These Old-School Holiday Recipes Are Shockingly Good Today

November 1980: Mandelbrot

Cookbook author Joan Nathan shared the story behind these buttery, nut-and-dried-fruit-packed Jewish cookies, first published in Food & Wine 45 years ago.  The recipe came from a woman named Ada Baum Lipsitz who was in her 80s when Nathan met her, and had debilitating arthritis. Nathan remembers that her hands would spring back to life when she molded mandelbrot or braided challah. “I learned a lot from her,” Nathan says. “It’s your attitude about living that’s the most important.”

December 1989: Bûche de Noël

Though the cover of the December 1989 issue was the essence of late ’80s glitz and glam — all square plates, Studio 54 lighting, and caviar — Julia Child’s traditional Yule log stole the spotlight in the issue. The frequent F&W contributor wrote at the time that during her first year as an expat in France in 1948, seeing her first Bûche de Noël in a “a swish pastry shop on the Rue du Bac” was a revelation to her. Because of the intricacy, she didn’t try to craft one herself until Episode 78 of her seriesThe French Chef, live on camera. It went off without a hitch, but when she tried to recreate it for Episode 251, things went so poorly and the frosting was so thick, she had to ice a rolled-up copy of the Boston Globe.

“I never did see that show and have no idea how it came over. In spite of my troubles, we got plenty of requests for the recipe when it ran and still get numerous demands when it goes on repeats, which indicates the show mightn’t have been all that bad,” Child wrote. “Here is the recipe — in a slightly updated version. If you don’t have to do it for television, it should go like a breeze and, I can assure you, will eat like a dream.”

And when the F&W Test Kitchen revisited that recipe for the December 2024 / January 2025 issue, developer Gina Hamaday ensured an even smoother result, and delivered a lesson in self-forgiveness.

December 1994: Poblanos Rellenos de Picadillo Dulce

These festive stuffed peppers from legendary chef Zarela Martínez, combine a lightly spiced ground beef filling with smoky poblanos and tomato sauce. Martínez, an educator and historian at heart, offered what she calls “building blocks” in the form of recipes and techniques that empower people to understand what they’re making, where and who it comes from, and how to make it their own.

These poblano peppers, filled with a Picadillo Dulce of lean ground beef seasoned with briny pimiento-stuffed olives and sweet cinnamon, sitting atop a pool of vibrant red-orange caldillo de tomate (a simple, silky tomato sauce), are a true taste of her culinary legacy, and now can become part of yours. Bonus: You can make and freeze them up to three months in advance, and unwrap them like the gift they are on a laid-back holiday afternoon, like we’ve been doing since F&W revisited the recipe in the December 2022 / January 2023 issue.

December 1995: Rack of Pork with Cider-Pepper Glaze

In 1995, writer Ellen Stern documented Patrick Clark’s family Christmas celebration. Clark was garnering tremendous acclaim as the executive chef at Tavern on the Green in New York City, and the previous year, he had become the first Black chef to win a James Beard Award. Clark died at the age of 42 just three years later. To honor his memory, in the December 2023 / January 2024 issue, writer Korsha Wilson collaborated with Clark’s remaining family — including his son, chef Preston Clark, to revisit their Christmas traditions and recipes, including this centerpiece-worthy pork.

January 1999: Longevity Noodles

In Chinese culture, the custom of eating longevity noodles during Chinese New Year and celebrations such as birthdays and anniversaries dates back to the time of the Han dynasty. These noodles are thought to bring luck, prosperity, and, as their name suggests, a long life. For chef and cookbook author Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, who died in 2022 at the age of 85, this simple noodle dish marked all of her life’s special moments, and in her opinion can — and should — be enjoyed year-round. They’re incredibly easy to craft, requiring just 20 minutes of active cooking time.

“The recipe is so simple to make that it’s surprising how delicious it is,” Lo told writer Alexandra Domrongchi in an interview just months before she passed. Chinese egg noodles deliver a satisfying chew, and they’re packed with umami thanks to the combination of soy sauce, sesame oil, and peanut oil. Water chestnuts, fresh snow peas, and sprouts add crunch, and fresh ginger gives the dish a warming kick.

November 2009: Chile Shrimp

Sommelier Rajat Parr’s sweet and spicy shrimp were inspired by Singaporean chile crabs, which he enjoyed many years ago as a culinary school extern in the kitchen at Singapore’s Raffles hotel. “I had no idea I’d keep making [the dish],” said Parr when he revisited the recipe for the December 2022 / January 2023 issue.

“Back in the day, I’d get home at 9:30 or 10 p.m. after service, and I’d make this chile shrimp as a quick dinner.” In his recipe, Parr seared shrimp with aromatics like ginger and lemongrass in a hot wok, then tossed everything in a chile-spiked sauce of ketchup, sherry, lemon juice, soy sauce, and sugar. “You can serve it with rice, flatbread, or crostini, plus it’s easy to adjust the heat level with mild or hot chiles,” he said. It’s perfectly quick, flavorful, and festive in the midst of holiday bustle and you may find yourself making it all year round.

December 2015: Buttermilk Eggnog Pie

Revisiting this recipe in the December 2025 / January 2026 issue, TV host and cookbook author Carla Hall wrote, “Re-creating my grandmother’s Buttermilk Eggnog Pie, I remembered my mother describing its creaminess, and how it wasn’t too sweet, which was why she loved it. I also wanted it to be really approachable —sort of like, ‘How can my sister mess this one up?'”

She continued, “The final recipe, which ran in a feature called ‘A Soulful Southern Christmas’ in December 2015, checked all those boxes. It’s a pantry pie, and it uses ingredients that most cooks, especially biscuit-makers, usually have on hand.”

Moral of the story: Teach your sister to fish, uh, make an heirloom pie filling, and that tradition will live on for generations of holiday revelers to enjoy.