Thanksgiving, an all-star recipe roundup

Prepare smartly and everything will be alright

Hello, and welcome to today’s Stories from Catbird Cottage! For many of us, soon it will be turkey time. If you’re bucking tradition - whether for your values, or because you refuse to get caught up in the frenzy - I admire you. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, I feel you on this meat and butter extravaganza. I admit I usually go the route of cooking this holiday’s foods, but it was never about a Mayflower fantasy, or because we partook in these indulgences as a norm. Quite the contrary, food in my home was ample, but mostly utilitarian sustenance.

I regard most holidays with a desire to conjure the nostalgia of my family’s traditions (my mom at the helm, doing much of the cooking or ritual-making), and the happy feelings these times brought us: together around the table relishing amazing dishes, a moment of lightness in our lives - even playful - and spending quality time with each other. However you are celebrating the days, I hope that front and center it is time with people you cherish, and with a way to nourish yourself.

Today’s post is for all subscribers. Thanks so much if you can upgrade to paid! Your support directly helps me to consistently create meaningful content. As a supporter, you’ll receive two additional newsletters each month that delve deeper into my process, with additional behind the scenes and more knockout recipes.

Pivoting to the particular feats of the holiday, I have cooked, styled, and photographed countless Thanksgiving recipes for projects spanning years at The New York Times, in addition to work with various commercial clients. In fact, in 2017, I single-handedly produced the Times’ 400º Thanksgiving holiday feature! This meant *cooking and styling 9 fabulous dishes* then photographing them ALL TOGETHER. Which meant they had to look their best, which of course meant a lot of timing strategy (with a few backups at the ready, just in case).

The whole spread! The theme for this feature was to devise a way to cook everything in a day, grouping (or sequencing) dishes to utilize the oven as efficiently as possible.

All of this to say, I got you.

There is the skill of choosing the right recipes from the outset. Then of course, are the layers of figuring out how they will all need to function, timing-wise, in your own kitchen. I *always* prepare as much in advance as possible so that the day-of, the things which require time in the oven won’t create a logjam, and everything will be ready more or less at the same time.

I confess I don’t vary my Thanksgiving menu all that much. For me, I relish certain recipes which I don’t cook any other time, and I really want them as part of the day’s festivities. I so eagerly look forward to the dishes I love… they’re kind of an unspoken must. The lineup usually includes:

✶ Dry-brined, spatchcock roasted turkey
✶ A medley of veggies roasted underneath the bird, including shallots, celery, carrots, leeks, and sometimes turnips or winter radishes
✶ sour cream mashed potatoes
✶ celery, shallot + sage sourdough stuffing
✶ cranberry relish
✶ a bright salad, to offset the rich flavors
✶ pie! This is where I will swap, for how the mood strikes me: sometimes apple pie, sometimes sweet potato, sometimes a wild card, such as cranberry curd tartlets, or a brûléed top pumpkin pie

If there is one piece of advice I can impart, it is to breathe as you go. There are many things to juggle, and sometimes, just catching your breath is the best thing. That, and likely a glass of wine (you are, after all, cooking everything to celebrate at the end - might as well get a teeny head start as you do the work…).

My second biggest piece of advice, and hear me out - though it may feel like the picturesque tradition of a whole roast bird gets sacrificed - dry brine and spatchcock your turkey!! I have been roasting my turkeys this way for nearly ten years, after I produced a Mark Bittman spatchcock bird, back in 2013.

Once I committed to that method, I have never looked back. My reasoning?

• Breast meat stays juicy.

• With all of the pieces at a similar height laid out on the pan, everything cooks at an even rate (plus you get the enviable crispy skin!).

• The whole thing takes a fraction of the time to cook, leaving more time to enjoy yourself.

These factors were enough for me to forever change my ways. And though plying the skin from the flesh is a process, I’ve found spreading the butter-and-herb mixture in that in-between space the ideal way to impart robust aromatics, keep the meat juicy, and achieve crispy skin. If you’re feeling curious now that I’ve shared this advice, here is a recipe to get you pointed in the right direction.

