Cozy Cuisine 

Each of us has our own cherished yuletide menu. For example, are you a ham family—or turkey? Or tofurky? Maybe a standing rib roast or beef Wellington are your pièces de résistance? Or, perhaps you mark the occasion with the Feast of the Seven Fishes? Others will proudly serve oysters Rockefeller or even lutefisk. Those who don't celebrate Christmas might tell you that Chinese food is a favorite Dec. 25 meal.

As such, there are few culinary absolutes when celebrating December holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and winter solstice. You create your own traditions.

Devour Utah food writers Aimee L. Cook and Carolyn Campbell checked in with local chefs about their holiday traditions as well as their favorite seasonal dishes. From a breakfast casserole to succulent sides and a festive wassail, the dishes are all about warmth and comfort—totally apropos of a season that surely will bring some of the white stuff in time for the holidays. At least, we can hope!

In this hectic month, stress levels are at all-time high: Buy this or that. Hang the lights. Hunt for a Christmas tree. Score something sparkly to wear at the company party. Satisfy that hard-to-buy-for person. Host family gatherings at home.

Whether entertaining others or just curling up at home, it's nice to have easy dining ideas up your sleeve, and most of the recipes that follow are decidedly simple to make. They can impress a crowd—or just yourself. Go ahead and give yourself the gift of delectable comfort food.
—Jerre Wroble

• Courtesy Photo
• Executive chef Tamara Stanger is the culinary artist at The Lakehouse at Deer Creek

'Tis the Season for Strata
Tamara Stanger, the culinary artist behind the food at The Lakehouse at Deer Creek, conveys her passion for history as a way to incorporate native ingredients into her unique dishes she refers to as "Utah heritage cuisine." For the holidays, you'll find new cocktails such as mulled wine, homemade eggnog and hot toddies. Mincemeat pie is a labor of love for Chef Tamara, and the traditional Utah favorite, funeral potatoes, will make an appearance on the menu.

At home, Christmas morning boasts a food tradition that Stanger started 15 years ago. "I have kids, and on Christmas morning, they want to get right to it," Stanger says. "They don't want to sit and wait for breakfast, so when you make this strata, you just pop it in the oven (for 45 minutes). Then everyone has breakfast right away, and it's delicious. It doesn't taste rushed—and you have more time to spend with family."

Cozy interiors with roaring fireplaces, twinkling Christmas trees and strands of garland are sure to enhance your holiday dining experience at The Lakehouse.

Christmas Strata
Serves 8

Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage, blanched and sliced 
½ cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon butter
10 eggs
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
6 cups old Italian bread, cubed 

Process (prepare on Christmas Eve)
Oil a 9 x13 pan.

In a sauté pan, heat butter until melted and add sausage and shallots. Sauté until sausage is thoroughly heated and shallots are caramelized. Set aside.

Whisk eggs until frothy. Whisk in milk and heavy cream, mustard, salt, pepper, nutmeg and oregano. Fold in sausage, shallots, cheese, parsley and cubed bread.

Pour into the prepared pan and cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight or at least six hours.

On Christmas morning, preheat oven to 350º. Bake strata for one hour or until puffed in the middle and thermometer inserted reads at least 165 degrees.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, scoop out portions with a large spoon and enjoy an easy Christmas breakfast! [By Aimee L. Cook]

The Lakehouse at Deer Creek
5317 S. Highway 189, Heber
435-210-7474
thelakehousedeercreek.com

All I Want for Christmas Is Soup
Billy Sotelo is the executive chef at La Caille for now going on eight years. During the holidays, Chef Billy likes to make menu offerings as festive as possible. Caviar, lobster, gold leaf and other seasonal favorites—such as vegetable ashes—bring out the essence of Christmas. The restaurant sits on 22 acres that are transformed during the holiday season with thousands of lights, turning the surroundings into a magnificent winter wonderland.

"We really focus on quality first, as well as seasonal foods," Sotelo says. "We source from our local farmers whenever possible, and our menu offerings follow the farmers. Our entire restaurant has been redesigned, so now is a great time to come in. This is a special place."

