Holiday Ringers
Find out whats cooking in the kitchens of the VT staff this holiday season
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Old or new, all holiday food traditions start with a well-loved recipe. That’s why the VT staff decided to share the dishes we love so much that they’ll be part of our celebrations this year. Here’s hoping they inspire some new traditions on your table as well.
Mary Margaret Chappell, food editor
“An English friend and her husband are spending Christmas with my family this year, and I want to incorporate some of their holiday traditions into the celebration. They always have beef Wellington for Christmas dinner, so I decided to play around with the Vegetables Wellington recipe to give it more of a traditional Wellington feel.”
Elizabeth Turner, editor in chief
“My first holiday season at VT (2007), we featured a recipe for Cranberry-Cherry Lattice Pie, which is supereasy and not too sweet. I made it for Christmas dinner that year, and I still remember the happy little grunting sound my young cousin Arren made as he ate it. Now I make that pie every year.”
Don Rice, copy chief
“We’ll have the Wilted Spinach Salad with Asian Pears, Blue Cheese, and Pecans on our holiday table this year. Our 7-year-old will pick out the shallots and set the pecans aside, but he’s been known to ask for seconds of similar salads. That’s just before the salad spills out of his parents’ gaping mouths.”
Jolia Sidona Allen, online managing editor
“Oyster Mushrooms Rockefeller is the perfect duo of comfort and sophistication. While it can be made in a single pan, baking it in ramekins for individual servings makes guests feel like they are opening an edible present prepared just for them.”
Amy Spitalnick, senior editor
“I’m tweaking tradition this Hanukkah with VT‘s recipe for vegan Sweet Potato Latkes. Brighter color and flavor aren’t the only motives here: sweet potatoes rate higher than spuds in vitamins A and C, and score lower on the GI scale. But because olive oil plays a symbolic role in the Hanukkah story, I’m swapping out canola for olive oil in the recipe.”
Suzanne Feyche, art/edit assistant
“You may not think of Refreshing Quinoa Salad as a ‘holiday’ recipe, but since it’s gluten-free and vegan, it really can be enjoyed by everyone.”