Each year as the holiday season rolls around, those lucky few who are celebrating with their families load up their bathroom cupboards with a full supply of alcohol and at least one phone charger. For those of us who take the less drama-filled route, a simple Friendsgiving suffices—where the potluck provides are plenty and the alcohol intake isn’t discreet.
Amidst your food-savvy friends’ gluten-free stuffing and pumpkin pie cheesecake dips, how is one’s dish supposed to stand apart in a meal of heavy-hitters and overachievers? OC has the answer, and in order to make sure you get the most of your Friendsgiving contribution, we’ve asked some of our favorite chefs at our preferred restaurants to share their personal Friendsgiving recipes—including items that might not even be on the menu.
First up, Roberta’s head baker Nina Subhas shares the secrets behind her preferred Friendsgiving recipe of choice: the Poached Pear Tart. This is one dessert party guests will not be able to resist chowing down on (and Instagramming).
OAK LAOKWANSATHITAYA: What makes this dish one of your favorites during the holiday season?
NINA SUBHAS: I love cooking with wine during the holidays, because you have to pour a little in the pot, pour a little in your mouth, and repeat. I also really love the smell of mulled wine, and when I poach the pears it fills my whole apartment with that amazing, fall smell. It is also really rich and toes the line between sweet and savory in a way that tastes really luxurious and celebratory to me.
Why do you personally feel that this dish kills the competition when it comes to Friendsgiving?
I think this tart totally kills Friendsgiving because not only is it really rich and festive tasting, but the deep red of the poached pears arranged on the frangipane contrasted with a dusting of confectioners sugar is super Instagram-ready.
Roberta’s Poached Pear Tart
Ingredients
Poached Pears
1 bottle red wine
500 g sugar
1 tsp each whole cloves, cardamom pods, allspice berries
2 tsp pink peppercorns
2 each cinnamon sticks
1 ea vanilla bean, scraped - is it one vanilla bean or one stick of vanilla bean scraped?
50 g lemon juice
4-5 pears, peeled, halved, cored
Step 1. Toast spices till fragrant. Bring the wine and sugar to a boil then turn off the heat. Add the spices and cover to steep for 10 minutes.
Step 2. Strain out the spices and stir in lemon juice. Bring the liquid back up to a simmer and add the pears round side down.
Step 3. Poach until almost, but not quite tender, then cool in the liquid.
Frangipane Ingredients
200 g almond flour
200 g butter
200 g sugar
5 g salt
200 g eggs
Step 1. Cream the almond flour, butter, sugar, and salt till fluffy. - what do you mean by creaming almond flour? Isnt it supposed to be mixed/ stirred?
Step 2. Add the eggs slowly, scraping down the bowl as you go.
Goat Butter Pie Dough Ingredients
156 g all purpose flour
5 g salt
113 g goat butter, cubed, cold (or regular butter if you like)
63 g water, cold
6 g white vinegar
Step 1. Combine the dry ingredients. Stir in water and white vinegar until it just comes together.
Step 2. Add the cubes of cold butter and stir until evenly distributed. You should still have big
Amidst your food-savvy friends’ gluten-free stuffing and pumpkin pie cheesecake dips, how is one’s dish supposed to stand apart in a meal of heavy-hitters and overachievers? OC has the answer, and in order to make sure you get the most of your Friendsgiving contribution, we’ve asked some of our favorite chefs at our preferred restaurants to share their personal Friendsgiving recipes—including items that might not even be on the menu.
First up, Roberta’s head baker Nina Subhas shares the secrets behind her preferred Friendsgiving recipe of choice: the Poached Pear Tart. This is one dessert party guests will not be able to resist chowing down on (and Instagramming).
OAK LAOKWANSATHITAYA: What makes this dish one of your favorites during the holiday season?
NINA SUBHAS: I love cooking with wine during the holidays, because you have to pour a little in the pot, pour a little in your mouth, and repeat. I also really love the smell of mulled wine, and when I poach the pears it fills my whole apartment with that amazing, fall smell. It is also really rich and toes the line between sweet and savory in a way that tastes really luxurious and celebratory to me.
Why do you personally feel that this dish kills the competition when it comes to Friendsgiving?
I think this tart totally kills Friendsgiving because not only is it really rich and festive tasting, but the deep red of the poached pears arranged on the frangipane contrasted with a dusting of confectioners sugar is super Instagram-ready.
Roberta’s Poached Pear Tart
Ingredients
Poached Pears
1 bottle red wine
500 g sugar
1 tsp each whole cloves, cardamom pods, allspice berries
2 tsp pink peppercorns
2 each cinnamon sticks
1 ea vanilla bean, scraped - is it one vanilla bean or one stick of vanilla bean scraped?
50 g lemon juice
4-5 pears, peeled, halved, cored
Step 1. Toast spices till fragrant. Bring the wine and sugar to a boil then turn off the heat. Add the spices and cover to steep for 10 minutes.
Step 2. Strain out the spices and stir in lemon juice. Bring the liquid back up to a simmer and add the pears round side down.
Step 3. Poach until almost, but not quite tender, then cool in the liquid.
Frangipane Ingredients
200 g almond flour
200 g butter
200 g sugar
5 g salt
200 g eggs
Step 1. Cream the almond flour, butter, sugar, and salt till fluffy. - what do you mean by creaming almond flour? Isnt it supposed to be mixed/ stirred?
Step 2. Add the eggs slowly, scraping down the bowl as you go.
Goat Butter Pie Dough Ingredients
156 g all purpose flour
5 g salt
113 g goat butter, cubed, cold (or regular butter if you like)
63 g water, cold
6 g white vinegar
Step 1. Combine the dry ingredients. Stir in water and white vinegar until it just comes together.
Step 2. Add the cubes of cold butter and stir until evenly distributed. You should still have big
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