This year, our holiday table has a new centerpiece: the food. Nothing guarantees endless hours of buzzing conversation, story swapping and reminiscing with the people you love like a tasty spread – from start to finish. We’ve got the must-have recipes, plus the tips and tricks that will keep mouth-watering flavors and hardy bites flowing all night long.

Cheers to a delicious holiday!

If our family and friends are our whole world, then food is the sun. (And we’ll call drinks that sun’s gravitational pull.) Specifically, think of the sun as delectable, flavorful food that has love and care baked in from start to finish.

But to truly deliver those memorable flavors, we have to start with memorable ingredients, says Danny Childs, author of “Slow Drinks.” With each of his recipes, Childs follows the core principles of the slow foods movement – good, clean and fair – to create dishes and drinks that are more than just an item on your holiday menu. 

“In incorporating and sourcing your ingredients, it should be good for you and the planet,” he says. “And you want your environment, as well as the way the ingredients were grown, harvested, prepared and processed, to be clean. You also want to support a farm or retail chain where the people who harvest their food are compensating their workers well and the consumers are paying a fair price.” 

It might sound like a lot to take on, especially with gifts to buy and decorations to dust off, but when your hometown is nestled in South Jersey, it couldn’t be easier. And Childs’ first piece of advice is to start with your local farmer. 

“Ask them how they cook, what they do with these ingredients,” he says. “This season is about hardy ingredients, root vegetables, grains and meat. It’s not that big of a stretch to buy your Brussel sprouts or potatoes from a farmer as opposed to buying them from the grocery store. They’re gonna be better when they’re harvested at your local farm. They’re not made to be shipped across the country – or the world in some cases. The flavor remains intact because they’re allowed to ripen in their own way.” 

As you choose the ingredients, flavors and dishes you want to highlight, keep in mind the moments you’ll be creating throughout the meal (or party), says Childs. 

For example, when it comes to choosing drinks for the night – Childs’ specialty – do you want to have something that pairs with food? In that case, one of his go-to’s is mixing a seasonal shrub with a spirit of your choice or champagne. Before you make a face, it’s not a shrub like the plant. It’s a vinegar shrub, which is equal parts vinegar, sugar and a fruit or some kind of vegetable. And it’s a crowd-pleaser. This season, Childs highly recommends featuring apples or cranberries in your shrub. 

If you want something your guests can gather around and drink with hors d’oeuvres, he’s a fan of preparing a punch that people can serve themselves. (That way, you won’t be distracted serving drinks while cooking.)  

Childs also reminds at-home chefs that drinks don’t always have to be alcoholic. You can easily mix that vinegar shrub with club soda or make a non-alcoholic punch that people can add a spirit or champagne to as they see fit. 

“And when in doubt, use bubbles with everything,” he says. “Champagne or club soda.” 

But the moral of the story, adds Childs, is that there’s no such thing as a perfect meal. “When I started as a cook, it was really intimidating. I just wanted to do everything perfect, but there is no right way. Food is subjective, and the goal is to make it delicious.” 

So this season, start small. Pick one ingredient, one dish or one drink and source it locally. And when everyone’s raving about that fresh flavor, we’ll be happy to accept thanks in the form of a shrub. 

Not the plant.

Garden to Table

Our gardens are still growing, so here are some ways to feature those fresh harvests on your table, courtesy of SJ Mag’s resident gardener, Toni Farmer.

Sage, thyme and rosemary
• Bundle the spices together with garlic and place inside your turkey while cooking
• Use to garnish your drinks
• Make compound butter to spread on your turkey before cooking or to serve with bread

Spinach & Arugula
• Add a fresh base to your salad

Toni Farmer’s Cozy Tomato Soup

Your Holiday Soundtrack to keep gen z at the table

Dancing Queen
ABBA 

JOLENE 
Beyoncé

A Bar Song (Tipsy)
Shaboozey 

Homesick 
Noah Kahan

Go Your Own Way
Fleetwood Mac 

Close to You 
Gracie Abrams 

Please Please Please
Sabrina Carpenter

Young Dumb & Broke 
Khalid

Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
Shania Twain 

Good Luck, Babe!
Chappell Roan

Dancing in the Dark
Bruce Springsteen 

Mr. Rager
Kid Cudi

Too Well 
Reneé Rapp

As fresh as it gets

When it comes to getting the freshest ingredients, a South Jersey farmers market is hard to beat. But you can get even fresher with foraging – going out into the wild and harvesting ingredients. And if you’re thinking, “There’s NO WAY I can forage my ingredients, that’s a little too wild for me,” we hear you, but we respectfully disagree. 

