Retro Recipes and Traditional Fare

If you’re looking for a more sophisticated dessert to impress your friends at your next dinner party, try this Austrian classic. America’s Test Kitchen updated the recipe and it’s pretty easy to do.

I made it recently for a small dinner party and was able to prepare it in the morning and refrigerate it until we were ready for dessert. For the best flavor, it’s important to let it stand at room temperature about an hour before serving.

Use the best bittersweet chocolate you can find, Callebaut, Valrhona, or Ghiradelli.

We're so glad we get to eat this for the next four years! -Amy Ephron

A family favorite for Sunday dinners, says the Second Lady...
Vice President Joe Biden loves his wife's Chicken Parmesan, says Dr. Jill Biden, who in a bit of election-year foodie wooing has shared the family recipe with Rachael Ray. It makes a big feast, calling for five pounds of boneless chicken breasts and four cups of Mozzarella cheese for twelve servings.

"Our family loves to get together for Sunday dinners. Our favorite chicken parm #recipe is in @rachael_ray mag  –Dr. B," the Second Lady tweeted on her husband's @VP account.

The recipe appears in Ray's Every Day magazine and online. The Second Lady joined Ray on her TV show in 2010, to demonstrate how to make holiday care packages for members of the troops. First Lady Michelle Obama and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass have also cooked onscreen with Ray. Mrs. Obama was last on Ray's show in September of this year.

In the Deep South, spoonbreads are our version of bread puddings and Yorkshire pudding and other European pudding-esque breads. Referred to as “spoonbreads” for their gooey texture, consistency, and easy enjoyment with a spoon, these quick and easy delights have arisen from surplus and derelict circumstances alike – too many squash to eat at once or not enough of this and that to make a complete recipe!

This Squash Spoonbread came out of a surplus of baby crookneck squash, thankfully! Shredding these delicious little gourds on my standing mixer’s shredder attachment (what a fun toy, p.s.), one quickly realizes why vegetables are so healthy – they are all water with a bit of fiber and some nutrients for color! Now, the butter may demise that perfect combo of natural, healthy complements, but it sure does make it good! A shredded onion, Vidalia preferably, adds great texture, moisture, and flavor too.

With the blustery weather the Northern hemisphere is having right now, there are plenty of reasons to stay in and gather with family over holiday food. And for safety's sake, I just hope that is what most people are doing. There are many dishes that create a sense of togetherness, but none is as famous as fondue. This dish of melted cheese originates from the Alps. The Swiss popularized and designated it a national dish in the 1930s. It eventually crossed the pond and became extremely popular in suburban America during the 1960s. There are also French and Italian versions, like Fonduta, as it's called in Italy.

Fonduta is a specialty of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta. It is made with fontina, a young cow's milk cheese that melts much like mozzarella. Its taste is similar to other Alpine cheeses, like Gruyère and Emmental from Switzerland. The big difference between Swiss fondue and fonduta is that the Italian recipe does not include wine, garlic, or cornstarch as thickener. Instead fonduta is made with butter, milk, and egg yolks as thickener. It comes together much like custard and is made in a bain-marie, a double boiler. The final dish is richly flavored and silken. It's ideal for a communal gathering of family or a New Year's Eve party with friends. Just add a roaring fire, and complete the Alpine feel.