Yes, the bird looks different, perhaps even funny. You can always carve the turkey and serve it in parts and slices on a platter, saving you from the potential chuckles at the table. Go forth with confidence, then see how people groan with delight!

Plus the roasted veggies cooked underneath the turkey, collecting much of the savory drippings, are almost as sought after as the roasted bird…

That said, there are certain dishes I’ve made for professional work that made an impact. Here they are as you consider your menu...

This sweet potato + Gruyère gratin by Melissa Clark was sublime. You can’t really go wrong with melty cheese and layers of tender sweet potatoes - the flavors in this dish lived up to its beauty!

The buttermilk biscuits and pumpkin chili butter I produced for Food52 for the Residents’ Thanksgiving remain a huge favorite. Bonus, when you’re figuring out prep, know that the compound butter can be made 5 days in advance, and the dough can be made 3 days ahead.

This bread stuffing is one of the best recipes I produced for any stuffing assignment. It may have something to do with the generous amount of butter involved, but even if you make it using olive oil, the aromatics - and the textures - hit all the right notes.

Untraditional - and absolutely delightful - this apple and gingersnap crumble made it onto a few of my own Thanksgiving menus, it was that good.

From the archives, there’s this terrific beet+citrus salad. Looks beautiful, and so bright and delicious to eat.

Perhaps one of these will make your own celebration *just right*. What dish do you always look forward to making (or eating)? Got a prep question? Ask me in the comments and I’ll do my best to help ensure your day goes off without a hitch!

Let’s stay in touch -

• Follow me on Instagram, @melinahammer

• Do you love A Year at Catbird Cottage? If so, please leave a review on Amazon, whether you purchased it there or not, which makes it easier for others to find my book. Thank you!

• Catbird Cottage is our home in the Hudson Valley, NY, where I teach cooking and gardening workshops, and host intimate dinners, guided by the seasons. Drop a line to reserve a special meal or a delicious, invigorating workshop with your friends.

• My website melinahammer.com carries an archive of many free recipes through the years, featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients that always bring wow to the table.

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Make juicy, flavorful roast chicken

A guide for beautiful, burnished birds

Hello, and welcome to today’s Stories from Catbird Cottage! I am teaching a 3-course cooking class tomorrow, and the main event will showcase how to roast phenomenal chicken. I wanted to bring that here and share with all subscribers, since a great roast chicken is universally loved. If you’re able, thanks so much if you can upgrade to paid. Your support directly helps me to consistently create meaningful content here. As a supporter, you’ll receive two additional newsletters each month that delve deeper into my process, with additional behind the scenes and more zesty recipes.

Next week will feature a new recipe I’m over the moon for AND it is perfect for all your holiday menus! It will be for paid subscribers - here’s a sneak peek:

As you read further, I’ve included some tips I’ve found helpful to guarantee success, plus *three* linked, utterly sublime chicken dishes to bring you joy and comfort all the way through winter.

I don’t usually cook just chicken breasts, though they do make an appearance if I’m hungry for schnitzel or Marsala. When I eat chicken, I like the assurance that the meat will be juicy and flavorful. This usually means choosing darker meat - such as thighs - and it almost always means meat on the bone. It is harder to overcook bone-in meat of any kind. Bones add more flavor, and whether searing, braising, or roasting, it generally means the gift of greater juiciness. That said, there’s a time for everything and you can certainly cook chicken thighs sans bones. I sometimes do if I’m making spiedies, or this chile-garlic chicken pasta.

Without further ado, here are some terrific ways to succeed at roasting and searing chicken…

Roasted chicken thighs with Castelvetrano olives, shallots, Aleppo chili flakes, and lemons. This is SO good. Click the image to take you to the recipe ;)

Tip #1: Always add umami. Umami is expressed as an extra savory flavor, more than just “salt”. Fermented and cured foods deliver this concentrated flavor and deepen the overall character of a dish.