While it’s a little late to start foraging for this year’s holiday dinner, it’s not too early to start planning for next year’s. So we enlisted the help of Merchantville’s Park Place owner, Phil Manganaro, who has been foraging for over a decade and uses the practice to supply his restaurant with the freshest ingredients all year long.

Check out his tips for the beginner forager.

Join a group
Foraging doesn’t have to be difficult, but it can be dangerous, says Manganaro. He suggests forgoing the foraging books and instead start out with a wild food group – you can find one near you online. “With a group, you’re actually with somebody, seeing it in person. You can feel it, you can smell it, you can taste it, and be safe with it that way.” 

Start at the park
You don’t have to venture deep into the expansive Pine Barrens to find your next addition to the holiday table – that’s Manganaro’s job. You can start at your local park. Invasive and edible plants love the edges of your local soccer fields, says Manganaro. It’s a great spot to find berries. 

It’s a marathon, not a sprint
No one becomes an expert forager overnight. It’s going to take time, and that’s ok. But don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re learning, even if it feels slow at times. “Sometimes you think, ‘I didn’t learn enough this year,’ but you learned one to three things this year,” says Manganaro. “And if you learn one to three things next year, then you have six things you learned. And then it goes from six to 12.”

Chocolate Pear Cake with Ganache

(For 12 Servings)

Preparation time: 30 min
Resting time: 12 h
Baking time: 30 min
Cooling time: 1 h
Cooking time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 15 h 30 min
Difficulty: medium

Ingredients:

For the ganache
2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate; finely chopped

For garnishing
8-10 small pears; peeled with stems left intact
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup roasted salted hazelnuts; roughly chopped
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate; shaved

For the cake
2 tablespoons butter; melted
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 2/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan add cream and over medium heat bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add chocolate, cover, and do not stir. Set aside for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes remove cover and gently whisk until completely melted and smooth. Keep chocolate covered and refrigerated overnight.
2. Meanwhile, carefully remove the core of each pear with a sharp paring knife, cutting from the bottom.
3. In a large pot add sugar, white wine, cinnamon sticks, and pears and stir together. Bring liquid to a simmer over medium heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, turning the pears occasionally. After 10 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool. Keep covered and refrigerated, also overnight.
4. When ready to bake cake, preheat oven to 350°F. Smoothly line a tall 10″ springform pan with parchment paper brushed with melted butter and set aside.
5. In a medium mixing bowl add eggs and 5 tablespoons hot water. Whisk for about 5 minutes or until eggs are light and foamy. Add sugar and vanilla and continue to stir until sugar is dissolved.
6. In a another medium mixing bowl sift together flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.
7. Carefully fold dry mixture into egg mixture, do not stir, fold until there are no longer streaks. Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Carefully divide horizontally into 4 – 6 layers.
9. Remove ganache from refrigerator and briefly whip using a hand mixer.
10. Remove pears from refrigerator and drain well.
11. Place one cake layer on a cake plate and begin to spread with ganache. Continue spreading and adding layers of cake. Top cake with hazelnuts, chocolate shavings, and well-drained pears on top. Chill until ready to serve.

Cedar Rose Winery owner, Dustin Tarpine, gives us recommendations for pairing our favorite holiday dishes with some delicious wines.   

Brie – Champagne
Choose something on the dryer side

Turkey, vegetables and stuffing – Chardonnay
Something medium-bodied, crisp with more weight – goes great with gravy

Sweet Potato Casserole – Riesling
Something not too sweet

Pumpkin Pie – Mulled or Spiced Wine 

Salad – Orange Wine
Pick something dry, but still tart 

Honey Glazed Ham – Pinot Noir
Stick to the lighter red 

Rack of Lamb – Cabernet Franc
Will match the earthiness of the lamb