Simple Art of Cooking

The Greatest Gift: Cooking for Friends and Family

by Silvia Lehrer

Cooking for others, whether family or friends, is a gift of giving, and there's no more appropriate time of the year than the winter holidays to give the gift of food. It's a time of culinary treats and warm hospitality for or at a cocktail party, an informal open house or a family holiday dinner.

Nuts and olives seem to be the easiest nibbles to set out when company comes; this year these tasty tidbits will make choice and useful gifts from the kitchen. For those of you who love to bake, I stumbled across a sweet potato bread in my recipe cache. With an overload of local yams from before one of my last farm stands closed, I cooked a bunch for dinner one night, then baked a simple tea bread with the leftover, puréed yams. This tea bread, or simple cake, is made light with baking powder and typically not too sweet. Bake the recipe in mini loaf pans for another treat from the kitchen.

And remember, the one thing that everyone who has everything doesn't have is something homemade from you!

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, shiny-side down.

1. Mix curry, cayenne, garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. In a saucepan, melt butter with honey and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt over medium heat. Remove from heat and add pecan halves; stir to coat with a rubber spatula. Add spice mixture and toss to coat the pecans evenly.

2. Spread pecans one layer deep on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until dry and toasty, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. If any pieces stick together, separate them. Prepare up to two weeks ahead and store in a clean, wax paper-lined cookie tin at room temperature.

1. Drain the olives if in a container or jar with liquid intact. Bring a saucepan of water to the edge of a boil, adjust heat to a brisk simmer and put in the olives. Blanche olives for one minute and drain; pat dry with paper towels.

2. Place the olives and remaining ingredients in a two-cup jar with a tight lid. Be sure the oil covers the olives completely. Cover jar and marinate for one week or up to one month.

SWEET POTATO BREAD

I substituted yams for the sweet potatoes simply because I had lots of them. Whichever you use this homey tea bread is made light with baking powder rather than yeast and is typically not too sweet.

Makes 8-10 servings

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand-up mixer, whip butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add oil and beaten eggs, stirring to incorporate, about two minutes. Add puréed potatoes and stir until mixture is thoroughly incorporated.

2. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, and stir into the batter. Add nuts and stir to mix.

3. Butter a loaf pan, then dust with unflavored breadcrumbs or flour. With a rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for one hour or until a cake tester or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. When bread is done, transfer it to a rack to cool. Allow it to sit for 15-20 minutes before removing from the pan. Bread is easier to slice after it is completely cooled. Store in a covered cake stand.

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