As you season, keep in mind a little umami goes a long way!
Some examples include:

• preserved lemons

• capers

• olives

• anchovies

• dried mushrooms, such as porcini or shiitake

• chili paste, such as harissa or gochujang

Think of this aspect as anything that will bring extra savory depth to the mildness that chicken naturally is. Similarly, you could add small amounts of pancetta or bacon, soy sauce, or vinegar during the cooking process and be heartily rewarded when the cooking is done and it’s time to sit down and feast.

Tip #2: The trick to a beautifully golden whole roasted bird? Sear it prior to roasting and turn on all sides during that process. Literally. While the oven preheats, I lean a whole chicken on its side against the pan edge - often searing the veggies on the remaining surface area - to achieve the much sought after burnished, delectable effect. It is a big help if you tie the drumsticks together, which creates a tidier package during handling, and also helps the bird cook more evenly.

After one side has browned I rotate it to the next, using the top and bottom cavities to turn it (before it’s too hot to handle with my hands). Once the chicken is hot throughout, I use a set of tongs at one end and a spatula or another set of tongs at the other, and repeat turning and leaning until top, bottom, and sides develop that golden hue.

Once the chicken is browned on all sides I set it breast side up and continue in the cooking process. Mind you, while I endeavor browning the bird, I am also turning the veggies so they evenly brown, too! It’s kind of like a big game of memory, moving from one corner of the pan, across every element, turning each over for maximum delicious browned effect. The results are *consistently* huge grins and happy groans at the table.

Whole roast chicken with leeks, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms + pan sauce from my book. Click the image to take you to the recipe!

Tip #3: What should you cook with your chicken? So many things make for excellent support players! Quite often when I’m roasting a whole chicken it just so happens to be the cold weather season, and that means hearty root vegetables. Bonus: even though sturdy, root veggies get rendered tender (even sweet!) through the process. They are the perfect sides to your roasted meat.

• sweet or waxy potatoes

• carrots

• onions, leeks, garlic, shallots

• turnips, parsnips, kohlrabi

• winter radishes

• beets

If you’re just cooking thighs, or to add more things into the mix, these are terrific add-ins for more flavor and textures:

• lemon slices or wedges

• sliced fresh mushrooms, such as cremini, shiitake, maitake, and oysters

• escarole

• frilly kale

• apples, grapes, or pears

• winter squash, such as butternut, kabocha, and delicata

I confess to being guilty of crowding the pan when I roast a chicken. Not because I don’t care about the results - believe me, I love nothing more than a burnished bird and all the browned accompaniments. It’s precisely *because* I love the accompanying elements that I often fill my pan too-full, so I can feast on as many of these as I relish in the roasted meat. 

I compensate for this by searing each element hard, on all sides. Once the steam dissipates, each carrot, potato, lemon, or other goodies *will* develop a gorgeous, deeply golden surface, whetting the appetite and ensuring rich flavors by the end. 

If you favor burnished surfaces as I do and choose this route, don’t be tempted to disturb the pan. Allow everything to just sit there sizzling, cooking away their moisture, and re-drizzle oil as needed. After 3 minutes or so, turn the elements. If for some reason at that stage they need more time, go by 1-2 minute increments, leaving them be, then rotating or turning the veg.

It’s also useful to scoot any more-cooked elements from the hottest zone of the pan and replace them with elements that need more browning. I sometimes pile things up in the coolest zone, and turn the whole pile once in a while as the chicken (and other elements) finish cooking. Other times, if it really is too much to keep track of, I’ll transfer the cooked elements to a serving platter or sheet pan so I can focus on what remains, it may just take a little longer. Well worth it in the end!

Side note: if the above is an overwhelming amount of info to grasp, stick to keeping it simple and don’t crowd the pan. As someone who cooks all the time, I can forget that *how I do things* may not be how everyone else can (or should) do them. 

A crowded pan, but oh sooo good. Cider roasted chicken thighs with apples + onions. Click for the recipe.

