Recipes Blog

Andrea’s Overnight Turkey Recipe

By Andrea Watman

The very best part of Thanksgiving is sitting down at a table crowded with my family and friends - the worst part is having to cook a big meal in my apartment size oven. 

There were many years that I would get up at 6 in the morning to start the turkey – and I would be exhausted by the time we sat to dinner. I began to dread the holiday.

I am a night person and had to come up with a solution. One year my father, Nathan, recommended that I stay up all night and cook. I knew he was joking – but why not cook and sleep at the same time!

So be brave and try my overnight turkey – you will awake to a house that smells divine, an oven that is perfectly warm and ready to be filled with stuffing, yams and pies.

This recipe works best with a large bird.  I prefer a turkey that is 20 – 22 Lbs. You will also need an instant read thermometer so that you can be totally convinced that the turkey is fully cooked.  I start at 11:00 pm – so that by midnight the kitchen is cleaned and the turkey is cooking all by itself. When I awake I have a fully cooked turkey and empty oven.  

Since this turkey is going to be cooked slowly at a fairly low temperature, do not stuff the turkey cavity.  Cook your stuffing separately. 

Challah Slow Cooker Stuffing

By Tori Avey

When Thanksgiving rolls around, we expect certain foods to be on the buffet. Like stuffing. Or dressing. Dressing, or stuffing? A stuffing by any other name…

Some people say that it should be called dressing unless it’s cooked inside the bird. But in our family, it’s always been called stuffing, so that’s what I call it. I don’t actually stuff my turkey, though. I follow the Alton Brown school of thought; he stuffs the turkey with aromatics, because he feels that stuffing draws moisture out of the bird (making the meat drier). But everybody expects a little stuffing with their Thanksgiving meal, whether you’re stuffing a turkey or not, so I like to prepare a batch in the slow cooker. This frees up oven space and makes the holiday prep just a little bit less manic. Knowing that the stuffing is slowly cooking, filling the air with delicious herby aroma, gives me one less thing to worry about. 

I make my Thanksgiving stuffing with the ultimate Jewish bread-- challah! When cubed and toasted, this eggy bread becomes the perfect sponge for savory chicken broth and herbs. I make my stuffing dairy free; I found that it doesn’t need butter or margarine (and those unnecessary calories) to taste great. It has plenty of flavor and mouth-watering aroma from fresh herbs, a good quality chicken broth, and sautéed vegetables. Try making it with challah from Zabar’s bakery—you won’t be disappointed!

Orange Cookies

by Lidia Bastianich of Lidia’s Italy
From One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes
by Tracey Zabar

Image © Ellen Silverman

It's starting to get oh-so-cold outside. Time to bake! Lidia Bastianich's orange treats have become staples in the Zabar household; they are also a perfect gift. These fragrant, citrusy cookies with a sweet glaze hit the spot at the end of a meal. Chef Bastianich writes, “These traditional Italian cookies are as easy as it gets, and everybody loves them. The citrus flavoring makes them particularly inviting. Most likely, you have had them at Italian family celebrations like weddings, confirmations, and baptisms. Not too sweet, these cookies keep for a week or two in a cookie container." - Tracey Zabar