Sunday, December 18, 2022

Best Holiday Food + Drinks: OZY's 100


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Dec 17, 2022

TODAY

It’s that time of year again: the holidays. It’s merry, it’s bright … and it can also be stressful — at least when making everything come together. What dish will delight friends and family around the table? What drinks will glitter like stars in your guests’ hands? We’ve come up with some food and drink options to help with your holiday merrymaking and keep you warm, stuffed and slightly buzzed all season.


Dishes That Delight

Your New Favorite Holiday Dish

An Argentine holiday meal is a beautiful thing in more ways than one. Inventive, heritage-rich dishes take center stage, with all of them warm-climate-friendly. And if you are tired of turkey, this Argentine Christmas spread is heavy on the beef (and mayo) and can be prepared in advance, so you have more time to spend with your family.

Fried Pockets of Deliciousness

These doughy puffs will make you the hippest, global-est person at your holiday party. Pakoras are fried pockets of pure, mouthwatering fat from India. A bit like tempura, they’re fritters essentially made by dipping an item of choice in batter and kicking it up in hot oil. There is the classic potato pakora, but you can also switch it up with onions and even paneer. Eat your pakoras with chutneys, usually tamarind, mint or coriander.

Soup Dumplings

Just so you don’t get caught out: The proper way to eat a soup dumpling is to put it in your spoon and poke it with a chopstick to release the liquid. These little guys are the perfect winter food, combining the two most comforting types of food (soup and dumplings), and are great for huge gatherings.


Holiday Spirits

The Gift That Keeps Giving: Hot Buttered Rum

It’s hard to beat a mug of creamy hot buttered rum, especially if you are ever left stranded alone on Christmas Eve. Just fry up the spices, simmer the sugar and eventually toast yourself with a deliciously decadent cocktail.

A Hot Toddy With a Twist

Popular among mountain-dwelling Ecuadorians (and Peruvians and Colombians), canelazo is a sweet and spicy alcoholic beverage that is relatively unknown outside of the Andean highlands. So if you want to spice up your holiday party, try this snazzed-up version of a hot toddy, infused with boiled cinnamon, sugar, spices and citrus juice.

The Christmas Drink That Gives Puerto Ricans Anxiety All Year

Christmas is complicated for Puerto Ricans. As kids, it feels like everyone watches them: Santa, the Three Kings, God. And as adults, Puerto Ricans also experience anxiety about something else: making coquito. The drink is made during the Christmas season but causes year-round anxiety for Puerto Ricans not skilled in the art of making it. Coquito is not premade or mass-marketed like eggnog. It is a once-a-year magic elixir of creamy smoothness that warms and cheers the spirit and dulls the sharp edges of life.


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Dessert Delicacies

Chocolate Marzipan Cookies

Marzipan is a Spanish staple around Christmastime. Figurines made of the buttery almond-based sweet stuff appear in pretty much every household. But there is a secret ingredient for making these sweet treats even better: chocolate.

The Best Holiday Dessert Is a Time-Consuming Art Project

You may say that a holiday dessert taking two-plus hours to assemble — and that’s without making the meringue mushrooms by hand — isn’t worth it. But this flourless chocolate cake log is the exception. Plus, it gives you and your relatives a common goal to focus on for an afternoon. Just make sure everyone gets at least one meringue mushroom.

A New York Institution

Oh, you thought the city was the only place to get the good stuff? Absolutely not: Upstate New York is home to this incredible cult candy shop, Oliver’s Candies, which is well worth the pilgrimage for its chocolate honeycomb candy.


COMMUNITY CORNER

What is your favorite dish to make at the holidays?

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