The Holiday 101
My suggestion in July that Mark Bittman’s 101 ideas for salads made for a great source of blendable possibilities was received by many with skepticism, so I understand if you decide to disregard my singing the praises of another Bittman 101 list. But if you can find a little holiday spirit in your heart and give this one a chance, you’ll see that his 101 Head Starts on the Day really is full of blender-worthy recipes, more so than the salads. The “Day” in question here is Thanksgiving (yes, I realize this was last week for Americans and last month for Canadians) but the recipes work for the holiday season at large, and many just sound like tasty comfort food worth trying out all winter long.
The highlights:
- On pages 1 and 2 you’ll find eleven recipes for soup — I’m most curious about #22, which involves pureeing brussel sprouts, garlic, sage, and parmesan (among other things).
- Pages 3-5 have the gems — the vegetable sides, few of which are meant to be pureed but most sound like they’d be great if they were (but not #64, the mushroom bread pudding).
- In fact, although I stand by my belief in the salads for this edition too, I say from gluten-heavy experience (see also: pizza and empanadas) — stay away entirely from the stuffing and bread sections of this list. Instead, skip directly to the desserts, especially #92 Cranberry Truffles, and #94 Pumpkin Tofu Pudding.
