Park Slope Times Readers Share Their Favorite Holiday Recipes

[FREE LETTER] Should we make a Park Slope Times recipe book? (Kidding...sort of...should we?!)

Dec 15, 2024

Whenever we’re invited to a Friendsgiving, potluck, or family get-together, I like to bring a big batch of deviled eggs, and they’re always scarfed down! You have to grab one the minute they’re served or you’ll miss out. I think it’s because they’re a nostalgic comfort food and you usually only have them at social gatherings. There are certain recipes that people just love, and deviled eggs are definitely one of them.

In that spirit, I asked a few Park Slopers to share a favorite holiday recipe — and they delivered! From polenta drizzle cake and latkes to crispy-bottom potatoes and peanut butter blossoms, here are 10 delicious holiday recipes.

Classic (Bubbie’s) Latkes & Veggie Latkes

Biz Herman frying up her mom’s latkes at a party, 2023.

“My mom's (award winning!) latke recipes — both her traditional potato latke recipe, and her non-traditional potato-carrot-parsnip-dill recipe, my personal fave! In 1999, my mom entered our temple's newly-created latke competition with her non-traditional latkes and won! The next year, the temple created two categories - traditional and non-traditional — and she was encouraged to enter into the traditional category, and she won that one, as well! My husband and I now throw an annual latke party featuring these recipes, and friends from across the country have started using the recipes, too — and always make sure to take photos of their latkes to send along to my mom; I love how many people these latkes have reached over the years!”

Biz Herman is a researcher and multimedia journalist living in Park Slope.

Tangelo Polenta Drizzle Cake

“After every holiday feast, it’s not complete without something sweet. I love this Tangelo Polenta Drizzle Cake! It’s light, citrusy, and brightens up any palette. It pairs well with tea or coffee. Beware, you will be picking away at this cake all night, and before you know it, it’s going to be all gone.”

“Also, I made this butternut squash and spinach casserole over Thanksgiving, and it was really good! The sweetness from the butternut squash really comes through after being baked in the oven, and the cheesy spinach layered in between is a nice balance of salty and sweet flavors. It pairs well with all the holiday favorites and even other sides, mashed potatoes? Oh, yes, please!”

Kathleen Fong is a serial hobby collector, currently pole dancing and exploring movement as therapy.

Crispy-Bottom Oven Potatoes

“This is my absolute favorite way to cook potatoes. The bottoms get golden brown and delicious, the inside gets creamy, and they pick up the flavors of the fat, garlic, and herbs they're cooked in (smoky bacon fat works best, in my opinion). Make more than you think you'll need, because your guests will be going back for more!”

Dan Myers is the founder of Here's Park Slope (formerly a neighborhood blog, now an Instagram) and a neighborhood resident since 2008.

Hattie's Sugar Cookies

“This recipe shows my grandmother's ingenuity in baking during World War II, when butter and white sugar were rationed. The use of "lard" might be off-putting to contemporary readers, but it was a staple of her diet (and she lived to be 100 years old!). I found the recipe while going through the papers of my mother and father, both of whom died this year.”

Eileen Kelly is an author whose recently published novel, Small Wonder, draws on her years of experience teaching preschool in Brooklyn.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

“I love Peanut Butter Blossom cookies! I first had them about a decade ago when my awesome friends Drew and Jamie made them for me when I was sick, and they've been part of my holidays ever since. They actually have a fun underdog history: Originally called "Black-eyed Susans," Peanut Butter Blossoms were created by Freda Strasel Smith of Gibsonburg, Ohio for the 1957 Pillsbury Bakeoff. The cookies placed third in the Bakeoff, but have become one of the top 10 Bakeoff recipes of all time! I look forward to them every year.”

Johnny Thornton is an artist, curator, and art director that lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Thornton is the owner/head curator of Established Gallery and the Executive Director of Arts Gowanus.

Corn Pudding

“You need one tub of sour cream. Two cans of creamed corn. Two cans of regular ass corn. Two boxes of that blue jiffy corn bread mix. And butter. That's it. No eggs. Only a woeful idiot would add eggs to this. Melt the butter and put it in the bottom of an aluminum pan or pyrex pan or something. Dump all the other ingredients in the pan and slop it around until it's all mixed together. Bake at 350 for about an hour, until the top is brown. Slop that out to all your family and friends and take their compliments.”

