Baton Rouge chefs cook nonstop, especially during the holidays, to create delectable dishes for their Capital City restaurants. But our beloved local chefs craft culinary masterpieces at home for their families, too. 225 Dine talked to some local chefs to find out their favorite dishes to make at home during Christmastime.
Elton Hyndman of Nino’s
While Elton Hyndman spends most of the year perfecting hearty Italian dishes with local ingredients, he spends his holidays a little differently. The Nino’s Italian executive chef hosts what he calls a “misfit Christmas.”
Each year, Hyndman and his wife invite a variety of people to dinner on Christmas Day. The extravaganza includes anyone who doesn’t have family to see for the holidays.
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“Anyone and everyone is welcome, really,” Hyndman says. “We have some neighbors who come over, and one of my employees this year is a student from California, so he’s not going home until after Christmas.”
The feast is as atypical as the setting. Instead of a honey-glazed ham, pecan pie and other traditional holiday cuisine, Hyndman and his guests spend the day making traditional New Mexican tamales and posole, a hominy stew with red chili and pork. For dessert, they sip on spicy hot chocolate, a New Mexican spin on the beverage with cayenne, cinnamon and chili powder.
Get the recipe for Hyndman’s posole here.
Maureen Joyce of MJ’s Cafe
MJ’s Cafe is known for healthy, hearty vegan and vegetarian options and soul-warming seasonal soups. Owner Maureen Joyce brings her skills to the family table with a spinach and roasted mushroom lasagna and white bean soup with parmesan and rosemary.
But first, Joyce and her family enjoy a homemade Limoncello crafted with local Meyer lemons and vodka. Combined with a little simple syrup and Champagne, Joyce says it’s the perfect drink to toast to the holiday season.
MJ’s sources locally whenever possible, and Joyce says she likes to do the same at home. This year, she and her family have enjoyed a festive salad with local satsumas with pomegranate seeds, feta cheese and pine nuts.
For dessert, Joyce says the holidays aren’t complete until her family enjoys triple chocolate brownies with chocolate ganache icing. But her new family favorite is cranberry upside down cake.
Get the recipe for Joyce’s upside down cake here.
Willie Wallis of Mason’s Grill
Mason’s Grill chef Willie Wallis, who recently competed in the Thomas Breakfast Battle, hosts a massive potluck every year. Wallis typically cooks the ham, cornbread dressing and rice dressing, but his family requests one special thing from him every Christmas—a pineapple upside down cake.
“I make that darn cake every Christmas,” he says. “I’m not really sure why, but everyone loves it at Christmastime.”
Wallis says his family’s holiday dinner consists of a larger-than-life spread.
“There’s not even room for everything on the table,” he says with a laugh. “There’s everything you can think of … ham, turkey, stuffed peppers. We do some things that most people don’t do for Christmas, like a big pot of gumbo, a huge beef roast, red beans and rice.”
Wallis says his favorite things to bring to the Cajun-inspired Christmas are mini sweet potato and pecan pies (made from scratch, of course).
Kelley McCann of Galatoire’s Bistro
Banana bread pudding with a caramel liqueur is one of the most requested items at Galatoire’s Bistro, and Chef Kelley McCann says the requests don’t stop when he’s off work for the holidays.
“For me, the dessert request is always bread pudding,” he says. “And after 10 years at Galatoire’s, I’ve got it down pretty good.”
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McCann admits he’s pretty cooked-out by the time Christmas rolls around, but that he still enjoys making the side dishes.
“There’s only so much you can do with a turkey. You can fry it, bake it, smoke it,” he says. “Sides are where you can get more creative.”
His favorite—and a holiday classic—is green bean casserole. But instead of the concoction of canned green beans, Campbell’s soup and a dried onion topping that many people are familiar with, McCann uses fresh green beans, a stock made from scratch and fries his own onions to top the casserole.