

4 pounds fresh string beans

For the nuts:

1 1/2 cups raw pecan halves

1 cup raw walnuts

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (and/or thyme if you have it on hand)

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1⁄2 tsp chili powder

For the dressing:*

¾ cup apple cider

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 shallot, minced

1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Olive oil and salt to taste

*A variation on Ina Garten’s vinaigrette in Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics

Preheat the oven to 250 °F.

Place the nuts in a medium-sized bowl. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the rosemary and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour the seasoned oil over the nuts and add the remaining ingredients, tossing to coat the nuts evenly. Transfer the nuts to a cookie sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil for the string beans. While you are waiting, heat the cider, vinegar, and shallot over medium-high heat in the saucepan you used for the nuts (no need to clean it). Let simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture is reduced by half. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard and 3 tbsp of olive oil. If the dressing is too acidic, add more oil.

When the water comes to a boil, cook the green bean until they are a bit soft, but still with a have a bite. Drain well.

Scatter the nuts on top of the beans and add the vinaigrette right before serving.