Private outdoor dining is available in the two Alpenglobes on the property. Globes are climate controlled, making them the perfect intimate gathering spot in any weather.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup
Serves 5

Ingredients
2 pounds French pumpkin or butternut squash
3 ¼ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¹/³ cup crème fraîche
Salt
2 tablespoons cold butter 

Process
Cut pumpkin into large pieces. Season with oil, sugar,salt and white pepper. Place on sheet tray and roast in the oven. Cook at 350°. (Do not over-roast, as it will become bitter.) A table knife should easily pierce the flesh of the pumpkin.

Scrape the flesh out and put it in a blender while slowly adding broth (or use an immersion blender in soup pot). Pour into a soup pot and bring up to a simmer while stirringand scraping the pot's bottom and sides with a rubber spatula to keep pumpkin from sticking. Do this for about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water and mix thoroughly. Whisk and slurry into the hot soup. Turn off the heat and whisk in crème fraîche and diced cold butter. Add salt onlyif necessary. [By Aimee L. Cook]

La Caille
9565 Wasatch Blvd., Sandy
801-942-1751
lacaille.com

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• Courtesy Photo
• Left Fork Grill owner and chef Jeff Masten bakes apple pie low and slow using only cinnamon as the spice.

We Need a Little Creamed Corn
Each morning at 5, Left Fork Grill owner and chef Jeff Masten along with his assistant chef and breakfast cook converge in the restaurant kitchen to begin baking. Preparing pie crust the way his mom did, Masten's mind is flooded with holiday memories of his mother's great cooking. He still makes everything from scratch, including pancakes, gravy and turkey stuffing. "Our turkey dinner is a killer choice for Christmas," he says, explaining that he creates the stuffing from both homemade rye and white bread. Likewise, the potatoes and gravy are made fresh. Rather than adding mayonnaise to the house coleslaw, he blends it with vinegar and oil, like his mom did all those Christmases ago.

Fashioning the pie crust dough, he adds lard twice. "The first time, I add a little less. The second time, I add an inch or so and then cut it all in," Masten says. Then he adds three to four tablespoons of water. "I don't measure the water. I do it by feel. I use more water in winter than in the summer." To make his chocolate pies extra rich, he adds dark chocolate.

His favorite pie is his mom's apple pie. "The key is," he says, "I cook it at a low temperature for 70 minutes. In some apple pies, the apples are still firm. I like mine to be cooked." Cinnamon is the single spice Masten adds to apple pie.

With a day's advance notice, customers can order almost any pie they can envision. A Texas customer introduced him to the concept of grapefruit pie. Today, he makes it occasionally. "The grapefruit is prepared in a gelatin filling and topped with cream. It's wonderful," he says.

Upon request, he's made old-fashioned traditional holiday pies such as mincemeat and gooseberry. Pecan, apple and pumpkin are Left Fork's most common holiday pie orders. He recommends purchasing pies on the day you plan to serve them.

Masten wore out the first Betty Crocker cookbook his mom gave him. So, he bought a new one online. He prepares a dish he recalls from his childhood holiday table—scalloped corn—for his own Christmas dinner.

Scalloped Corn
Ingredients
2 cans creamed corn
4 tablespoons whole butter, melted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Process
Blend the above ingredients. Top with crushed Ritz crackers and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. [By Carolyn Campbell]

Left Fork Grill
68 W. 3900 South, SLC
801-266-4322
leftforkgrill.ipower.com

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• John Taylor
• Sicilia Mia co-owner Giuseppe Mirenda serves up a gorgeous carbonara while reminescing about his grandmother’s lasagne.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Pasta
Sicilia Mia co-owner Giuseppe Mirenda's memories of celebrating Christmas in Italy are reflected in the nine years he and his family have experienced since moving to the United States. "Italy is a wonderful place to be at Christmas time," he says. "There are beautiful places to go with trees and lights everywhere. There's a magical feeling in the air, and everyone is a little kinder during this season—the same way we are here."

The Mirenda family came to Utah from their native Sicily, where they owned five restaurants. They chose to move to the Beehive State because they have relatives here.