Tip #4: Adding liquid during the cooking process means you’ll have more pan jus, one of my fave parts of the meal. Wine, cider, or beer is often used to deglaze the pan once you’re past the searing stage. Doing so frees up the caramelized browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, and, you guessed it - also adds more character to the pan jus when it’s time to eat. Why? Because each of them is fermented, too.

After deglazing the pan and cooking some of the alcohol off, this is the moment to add the homemade stock you’ve dutifully made and stored in your freezer, *just for this moment*. If you don’t have homemade stock, use store-bought. It will still be flavorful, perhaps just not as nuanced. If you don’t have stock at all, simply use water and a splash of pickle brine. If you included umami elements and seared your ingredients well, the caramelized brown bits will add a depth to your pan jus. Plus the schmaltzy richness from cooking the chicken will mingle in there, too.

When the cooking liquid begins to bubble, it’s time to transfer the pan to the oven and finish the cooking process. Roasting in the oven finishes the bird all the way to the bone, it concentrates the pan jus, and renders everything in the cooking liquid jammy. It is a way of melding all the elements and gives the opportunity to walk away from the stove.

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Last but not least, not a tip, but an important addendum:

If I’ve roasted bone-in chicken, I always *always* save the bones to make a new stock. It’s a full-circle opportunity you don’t want to miss: you’re presented with a perfect waste-not-want-not moment to wring final flavors from an already great thing, and stretch your dollars even further. Plus, soothing soup or stew is everyone’s happy place.

If I don’t have time to make stock immediately, I store the bones/carcass in a resealable bag in the freezer, along with end bits from numerous veg. Ready for whenever I am!

I hope sharing the jumble of the hows, whats, and whys here brings you to a new, clarifying place. If any of these layers resonated with you, I’d love to hear it in the comments… thanks! Cheers to the searing and roasting season….

Let’s stay in touch -

• Follow me on Instagram, @melinahammer

• Do you love A Year at Catbird Cottage? If so, please leave a review on Amazon, whether you purchased it there or not, which makes it easier for others to find my book. Thank you!

• Catbird Cottage is our home in the Hudson Valley, NY, where I teach cooking and gardening workshops, and host intimate dinners, guided by the seasons. Drop a line to reserve a special meal or a delicious, invigorating workshop with your friends.

• My website melinahammer.com carries an archive of many free recipes through the years, featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients that always bring wow to the table.

  

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Special feature: New ways with ingredients we love

Stories from fellow renowned cooking experts

Hello dear readers, and welcome to today’s Stories from Catbird Cottage! I have a very special post to share with you today. I’ve asked some extraordinary women who live, eat, and breathe food as much as I do, to share a favorite ingredient and why it holds such a prized place in their kitchens.

As we wind the year down - and brace for the cooking feats of the holidays - I wanted to share today’s post with all subscribers, thinking that one of these perspectives might bring that a-ha moment you’ve needed as you begin to consider holiday fodder. Thanks so much if you can upgrade to paid. Your support directly helps me to consistently create meaningful content here. As a supporter, you’ll receive two additional newsletters each month that delve deeper into my process, with additional behind the scenes and more zesty recipes.

When I wrote each of these experts I had no idea what to anticipate, and what I received back delighted me. Partially because I didn’t expect these ingredients. To be honest I was a blank slate, so I had no expectations. And partially, because they helped me see these ingredients in a new light. I hope this collection - and how each of these talented women loves using them - brings inspiration to your own kitchen.

Giulia Scarpaleggia and I have been liking (read: loving) each others’ food on Instagram for easily ten years… Her cucina povera approach to food is one that has long resonated with me, an approach that always looks to extract the most out of simple, humble, ingredients. Giulia is is a Tuscan-born food writer, cookbook author, and cooking teacher. Since 2009, she has shared her passion for traditional and seasonal Tuscan cuisine through her blog Juls’ Kitchen, alongside her husband and photographer, Tommaso Galli. Author of several cookbooks that celebrate the simplicity of Italian cuisine, she also teaches cooking classes in her countryside studio, and has been featured at BBC Good Food, Saveur, Bake from Scratch, and Food52. She’s also on Substack! Click here to read and subscribe to her newsletter. She and Tommaso live in Tuscany with their daughter, Livia, and two rescue dogs.

