Letter From the Editor: Our 2023 Recipes Issue is Here

When it comes to sourcing recipes, the Local Palate is always trying to strike a balance between achievable and aspirational. To begin with, the chefs who graciously share their recipes with us are true artists, and we admit (and enjoy) the complexity of adapting a recipe designed for a professional kitchen into one designed for a home kitchen. Then, too, we know our readers love a challenge just like we do—trying a new dish, learning a new technique, discovering a new ingredient.

It’s clear in reviewing our archives that we’ve been performing this balancing act since well before I arrived, and it’s been just plain fun discovering and choosing recipes for this year’s issue that are brilliant in either their simplicity or their complexity.

Because it’s never a bad idea to plan what to eat for dinner with a mixed drink in hand, in our fourth annual Recipes issue we’re including cocktails at the beginning—so, depending on the weather, mix up a Fireside Fix or a Tamarind Toddy and start making your grocery list. Or, if you need a little liquid courage to attempt your very first roast duck or brazo gitano with ponche crema sauce, I recommend the Puppy Brother—just be sure to stick to one until the oven is turned off.

We’ve also decided to add some cooking resources to this issue: first and foremost, our recipe resource guide, where we discuss kitchen equipment, ingredient specifics, and how we like to construct a recipe at TLP. Editor-in-chief Erin Byers Murray put together an expert list of cookbook recommendations to dive into when you’ve exhausted this issue—I’ll be ordering Still We Rise to work on my biscuit game. And we’re including a special section on condiments, some of which are paired specifically with recipes in this issue but all of which can be a versatile part of your seasonal table.

Find our Recipes Issue on stands December 5, or, if you’re a subscriber, check out the digital edition until a copy hits your mailbox! Here’s to a tasty end to 2023 and a delicious start to 2024, with love from everyone at the Local Palate.