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Holiday and Seasonal Recipes
Showing 17-30 of 30 delicious holiday and seasonal recipes
Summer BBQ and Grilling
Greek Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Lemon Garlic
This keeps the marinating time brief, since shrimp is delicate enough that a strongly acidic lemon marinade can start to cure and toughen its texture if left too long, unlike heartier cuts of meat. Threading the shrimp onto skewers in a tight C-shape, rather than straight through, is what keeps them from spinning uncontrollably when you try to flip them on the grill.
26m4
Summer BBQ and Grilling
Indian Spicy Grilled Tandoori Fish Fillets
This keeps the marinating time short compared to a tandoori chicken recipe, since fish is far more delicate and can start to break down in texture if left in an acidic, spiced yogurt marinade for too long. Oiling the grill grates well before adding the fish is what keeps its tender flesh from sticking and tearing apart when it comes time to flip.
33m4
Summer BBQ and Grilling
Sweet Teriyaki Grilled Pineapple Chicken Breasts
This grills fresh pineapple rings alongside the chicken, since the direct heat caramelizes the fruit's natural sugars into a deeper, more complex sweetness than raw pineapple could offer as a topping. Reserving a portion of the teriyaki marinade before it touches raw chicken, then simmering it into a glaze, lets you safely brush extra flavor onto both the chicken and pineapple as they grill.
35m4
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Pakistani Special Eid Meethi Seviyan (Milk Vermicelli)
This roasts the vermicelli in ghee until deeply golden before adding any milk, which is what develops its nutty, toasted flavor rather than leaving it tasting plain and starchy once softened. Simmering the milk until it reduces and thickens slightly is what gives this festive Eid dish its rich, creamy consistency instead of a thin, watery texture.
30m6
Summer BBQ and Grilling
British Style Honey Mustard Grilled Pork Chops
This brines the pork chops briefly in a simple saltwater solution before grilling, a step that helps this naturally lean cut stay juicy over direct heat instead of drying out and turning tough. Brushing the honey mustard glaze on only during the final few minutes of grilling keeps its sugars from burning before the chops finish cooking through.
52m4
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Italian Holiday Panettone Sweet Bread Loaf
This builds the dough in two separate stages, first a smaller enriched starter dough that rises on its own, then combined with the remaining flour, eggs, and butter, which is the traditional method that gives panettone its signature light, airy, almost cottony texture over a long rise. Soaking the dried fruit in warm water or rum beforehand plumps it back up so it bakes into soft, juicy pockets rather than hard, chewy bits.
105m12
Game-Day and Party Specials
Italian Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Cheese Ring
This cuts a grid of deep slits into a round loaf without cutting all the way through the bottom, which creates dozens of little pockets for garlic butter and cheese to melt into while still holding the loaf together as one shareable piece. Stuffing mozzarella down into those slits, rather than just sprinkling it over the top, is what gives every torn off piece its own gooey, cheesy pull.
40m8
Game-Day and Party Specials
Indian Street Pav Bhaji Party Sliders Pots
This mashes the cooked vegetables directly in the pan while they simmer with the spices, the traditional street food technique that lets the bhaji absorb the pav bhaji masala fully rather than just coating vegetables that stay in distinct pieces. Toasting the small pav buns in butter on a hot griddle, the same way street vendors do, gives them a golden, slightly crisp exterior that holds up well to being dunked into the thick vegetable mash.
55m6
Game-Day and Party Specials
Game-Day Loaded Cheesy Beef Nachos Platter
This layers the chips, beef, and cheese two or three times over rather than piling everything on in a single layer, since a single top layer leaves most of the chips underneath completely bare, without any cheese to hold toppings in place. Broiling briefly at the very end melts everything together quickly without the chips having time to turn soggy under prolonged oven heat.
30m6
Thanksgiving and Christmas
British Christmas Spiced Mince Meat Sweet Pies
This uses a jarred or homemade fruit mincemeat, the traditional spiced mixture of dried fruit, suet or butter, and warming spices, rather than actual minced meat, since modern British mince pies moved away from savory meat centuries ago while keeping the name. Chilling the pastry thoroughly before baking is what keeps these small pies crisp and short, rather than tough from overworked, warm dough.
60m12
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Creamy Holiday Mashed Potatoes with Butter Cavity
This starts the potatoes in cold water rather than dropping them into water that's already boiling, since heating them gradually together is what cooks the potatoes evenly through to the center instead of leaving the outside mushy while the middle stays firm. Warming the milk and butter before adding them to the mashed potatoes keeps the whole mixture from cooling down and turning gluey.
35m8
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Crispy Bacon Wrapped Holiday Green Bean Bundles
This blanches the green beans briefly in boiling water before wrapping them in bacon, which partially cooks them so they finish tender in the oven at the same rate the bacon needs to crisp, rather than the beans staying raw and crunchy while the bacon burns. Securing each bundle with a toothpick keeps the bacon wrapped tightly around the beans as it renders and shrinks during baking.
45m8
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Thanksgiving Juicy Garlic Herb Roasted Roast Turkey
This slides a garlic herb butter directly under the turkey's skin rather than just rubbing it on top, which is what actually flavors and moistens the meat as it roasts instead of the butter simply melting off the outside. Roasting at a high temperature for the first stretch, then lowering it for the remainder, mimics a technique that browns the skin quickly before the lower heat finishes cooking the bird gently, keeping it from drying out.
240m12
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Southern Sweet Potato Holiday Casserole with Pecans
This boils and mashes the sweet potatoes rather than roasting them, since boiling keeps them moist enough to blend smoothly into a creamy base without needing excessive butter to compensate for dryness. A crunchy pecan streusel topping, rather than marshmallows, leans into the classic Southern approach that balances the sweet potato's natural sweetness with a buttery, nutty crunch.
55m10