In Italy, restaurants were handed down "from chef to chef" through three generations. "My dad started working in a restaurant when he was 6 years old," Mirenda says. "So now, my father and I are restaurant owners together—an amazing partnership that couldn't be better."

Mirenda recalls his Italian grandmother preparing one of his favorite dishes now served at Sicilia Mia today—her lasagna. This dish is created with layers of homemade pasta filled with Bolognese, a classic Italian sauce made with beef braised for eight hours with vegetables and bechamel, a creamy sauce made with milk and butter.

Another of Mirenda's favorite dishes is pappardelle al tartuffo served at their Sugar House restaurant, La Trattoria Di Francesco. Within this dish, homemade pappardelle pasta is tossed in a sauce of locally sourced eggs, butter and Parmigiano, then topped with freshly shaved truffles. "Our family is truffle lovers," says Mirenda. "Around this time of year, you get the best of the white truffles."

Sicilia Mia's signature carbonara is also a holiday season staple. Diners are treated to the tableside presentation of carbonara prepared inside a 2-foot wide grana Padano cheese wheel. The result is a rich, distinctive, satisfying dish that's a showstopper equal to its elegant presentation. Mirenda recommends finishing the meal with a housemade dessert such as tiramisu caramel coffee cake, coffee cake or gelato.

After working year-round in the restaurant, he and his family look forward to celebrating together on Christmas Eve. "We spend the day together, eating and talking all day," he says.

Mirenda says that caccio e pepe is among the most basic, simplest kinds of pasta there is. "It's suddenly trendy to boot. Why?" he asks. "Because when it's made right, it is incredible."

Caccio e Pepe
Ingredients
1 ½ cups finely grated pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for dusting the completed dish
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon ground black pepper, plus more for finishing the dish
100 grams of linguine or spaghetti or other long pasta (around ¼ box of most American store-bought pastas)
Good olive oil
Salt

Process
Place a pot of salted water on to boil. In a large bowl, combine the cheeses and black pepper, mash with just enough cold water to make a thick paste. Spread the paste evenly in the bowl.

Once the water is boiling, add the pasta. The second before it is perfectly cooked (taste it frequently once it begins to soften) use tongs to quickly transfer it to the bowl, reserving a cup or so of the cooking water. Stir vigorously to coat the pasta with the cheese mixture, adding a teaspoon or two of olive oil and a bit of pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if necessary. The sauce should cling to the pasta and be creamy but not watery.

Plate and dust each dish with additional pecorino and pepper. Serve immediately. [By Carolyn Campbell]

Sicilia Mia
Multiple locations
801-274-0223
siciliamiautah.com

Trattoria di Francesco
1500 S. 1500 East, SLC
801-419-0730
latrattoriadifrancesco.com

click to enlarge

• Niki Chan
• Log Haven chef Dave Jones describes the Millcreek Canyon restaurant as “magical” at Christmas.

Brussels Sprouts Are Coming to Town
After moving to Utah from California, chef Dave Jones planted a Santa Rosa plum tree in his yard in honor of his grandmother. Harvesting the tree's fruit this year, he made a Santa Rosa plum sorbet. "That tart, sweet plum took me back to my childhood," Jones says. He was 7 years old when he began cooking in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother. "My grandmother was an amazing cook," he recalls. She was also an early graduate of the Boston School of Cooking. "I was her sidekick whenever we visited," Jones recalls. "Every Sunday, in the early evening, they let us eat on TV trays." He remembers that the favored cuisine back then was "a steak, mashed potatoes and sliced tomatoes with mayonnaise."

Chef Jones came to Utah in 1994 to help reopen Log Haven, a rustic and elegant log mansion located in a lovely wooded glen in the Wasatch National Forest. He describes "Utah's most romantic restaurant" as "magical" at Christmastime. The warm and inviting ambiance is enhanced with twinkle lights, evergreen boughs and wreaths, a classic ornamented Christmas tree and crimson poinsettias during the holidays. This restaurant could be the most festive site on earth.

