Holiday Feast First Courses
Alright, one holiday feast is in the rearview, now it’s time to start thinking about that next one. Here are a few of my recent recipes that will excellent choices for the opening courses of your next holiday feast. On this list you’ll find a handful of intriguing appetizers, a couple of superb salads, and what may well be the best chowder recipe out there.
So, have a look at this list and decide how you’ll get that feast started — or take care of the first three courses, if you like these recipes as much as I do. To fill out the rest of the menu, you’ll find plenty of useful advice and recipes in the Buslife Kitchen guide to Thanksgiving. Or, better yet, pick yourself up a copy of one or both volumes of The Buslife Kitchen Cookbook in the TBK shop or on Amazon — then you’ll never run short of ideas.
Rich, creamy, and bursting at the seams with flavor, this salmon dip will make an excellent addition to any appetizer spread or charcuterie board you find yourself assembling this holiday season. The silky base of cream cheese and Greek yogurt is flavored with scallions, ginger, sriracha, and toasted sesame oil before adding the crumbled salmon. It is excellent cold, but perhaps even better warm, spread over a cracker or scooped up with a tortilla chip.
Arugula Salad with Chèvre, Plums, and Rosemary Vinaigrette
An ideal salad for your holiday feast menu, this recipe begins with baby arugula tossed in a delicious rosemary vinaigrette. Atop the already wonderful bed of greens you have thinly sliced plums, toasted sliced almonds, and crumbled chèvre. It is a simple enough salad to throw together, but it boasts an exquisite harmony of flavors that really celebrate the season.
Long Island chowder may have gotten its start as something of a playful gimmick — a bowl of chowder thrown together from half New England clam chowder and half Manhattan clam chowder — but that halfhearted combination actually revealed something excellent. In this recipe, I start from scratch, finding a middleground between those two styles and infusing the mixture with some interesting new falvors. The end result is possibly the best seafood chowder you’ve ever tasted: rich and creamy, studded with shrimp, scallops, and fish, and boasting the rich umami and subtle fragrance of tomatoes and roasted red peppers.
These toasts bridge the gap between an Asian-style shrimp toast and the classic Jacques Pépin recipe, ouefs Jeannette. A deliciously French egg salad rich with garlic and parsley is spread on triangles of white bread and toasted in a buttery skillet until crisp on both sides. Drizzled with Dijon vinaigrette, it makes an elegant appetizer for any holiday feast.
An intriguing mixture of greens and herbs paired with a punchy shallot and Dijon vinaigrette and topped with sliced eggs, chopped ham, and crumbled goat cheese, this salad makes an excellent first course for just about any meal. Or, if you prefer, dole out larger servings and pair it with a bit of bread and a glass of wine for a light meal all on its own.
Savory Roasted Brie S’mores with Cranberry Relish
There is a bit of a paradox for me with s’mores. They are undeniably fun to make, but the actual eating of them is a too-sweet sticky mess. Not so with these savory s’mores. Roasted slices of brie paired with a simple rosemary-laced cranberry relish and smashed between two crisp herb crackers, this is a fire-roasted appetizer that I can wholeheartedly support.