Holiday Dishes to Make the Day Before
Parker House Rolls Topped with Cheddar and Old Bay
“Old Bay isn’t really a Cleveland thing,” says Jonathon Sawyer about the seasoning on these fluffy, buttery rolls, “but sometimes it’s the right ingredient. I remember my mother’s Parker Houses being laced with salty, savory Old Bay and a mean aged cheddar.”
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Farro Salad with Turnips and Greens
To get the most out of turnips, Tamar Adler buys them with their greens attached and then uses both parts in this hearty grain salad. If the turnip greens aren’t sufficient, or if they’re unavailable, she supplements them with any combination of other leafy greens.
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Classic Pot-au-Feu
For this dish, David Duband braises two cuts of beef—shank and rump roast—with marrow bones and then separately cooks leeks and carrots with more marrow bones until everything is deeply flavorful and tender. When serving, you can mix the horseradish with the sour cream to make a tasty garnish.
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Sugar-and-Spice Nuts
“I like to take something that’s generally ordinary and do it really well,” Bronson van Wyck says about these nuts. “With cinnamon, salt and sugar, they hit a lot of spots on the tongue.”
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Caramel-Pear-Cheesecake Trifle
This decadent pear-and-caramel trifle is perfect for a party because it can be made a day ahead and it serves a crowd.
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Cheddar Gougères
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar gougères are perfect on New Year’s eve with cava.
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Swiss Chard and Leek Gratin
This gratin combines blanched chard and sautéed leeks, cooked until just tender in a creamy two-cheese sauce made with both Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
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Creamy Roasted Broccoli Soup
Roasting broccoli and garlic for this creamy, rich and very easy soup gives it a lot of additional flavor.
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Impossible Pie
This is Jennifer Nettles's great-grandmother Mildred's coconut pie, called “impossible” because it seems to miraculously form its own crust while baking. The toasty coconut around the edges is delicious.
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Glazed Carrots with Cardamom and Ginger
Most people cook carrots in water, Shawn McClain says, which dulls their flavor. His secret to keeping them supertasty is to cook them in carrot juice and orange juice until glazed.
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Cherry-and-Chocolate Bûche de Noël
Every year during Christmas week, executive pastry chef Dominique Ansel serves guests complimentary mini bûches de Noël. His version here is lighter than many, thanks to the beaten egg whites in the batter and the use of whipped cream in place of buttercream as frosting.
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Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna
“In Marche, we only make lasagna for special occasions like Christmas,” Fabio Trabocchi says. For this streamlined version of his luxe lasagna in bianco (white lasagna), he layers flat noodles with a supremely rich sauce, along with a root-vegetable ragù, fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves.