Food! Glorious Food!

The Unassuming Ingredient at the Heart of a Chef’s Kwanzaa Feast
Ricky Moore, the owner of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham, N.C., honors his past and crowns his end-of-year celebrations with peanuts.

A bald Black man wearing glasses and a red T-shirt stares into the camera from a wooden dining room table. Before him is a yellow serving platter filled with rice and a smaller glazed plate with a squeezed lime wedge visible.
Informed by a childhood tradition, the chef Ricky Moore prepares a peanut-forward centerpiece for his Kwanzaa festivities.
By Brigid Washington

Going Whole Hog for a Noche Buena Tradition
Roast pork is the must-have Christmas Eve centerpiece for many Latinos and Filipinos, and for processors like La Casa Sierra near Tampa, Fla., business is booming.


Noche Buena, or Christmas Eve, is one of the most popular times for people to eat pork. The demand is evident at slaughterhouses, where many more pigs are being processed during the holiday season.
By Christina Morales

On the Arab Christmas Table, Kubbeh and Warak Dawali Are Nonnegotiable
For members of the Arab diaspora, the meat- and bulgur-based dish, and delicate stuffed grape leaves, are what make the season bright.

A black plate is loaded with stuffed grape leaves and lamb chops. To the left of the plate is a bowl filled with plain yogurt, and below the plate is a stack of plates with lamb chops and stuffed grape leaves on them.
Warak dawali, or stuffed grape leaves, with tender lamb chops are a meal on their own.
By Reem Kassis

A GOOD APPETITE
This Easy Breakfast Strata Is the Ultimate Way to Start the Year
Rich with cheese and filled with butternut squash and mushrooms, this breakfast casserole is worth waking up for.


This savory strata is easily assembled ahead of time, so you can just pop it in the oven and enjoy.
By MELISSA CLARK

Prepping for Christmas and Kwanzaa
We have new holiday recipes for grape leaves, a peanut fish stew and more.
By MELISSA CLARK

A Holiday Surprise From Yotam Ottolenghi
It’s party season! Bring some fun to your next gathering with a savory pie that conceals a cheesy filling of butternut squash and chard.


By YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

These 2 Holiday Mains Aren’t Just Stunning. They Cook in Under an Hour.
Genevieve Ko pairs salmon with miso cream and beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce for a lavish, but stress-free feast.

An overhead image of a beef tenderloin, scattered with herbs and paired on a white platter with horseradish sauce, and a salmon fillet sprinkled with sesame seeds and finished with a miso cream. To the right of the salmon is a bowl with more miso cream and a plate with cutlery.
You don’t need to spend a lot of time on the feast: These showstopping mains cook quickly and are relatively hands off, so you can spend your time where it counts.
By Genevieve Ko

THE POUR
The Year’s Best Books on Wine (and Whisky)
These six volumes, all published in 2022, are illuminating, surprising and just plain useful guides to better understanding wine and spirits.


By Eric Asimov

Albert Madansky Dies at 88; Gauged Risk of Unwitting Atomic War
As a scholarly statistician, he also evaluated stock options, the best nonfiction books and the most mouthwatering pastrami sandwich.


Albert Madansky’s statistical endeavors ran from the risk of accidental nuclear war to ranking the best pastrami sandwich. He taught at the University of Chicago from 1974 to 1999.
By SAM ROBERTS