Teaspoon - Delicious Gatherings Recipes to Celebrate Together

Cover photos: Ty Mecham Photography

Book design: Shadow Mountain

Art direction: Richard Erickson

Design: Heather G. Ward

Photography by Ty Mecham

Prop Styling by Veronica Olson (except as noted below)

Pages viii, 97, 157, 207, 227, 243: Food Styling by Lindsay Hargett and Prop Styling by Carrie Oliver and
Charity Olsen

2022 Tara Bench

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, at permissions@shadowmountain.com. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Shadow Mountain Publishing.

Visit us at shadowmountain.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bench, Tara, author.

Title: Delicious gatherings : recipes to celebrate together / Tara Bench.

Description: Salt Lake City : Shadow Mountain, [2022] | Includes index. | Summary: Popular blogger Tara Teaspoon shares her favorite recipes that are perfect for large gatherings, family parties, and holiday festivitiesProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2022009272 | ISBN 9781639930456 (hardback)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, American. | BISAC: COOKING / Entertaining | COOKING / Courses & Dishes / General | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX715 .B46574 2022 | DDC 641.5973dc23/eng/20220404

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022009272

Printed in the United States of America

Jostens, Clarksville, TN

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my family. I love being
in the kitchen with you.

And for my other family
of Tara Teaspoon readers.
Im honored to be in your home.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Delicious Gatherings: A Passion

I have always loved being in the middle of the kitchen action. I was drawn to the hustle and bustle of the kitchen from a young age, and I adored helping my mom, my dad, and my grandmothers cook. My memories are made up of the smells, tastes, and meal moments of childhood.

I am so passionate about the power of food and cooking, and how it can bring people together, allow us to explore our creativity, and nourish our bodies and souls. Cooking is a life skill that can also be enjoyable, not a chore. I want to make cooking fun for everyone, just like it is for me.

This cookbook is meant to inspire you and your family and friends to eat together. The recipes were created to make sharing them easy, so they are easily doubled or cut in half, depending on the size of your gathering. And since connecting over a wonderful meal shouldnt be stressful, in the very first chapter, Ive taken the work off your plate, if you will, and created entire menus for you to follow. Theres no need to piece ideas together to create a cohesive, delicious mealunless you want to, of course.

Use the other recipes in the book to plan family weeknight meals, fun weekend cook-alongs with friends, or Sunday and holiday meals to remember. Each recipe is great as part of a bigger meal or can be made individually when you just want a simple soup or a comforting bowl of pasta.

Whatever you cook, I hope youll enjoy your time in the kitchen and be proud of creating something tasty to share and savor.

Ive included a few of the tips and notes Id share with you if I were visiting you in your kitchen. With this book in your hands, I kind of feel like I am! Thank you for bringing these recipes into your home.

Success Secrets

One of the best ways to ensure success is if you read a recipe through before starting to cook. I like to read the recipe even before I make my grocery list! Taking a few minutes to familiarize yourself with a new-to-you recipe allows you to visualize the actions in each step. It builds confidence even before you start and helps your mind note when youll be adding ingredients, heating the grill, reserving extra pasta water, and things like that.

Mise en place

Mise en place , roughly translated from French, means to have everything in place. I use the term in cooking to note that the ingredients should be out and at hand, the equipment needed is gathered and clean, and the space ready before you start making a recipe. I guarantee you will enjoy cooking more if you put a little time into this preparation.

Weights and measures

In the United States, we dont rely on our kitchen scale very much to weigh ingredients. But Im going to suggest you keep one handy in order to weigh your ingredients to be precisefor example, weighing flour in grams instead of cups. There are many affordable models if youd like to invest in a scale.

In the book, Ive included weights for ingredients when it might be helpful for shopping or to help you be successful in cooking. When you are at the store, how do you know if that block of cheese will be 2 cups of shredded cheese? By giving you pounds or ounces, you will know how much to buy before prepping and cooking.

Weighing ingredients, like flour, while cooking or baking, ensures accuracy. Whether you scoop, spoon, sift, or fluff your flour before you add it to the recipe, it will always be a different weight. Meaning, you may unknowingly be adding a few teaspoons extra flouror up to cupto a recipe!

You can still use a measuring cup for flour, but Ive included weights where it will help if youd rather use a scale instead.

Salted or Unsalted

Butter, how I love thee! And salted butter is divine when spread on a slice of bread. That being said, I always keep unsalted butter around because thats what we cooked with in the professional test kitchens Ive worked in.

There are a few reasons unsalted butter is used for testing recipes. Salt is not only tasty, but it is also a preservative, meaning salted butter can actually stay on store shelves longer. Buying unsalted butter ensures the butter is fresher. You can also purchase unsalted butter in bulk and keep it in the freezer to preserve the freshness at home.

Unsalted butter is also used in recipe testing because it allows the cook more control over how much salt is going into the recipe. I also use unsalted butter in baking because I like to salt my baked goods with carejust enough salt to bring out the flavors but not so much that my buttery frostings are almost savory!

In this book, I have specified unsalted butter only where I think its necessary to have more control over the seasonings, or if Im baking. If its not specified, feel free to use whatever butter you have on hand. You can always season to taste with salt.

For more recipes, tips on halving or doubling recipes, and delicious reasons to gather, visit me at TaraTeaspoon.com

Tools and Tips

I love a good small appliance, kitchen tool, or helpful kitchen gadget. Over the years, I have only kept the ones I use and think are important so my kitchen doesnt become too cluttered.

In my first cookbook, Live Life Deliciously , I shared detailed recommendations for pots and pans, knives, various tools, blenders, food processors, and more. That information is applicable to this cookbook as well.

Ive provided tips throughout this book for the use of kitchen tools, like shortcuts using an Instant Pot, using a mandoline to slice or julienne, or how to line different pans with parchment for baking. Take note, and your cooking experience will be easier and so much more enjoyable.