Grayson Tyler Johnson is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and editor specializing in documentary and narrative films.

Chocolate-Cornflake Cookies (Marens-Kornflexkökur)

“I love baking Christmas cookies to share every year with family in Brooklyn and at home in Vermont, a mix of classics (peanut butter blossoms, Zimtsterne, shortbread) and a few 'wild cards.' I originally discovered these crunchy meringues via Saveur while looking for a way to use leftover egg whites, and they are a great addition — a bit unusual, easy to make gluten-free, and quite sweet, so just 1 or 2 will satisfy.”

Emmeline Cardozo is a sustainability consultant and has been a resident of Brooklyn since 2010.

Deviled Eggs

As for my deviled eggs, I just started with a basic recipe and experimented with different ingredients over the years until I figured out what I like the best (yellow mustard over Dijon). My favorite way to make them is with dill relish, and sometimes I’ll make half the batch with dill and the other half with sweet relish. I think the trick is to taste-test the yolk mixture as you go.

Thanks to everyone who shared their recipes! Now I’d love to know: What’s your go-to holiday recipe? Please tell us in the comments below.

Thanks for reading Park Slope Times! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Just for fun, a tray of holiday treats for this week’s puzzle. Gingerbread! Candy canes! Chocolate coins!

The puzzle is 60 pieces, but you can change it by clicking on the box of nine dots on the left of the bar, selecting the number of puzzle pieces you want, and clicking OK. Also, you can view the original image by clicking the photo icon on the top bar, and you can make your workspace full screen by clicking at the top right.

DO THE PUZZLE!

Camp Friendship’s Toy Drive is collecting donations until December 20th: Camp Friendship is accepting new, unwrapped gifts for kids up to 18-years-old. There are several drop off locations in Park Slope, including Old Stone House, Sandy Jacks, Little Things Toy Store, Slope Vintage, both YMCAs, and more.
Now in its 30th year, Brooklyn Arts Exchange will mentor the next generation of Park Slope comedians, dancers, actors, and performance artists: For artists ages 8-18, the YouthWorks program offers an opportunity to rehearse, gain performance skills, and develop their original works with professionals at Brooklyn Arts Exchange for free.
LORE earns Michelin’s Bib Gourmand designation: The 7th Ave restaurant was recently recognized by Michelin as a Bib Gourmand eatery, which is “not quite a star, but…a just-as-esteemed rating that recognizes friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.”

12/15 Celebrate Sixteen Mill’s First Anniversary with Free Mimosas & a Raffle, 9AM-4PM 📍Sixteen Mill

12/15 Watercolor Painted Holiday Cards, 12PM-1PM 📍Grounded Cafe

12/15 Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra: Mendelssohn, Elgar, and Berko, 2PM-4PM 📍Brooklyn Museum

12/15 BKCM Holiday Extravaganza! 3PM-5PM 📍Brooklyn Conservatory of Music

12/15 Concerts on the Slope: Even in the Oddest Times, 3PM-4:15PM 📍St. John's Episcopal Church

12/15 Me, Myself and Eye: Rosi Hertlein, 4:40PM-5:40PM 📍440 Gallery

12/15 Brooklyn Horticulture’s Holiday Plant Swap, 6PM-8PM 📍Brooklyn Horticulture

12/15 Boba Gays: Asian Holi-GAY Spectacular 3, 6:30PM 📍The Bell House

12/15 Brooklyn Brandenburgers 2024 Family Holiday Concert, 7PM 📍Old Stone House

12/16 Zine Club, 6:30PM 📍Interference Archive

12/16 Jerrod Carmichael On Stage In Brooklyn, 10:15PM 📍The Bell House

12/17 Drawn Together, 7PM-9PM 📍Interference Archive

12/17 Samantha Bee Presents: Wits End With H Jon Benjamin + John Roberts, 7:30PM-10PM 📍Littlefield

12/18 Pet Loss Grief Group Hosted by Maria Sandomenico, 6PM 📍Prospect Bar & Grill

12/18 The New York Groove Presents: The No Office Holiday Party, 7:30PM 📍Littlefield

Thank you, as always, for being here! And welcome to all the new subscribers who signed up at the PS9 Artisan Holiday Market yesterday — it was really fun meeting everyone! If you’re looking for other local holiday markets, there’s a list at the end of last week’s issue. Hope you have a great rest of your weekend!

Kelley xo

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