Back of the House on Xmas

Adam Seger of Nacional 27 (Photo: Brenden Lekan Photography)


Restaurant Intelligence Agency's new Back of the House feature highlights holiday memories from local food and beverage stars:

What will be on your holiday dinner table this year?

Jill Barron (executive chef, MANA food bar): Oysters and caviar for Christmas Eve.

Tim Dahl (pastry chef, Blackbird): I grew up with kjottboller and lefse. This year it'll be lasagna and seafood soup.

Dirk Flanigan (executive chef, The Gage): Turkey with garlic and basil under the skin; crown of oyster and foie gras stuffing, with duck confit; the now famous Brie, bacon and Brussels sprouts; vanilla sweet potatoes with Spanish chorizo; cavatelli with a pot of my wife's homemade sauce.

Josh Kaplan (general manager/sommelier, mk): Traditional fare. My family does the cooking, not me. Although, every year my favorite item is the caramelized onion tart from Foodstuffs.

Carrie Nahabedian (executive chef, NAHA): For Christmas, we always do prime rib, whole-roasted with great rich side dishes: compote of pearl onions with bacon and cognac, celery root dauphinoise, roasted squash with hickory nuts. And all of my aunts' favorite cookies: cherry wonders, cream cheese chocolate chip cookies, toffee squares, nut cups, buckeye balls, cherry jewels.

Adam Seger (manager, beverage director, Nacional 27): A deep-fried turkey, a pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin from the Green City Market with a real lard crust and a two-year aged black-walnut-fed Newsome's country ham from Kentucky.

Erick Williams (executive chef, mk): Turkey dressing (as opposed to stuffing) -- a traditional family recipe that my mother makes using cornbread instead of regular bread. Giblet gravy, braised mustard and turnip greens, beef roast, turkey, tomato-stewed green beans, chitterlings, sweet potato pie, bread pudding, pecan tart.

Shelley Young (chef/owner, The Chopping Block): Traditional for sure. Mom cooks Christmas.