Depending on the current price of beef and crab, Jones hopes to create his traditional Christmas Eve dinner featuring tender and flavorful roast prime rib accompanied by Yorkshire pudding made from the roasting juice and accompanied by quinoa-crusted crab cakes. Popular for dessert is the frozen coconut banana souffle with roasted pineapple sauce and candied macadamia nuts.

At home, Jones prepares a beef Wellington with a red wine port demi-glace and a Madeira reduction with mushroom duxelles and roasted fingerling or classic mashed potatoes for his holiday dinner. His wife creates a mandarin salad with mustard vinaigrette, and his daughter usually makes a traditional pumpkin or pecan pie.

But for a spectacular side featuring Brussels sprouts, Jones happily shares the Log Haven recipe.

Log Haven Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 pound trimmed and cleaned Brussels sprouts
¼ cup candied pancetta (start with 1/3 cup diced pancetta cooked. Then add 2/3 cups of balsamic vinegar and reduce to au sec or almost dry and sticky)
8 caramelized cippolini onions

Process
Pan-fry the Brussels sprouts in pomace oil (still olive, just a lower grade than extra-virgin olive oil) for 2-3 minutes (be careful because they will pop oil!).

Remove the Brussels sprouts on a paper towel briefly and toss them in a bowl. Add the cippolinis, candied pancetta, sauce (see recipe below) and finish them with a bit of Parmesan.

Ingredients for Brussels sprouts sauce
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2-3 chopped garlic cloves

Process for sauce
Reduce this mixture in a saucepan by a third. Season with salt and pepper and finish with 3 tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil, reserve until needed. (Please note that these measurements may need a little adjusting, but it should get you real close.) [By Carolyn Campbell]

Log Haven
6451 E. Millcreek Canyon Road., SLC
801-272-8255
Log-haven.com

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• Courtesy Photo
• Franck’s covered patio offers an intimate setting for holiday gatherings.

Here We Come a Wassailing
Chef Robert Perkins opened Franck's with Franck Peissel, the original owner, in 2006. Chef Rob has always been a huge fan of Christmas, as he himself came home from the hospital as a newborn in a stocking on Christmas Day.

"Christmas has always meant a lot to me. I love it," Perkins says. "I have always been artistic, so I think that side of me is always pushing to try something new and different that translates well into food."

Pushing the boundaries of flavor combinations is what Chef Rob is known for and, during the holiday season, he takes that challenge to another level. Making things playful but understandable is what he does best. This Christmas Eve will feature a unique tasting menu that progresses with seasonal ingredients, along with surprises such as shrimp cotton candy—yes, you read that correctly. Sugar infusion lends itself nicely to Chef Rob's artistic talents.

Also, watch for fun menu offerings surrounding the Twelve Days of Christmas, and reserve an Alpenglobe at Francks for added ambiance around your holiday dining.

Wassail Beurre Blanc Recipe
Goes well with any fish, shellfish and light proteins

Ingredients
4 cups Red Barn cider
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
72 ounces ale
1 standard bottle (750 mL or 25 ounces) of Madeira wine
10 whole cloves
10 all spice berries
1 split knob of ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons garam masala
4 lemons (juiced)
¼ cup honey
2 cups heavy cream
½ pound cold salted butter (cut into ½-inch pieces)
Salt to taste

Process
In a heavy-bottom stockpot, add cider, brown sugar, cider vinegar, ale, Madeira, cloves, all spice, ginger, nutmeg, garam masala and lemon juice. Cook over medium to medium-low heat to reduce mixture by ¾. Do this slowly—may take about an hour

Strain reduced liquid through a fine mesh sieve, pressing to get the aromatics out of the ginger and spices.

Put the strained liquid into a smaller sauce pot. Add honey and cream. Return to heat and reduce slowly at medium-low temperature by half. Once reduced, turn off heat, but leave on warm stove top.

Add a couple pinches of salt then blend in the cold butter in slowly, one piece at a time. After all the butter has been added, taste for seasoning. Adjust salt if needed.

Flavor should be aromatic, sweet, acidic, seasoned and creamy. [By Aimee L. Cook]

Franck's
6263 S. Holladay Blvd., Holladay
801-274-6264
francksfood.com