In the kitchen: Vegetables and art

Newsletter: In the kitchen: Vegetables and art

Dec. 14, 2016 12 AM PT

For some of us, cooking and baking are about more than merely putting a plate of food on the table. Especially around the holidays, food is often about presentation and ceremony. This is the time of year when we take those few extra steps to perfect the holiday meal before the family Instagrams it, or we spend extra time decorating the sugar cookies just so. Whether you’re planning a formal holiday meal or simply looking for a quiet weekend project, we have a few ideas for you.

— Noelle Carter

VEGETABLES AS ART

So why would you spend 10 hours making a plate of vegetables? Food editor Amy Scattergood caught up with French chef Tony Esnault to talk about his legumes de saison, a staple on the menu at his downtown Los Angeles restaurant, Spring, since it opened last year, and a dish that Esnault changes with the seasons. More than a dozen vegetables are individually cooked before Esnault carefully arranges them as a still life of sorts on a plate turned canvas. Try the whole recipe at home, or pull from the various components to create your own composition.

Chef Tony Esnault uses seasonal vegetables from the farmers market to prepare his legumes de saison at Spring.

WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THE CAULIFLOWER IN SEASON

Though you can generally find white cauliflower in markets throughout the year, the vegetable is in season now, ranging in colors from pale orange and green to bright violet. Get creative, adding the raw or blanched florets to salads for color and crunch, or simmer slowly to use in soups or stews. You can even grill or roast thick wedges to serve as “steaks,” served with a simple sauce. We share some of our favorite recipes.

Orange, purple, green and white cauliflower.

VIDEO: LEARN HOW TO MAKE A TURDUCKEN

A chicken stuffed inside of a duck stuffed inside of a turkey. Meet the turducken. Learn how to make this glorious monster of a roast for your holiday spread.

Noelle Carter, the Los Angeles Times’ Test Kitchen director, goes through the procedure on how to prepare the turducken

“THE ARTISTS’ AND WRITERS’ COOKBOOK”

If you’ve ever wondered how some of your favorite artists and writers like to spend time in the kitchen, check out “The Artists’ and Writers’ Cookbook: A Collection of Stories With Recipes.” Compiled by editor Natalie Eve Garrett, this is a collection of cross-genre literary recipes from more than 70 of today’s most celebrated writers and artists, including Joyce Carol Oates, Marina Abramović, L.A.’s own Ed Ruscha and Neil Gaiman, who shares his recipe for Coraline’s cheese omelette.

GET READY FOR OUR 2016 HOLIDAY COOKIE BAKE-OFF RECIPES

We invited finalists from our sixth L.A. Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off to the Test Kitchen on Monday to celebrate their recipes and the stories and memories behind them. Look for recipes for holiday kids cookies, salted caramel snickerdoodles, Mexican chocolate Christmas cookies, Linzer cookies and rose, cardamom and pistachio snowballs in print in this week’s Saturday section, as well as online on our Food site Friday.