Holiday Hits

It is no mystery that much of the pleasure we draw from customs and traditions associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas depends on them going away for the rest of the year. You don’t see Christmas lights around in April, for instance, and you’re not eating pumpkin pie in May. Thanksgiving and Christmas have managed to escape some of the numbing cycle of availability and overexposure that plague other beautiful things—such as strawberries and tomatoes—by making themselves scarce.

Like the cherished holiday ornaments and decorations we forget after Christmas—only to be surprised and delighted when we unpack them again—holiday recipes, too, have a way of fading from consciousness. As in, “Oh, look! Here is that iced fig bar recipe I haven’t made in years!” Recently, we had a similar experience clicking through the recipes on our website. It was like déjà vu all over again. We found a whole bunch of recipes just perfect for the holidays. So let us reach into the stocking of Christmas past and pull forth some favorites. These are by no means strictly “day of” or “eve” offerings. They are also informal office potluck, party dress cocktail soirée, small family dinner, and big noisy bash.

Take a scroll down the page. A click on an image takes you to its recipe.

Hors d’Oeuvres

Cheese Straws kick in as the crispest gams on the preprandial hors d’oeuvres tray. Anson Mills pastry flour performs that miracle, thank you very much.

Pickled shrimp on rice cake cushions offers a compelling study in hot and cold, supple, and bracing.

Sexy, thin Red May Crisps enjoy the company of an aristocratically rendered pimento cheese.

Our first-in-the-South hush puppies take a back seat to none . . .

. . . but experience enhancement with a quick baptism in this lustrous sauce.

The undeniable beauty of scallops lacquered with Anson Mills toasted oat flour and Carolina Gold rice flour speaks to the sweetness of a filigree breading.

The Soup Course

An ethereal shrimp bisque, made with enriched stock and velvety Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice flour, brings elegance to your table. Perfect for a light New Year’s Eve supper.

Side Dishes

Cornbread and Oyster Dressing Nonpareil, light and charging with flavor, is always the turkey’s favorite piece on the side.

In fact, any cornbread dressing will benefit from Black Skillet Cornbread made with Anson Mills coarse cornmeal. Its flavor and texture are unparalleled.

Farro celebrates itself in the guise of farrotto.

Farro celebrates sweet pearl onions and smoky bacon.

Farro celebrates Brussels sprouts, goat cheese, and apples. It’s a party grain, plain and simple.

Desserts

Say it with apples! This apple and custard crêpe cake tastes like pure pâtisserie and favors any table with its presence. It is cool and uplifting after a heavy meal.

Say it with a flaky, hand-wrought apple strudel.

Say it with trifle. Pears and pomegranate climb into bed with pastry cream; vanilla butter cake; and a sleek, red wine gelée.

Or revel in the fruit-free decadence of this Sticky Sorghum Pudding.

Many Happy Returns of the Season, Y’all, and Good Food!