Baton Rouge chefs cook nonstop during the year to feed their hungry customers, but that does not mean they get a break during the holidays.
As 225 Dine reports, some chefs are asked to craft culinary masterpieces for their families during the holidays.
Elton Hyndman, executive chef of Nino’s, hosts what he calls a “misfit Christmas” for anyone who does not have any family to visit during Christmas or is unable to return home for whatever reason.
Instead of crafting Italian dishes like Hyndman does at Nino’s or going the traditional route with ham and pecan pie, everyone gathers together to make traditional New Mexican tamales and pozole, a hominy stew with red chili and pork. Then they wash the meal down with spicy hot chocolate, a spin on the traditional holiday beverage with cayenne, cinnamon and chili powder.
Willie Wallis, chef of Mason’s Grill, hosts a massive potluck each year with the requisite ham, cornbread dressing and rice dressing. But each year, his family has one special request—Wallis’ 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).
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