Fettunta: toasted bread with olive oil

Here’s what Giulia says of one of her favorite ingredients…
Born and bred in Tuscany, my favorite ingredient has to be extra virgin olive oil. A top-quality bottle of this golden elixir is still one of my favorite gifts, to make and receive. I always keep at least two bottles in my pantry: one for everyday cooking and a special one reserved for finishing and seasoning dishes.

For cooking, I use high-quality, 100% Italian, often organic extra virgin olive oil. It’s versatile and reliable, perfect for braising, baking, or even frying—yes, you can fry with extra virgin olive oil! It withstands high temperatures, making it a staple for everyday culinary needs.

Tuscan kale pesto, wine and olive oil cookies

Alongside that, I always keep a bottle of excellent extra virgin olive oil for finishing: it might be one of the few bottles we press every year from the olives of our olive grove or that of a trusted local producer from Tuscany or another region of Italy.

Apple olive oil cake

When buying extra virgin olive oil, remember that it is not like wine: don’t keep it for special occasions, it doesn’t age gracefully.

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Another accomplished woman in food, I always love seeing what Anna Kovel is up to. Her home is her workshop, just like mine, and her kitchen always has things bubbling away on the stove or in the oven. Her devotion to seasonal cooking has been deepened by living and working in Boston, New York, Berkeley, Paris, Rome, and the Irish countryside. She is a writer, food stylist, and recipe developer, and she is often a force behind-the-scenes, gently teasing out nuance: amongst other things, she co-wrote the recent cookbook Via Carota, A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking, from the famed Greenwich Village restaurant. She always has something poignant to share, and she’s recently joined Substack - find her newsletter right here.

Her background as a restaurant chef and as a food editor for Martha Stewart Living inform her work; her life as a home cook keeps her grounded in reality. Anna lives in Brooklyn, NY and the Hudson Valley.

Here’s what Anna has to share….
As a kid, spaghetti with tomato sauce was my favorite dinner, and when I was twelve years old, I asked my mother to teach me how to make it for myself. I inhaled the scent of oregano as I stirred it into the pot, and I fell in love with its sharp, Mediterranean accent. I was eager to use my new discovery wherever I thought a dash of extra seasoning was needed: in a bowl of vegetable soup at lunch, and my scrambled eggs at breakfast. I’ve become more sensible as I’ve grown up, but I still reach for the oregano on a regular basis.

Chili for a cold night, oregano-infused patties+fixins, eggplant parm, pre-bake

I find oregano adds an uplifting note to a pot of earthy black beans, and I always stir it into my chili. To me, it’s indispensable in a Greek salad, along with red wine vinegar, good olive oil, and Kalamata olives. Of course, I still add oregano to tomato sauce, but also to yellow cherry tomatoes as they burst into a pan of olive oil with sliced garlic, black olives and basil, for tossing into pasta. And I play with the herb in other ways, mixing it with sumac and onions in a meatball seasoning, using it to season the breadcrumbs that coat eggplant for my parmigiana, and mixing it into a garlicky butter to melt onto broiled clams.

I much prefer the dried oregano that is sold in a bunch, like a bouquet. I look for it at Italian, Greek, or Middle Eastern specialty shops, and I store it in a tall jar, to catch the loose leaves.

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I cannot remember how Susan Spungen and I originally met, but her food sensibility has always spoken to me: fresh, dynamic, and bright. On a perfect summer day some years ago, I visited her airy Amagansett home and there, we made a point of stopping at her favorite farm stand, then cooked and photographed a delicious brunch together from the bounty.

Susan Spungen is a cook, food stylist, recipe developer, and author. She was the founding food editor and editorial director for food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She was also the culinary consultant and food stylist on the films Julie & Julia, It’s Complicated, and Eat, Pray, Love. Susan is the author of multiple books, and she writes a newsletter here on Substack. Find it here! Susan lives in New York City and East Hampton, NY.

