The holidays need an array of dishes. These 7 recipes to the delicious rescue.
New Year's Eve, post-gathering brunch and a healthy vegetable contrast are all present


The end of the year — and next year's beginning — are awash with opportunities for cooking and feasting. There are brunches and late-night gatherings, cocktail parties and family-or-friend meals. You will need some blowout dishes, like a gobsmacking take on shrimp cocktail. You will also require some underpinning healthful plates, like a mess of west African collard greens. Holiday time and the deep of winter is now.
Gochujang-Butter-Braised Tofu
A garnish of torn seaweed snacks is a welcome touch
The recipe's name sure is a mouthful. The ease of the dish's preparation is a breezy contrast. Minimal chopping; one skillet; enormous flavor. The Korean red pepper paste, gochujang, does the robust heavy-lifting. Onion and soy and fish sauces provide contrast, and a wallop of butter buffs the sharp edges smooth. Comfort eating at its most efficient.
Cornbread
Butter? Honey? Cane syrup? All garnishes welcome.
Put together two great pastry chefs-slash-writers and the results are going to sing. The British one, Nicola Lamb, recently invited the Southern one, Bronwen Wyatt, to write an article and recipe for cornbread on Lamb's Substack newsletter. After much testing and futzing, Wyatt landed on a kind of platonic cornbread: corn-y with a touch of wheat flour and sugar. Deep-dive the article's research, if you like. Or hop straight to the recipe and bask in the praise from your holiday-table guests.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Crispy Hash Browns with Crème Fraîche
Luxury in stick form
During the holiday season, there is essentially no wrong time to serve hash browns. Any kind will do, but a luxurious homemade version brings particular joy to dinner or brunch. Cook them ahead and store them in a freezer. One winter morning you will be thrilled they are there.
Liberian Collard Greens with Smoked Herring
These greens are eager to fix you
All the extravagant cooking of the holiday and winter season warrants tonifying contrast. Thin-sliced collard greens are stewed with onion, bouillon cubes and smoked fish, in a preparation modeled after greens cooked by the author's Liberian grandmother. In about 30 minutes the dish is ready, an encouraging tangle of tasty equilibrium.
Caesar Roasted Broccoli
Romaine has met its green match
Yes, you can really and truly Caesar-ify most any vegetable. That slick, umami-centric dressing composed of egg, garlic and anchovy is a winning mixture on an array of produce. Here, breadcrumbs are laced with the core Caesar elements, then strewn over simple roasted broccoli and finished with a hailstorm of shredded Parm.
Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with Horseradish Sauce
An elegant appetizer for an elegant cocktail party
The classic shrimp cocktail, with its poached crustaceans and zippy cocktail sauce, is a friendly standard. But throw the shrimp in a ripping-hot oven so their sweetness takes on a caramelized roughness, then match that with a spiky mayonnaise and horseradish sauce and, well, welcome to the new shrimp-cocktail frontier.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shakshuka
Breakfast — or brunch — for a crowd that might claps its hands
Lior Lev Sercarz is a master of spices. His shakshuka takes the tomato-and-pepper mold and spins it into a gambol through fields of celery and coriander seeds, ground chipotles and sweet paprika. Poach a few eggs in the heady base, and experience a fresh divulgence about a dish you maybe only thought you understood.
Scott Hocker is an award-winning freelance writer and editor at The Week Digital. He has written food, travel, culture and lifestyle stories for local, national and international publications for more than 20 years. Scott also has more than 15 years of experience creating, implementing and managing content initiatives while working across departments to grow companies. His most recent editorial post was as editor-in-chief of Liquor.com. Previously, he was the editor-in-chief of Tasting Table and a senior editor at San Francisco magazine.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
9 haunted hotels where things definitely go bump in the night
The Week Recommends Don’t fear these spirited spots. Embrace them.
-
The 5 best zombie TV shows of all time
The Week Recommends For undead aficionados, the age of abundance has truly arrived
-
Critics’ choice: Celebrating rare Asian cuisines
Feature The 2025 Restaurant of the Year, a Hmong culinary tribute, and an Uyghur feast
-
Pucker up with these 8 soothing lip balms and treatments
The Week Recommends Don’t pout — these lip balms offer hydration and shine
-
7 bars to visit that celebrate the magic of the classic and the modern
The Week Recommends Where to drink now in the US
-
Enjoy the scenery on these 7 colorful fall road trips
The Week Recommends 'Tis the season for autumn foliage
-
The soups, noodles and cake to make this the most tasty fall yet
The Week Recommends Soothing plates from across the globe