Food & Wine November 2019

FOUR ROSES 2018 LIMITED RELEASE BOURBON ($140) Yes, it’s expensive. But what a terrific bourbon—fragrant with hints of toasted nuts, tree fruit, vanilla, and toast, it’s unctuous and mouth-coating, with remarkable depth of flavor. It sells out rapidly, so don’t wait if you’re buying it as a holiday gift. Or if, like me, you just want to drink it all yourself. 2018 J. HOFSTÄTTER ALTO ADIGE PINOT GRIGIO ($11) One key to Thanksgiving success is finding a white wine that will literally appeal to everyone and also actually has personality. This crisp, perfectly poised Pinot Grigio, with its lemon-peachy fruit, is ideal as either an aperitif, with roast turkey, or just for sipping in your exhausted state after everyone has left. 2015 VOLPAIA COLTASSALA CHIANTI CLASSICO GRAN SELEZIONE ($75) Chianti Classico’s new(ish) Gran Selezione category…

Extra Credit NO OTHER AMERICAN HOLIDAY has rhythms and rituals like the big dance of Thanksgiving. Like me, you’re probably already thinking about the menu, and shopping lists will soon give way to prep plans and table settings. Then the culinary musical chairs begins in kitchens across the country, that seasoned choreography of roasting pans, casseroles, and pies shuttling from oven and stove to buffet. Thanksgiving, without a doubt, is the most extra of all the holiday feasts. And no one is more extra than Angie Mar. As a person, as a restaurateur, and as a chef, the 2017 F&W Best New Chef brings next-level flavor and style to everything she does. For this Thanksgiving issue, we joined Mar and Pat LaFrieda, her butcher and world-class meat purveyor, for two days of…

AFTER 14 YEARS of writing about food and restaurants (including a stint as a critic in my native Australia), I did something completely bonkers: My husband and I opened our own restaurant. It was bonkers because I knew the unrelenting hard work, long hours, razor-thin margins, and inevitable marriage strain that would come with operating a small business in the hospitality industry. But we did it anyway. I don’t profess to have an advantage or to have done things any differently than the folks who have worked their butts off before me. But have I learned anything in transitioning from creating food and dining content to also creating food and dining experiences? Heck yes. Here’s how the former helped inform the latter. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE NARRATIVE Journalism and the restaurant business…

THE YEASTED ROLL’S DENSE, spongy, slightly sweet Japanese cousin is the serious sandwich-maker’s canvas of choice. At Los Angeles hot spot Konbi, milk bread is arguably the best part of the iconic egg salad sandwich, and at Peach Mart, the lovable new New York City convenience store from David Chang’s Momofuku empire, it’s the loaf of choice for the chicken katsu sandwich. Inspired by Hollywood bakery Bub and Grandma’s milk bread, which uses three types of dairy in the loaves they supply to Konbi, the Food & Wine test kitchen created this pull-apart version fit for a Thanks-giving spread. Slather it with cranberry sauce (or, like us, cranberry kosho [recipe p. 66]), dip it in gravy, and save any leftovers for French toast the morning after. Pull-Apart Milk Bread Wreath ACTIVE 30…

VERMICULAR “Steam-roasting pumpkins and fall squash is a healthy option that produces intense natural flavors without using fats.”—CHEF SEAN BROCK BUY IT: Musui-Kamado cast-iron induction cooker ($670; vermicular.us) COTTON CHEESECLOTH “I use cheesecloth to make a little sachet with spices and orange peel to steep in gravy. I also like to use it to tie things up in order to stuff the bird.” —CHEF MARTY SIGGINS, DAILY DRIVER, SAN FRANCISCO BUY IT Unbleached cotton cheesecloth (From $7; pureacresfarm.com) BUTTER ROLLER “A butter roller [think cheese grater meets hamster wheel] distributes melted butter across every square centimeter of your rolls.” —CHEFS PHILIP MOSELEY AND RONNIE EVANS, BLUE OAK BBQ, NEW ORLEANS BUY IT Stainless Steel Butter Wheel ($25; cuisinart.com) SFUMATO RABARBARO “My grandfather started the tradition of enjoying a glass of amaro after Thanksgiving dinner. My go-to is Sfumato Rabarbaro from Aldeno, Italy.” —CHEF…

CHEF TIM GRAHAM spent his youth trailing his parents around flea markets. While they looked for mid-century modern ephemera to sell for their business, Graham would page through stacks of women’s community cookbooks. Even then, he had a sense of wonder about the books. Now, his enchantment is balanced by curatorial responsibility. “These books are an etymology of our modern food pathways,” Graham says. “They are the wheel ruts of the food traditions that we all share today.” Graham has amassed more than 300 books, all produced by women for church groups, community centers, and charities. Most come from different parts of the Midwest, and the collection inspired the comfort food menu of Graham’s now-closed Chicago restaurant, Twain. Here, he shares his favorites. OTTAWA’S FAVORITE RECIPES “The final paragraph reads, ‘The purpose of…