Here’s Susan’s hot take, perfect to incorporate right now…
Most of the year, I pass by the hard pears that are always in the supermarket. You know, the ones that never seem to ripen no matter how long you leave them on the countertop? But in the fall, when pears are truly in season, it’s a different story.

The first ones to arrive are the petite Seckels. These are best eaten out of hand — they're too small and fussy to bake with — although they’d be fine sliced into a salad. More often than not, they are sweet as nectar, and juicy as can be. They are ripe and ready to eat before they seem so. They won’t be soft, exactly, but if you press firmly just next to the stem, they should yield slightly.

Later in the season, the fat and juicy Comice pear comes along. It is necessary to eat a Comice pear over the sink, and certainly not in public. Although I did that once with my good friend Claudia Fleming after shopping at the organic market on Boulevard Raspail in Paris. Luckily it was a quiet Sunday morning and no one saw us standing on a corner with pear juice dripping down our forearms. I think it’s safe to say that was the best pear I ever had.

There are other heirloom varieties I seek out this time of year too. Although all of the images seen here are for sweets, pears go just as well with savory ingredients, like a runny stinky (I mean that in the best way) cheese, or just about any salad you can think of. I especially like the aforementioned Comice in a salad of bitter green like large-leaf arugula (the really bitter kind) and some shavings of pecorino. Or try throwing some firm pears onto your sheet pan with roasted veggies. Brussels sprouts come to mind as a good partner. Excuse me while I run out to the farmer’s market!

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Maya Kaimal and I are members of an informal mutual admiration society. For years, I only knew of her delicious food brand, named after her. Then one day, Jim and I were commissioned to shoot packaging for a new line, to be sold at Costco locations around the country. Through a series of shoots and some years later, we now gather and eat at a women-in-food cookbook club, catching each other up on the latest goings-on, and it is truly the best.

Maya Kaimal is an award-winning Indian cookbook author, former photo editor of Saveur, and founder of Maya Kaimal Foods. She grew up in Boston with a South Indian father and American mother - both avid cooks. Family trips to India helped her fall in love with the food, culture, and colors of India. Her desire to share that love with as many people as possible inspired her to write cookbooks and start her namesake company. 

Here’s what Maya has to say…
I can’t imagine life without fresh ginger! I crave its warm woody flavor and its gentle but unmistakable bite.

It’s often lumped together with garlic and onion as an “aromatic” ingredient in Indian food, but I think it belongs with hot chilies and black pepper as part of the pungent backbone of South Asian cooking.

I love it with vegetables, in yogurt, with fish, and in all my meat curries all the time. It’s beautifully versatile and plays well in both savory and sweet dishes. I add fresh ginger to my gingersnaps and gingerbread to give them extra depth. And when I don’t feel good, it soothes my belly in the form of ginger tea.

What more could you ask of an ingredient?

Clockwise from top left: spicy gingersnaps, gingered brussels sprouts, charred carrots with ginger yogurt, tangy tamarind chutney

I’d love to hear in the comments, did any of these surprise or inspire you? I’ve got a hunch you’re going to be seeing some upcoming recipes that take cues from these foods. And as an aside, I love that reaching out to each of these wonderful women for a fun collaboration brought new ideas into my own world. Win-win all around. Pretty excited to see what winter recipes come of this exploration… ;)

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Let’s stay in touch…

• Follow me on Instagram, @melinahammer

• Do you love A Year at Catbird Cottage? If so, please leave a review on Amazon, whether you purchased it there or not, which makes it easier for others to find my book. Thank you!

• Catbird Cottage is our home in the Hudson Valley, NY, where I teach cooking and gardening workshops, and host intimate dinners, guided by the seasons. Drop a line to reserve a special meal or a delicious, invigorating workshop with your friends.

• My website melinahammer.com carries an archive of many free recipes through the years, featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients that always bring wow to the table.

• Enjoy my newsletter? Please forward it to a friend who might enjoy it too.