Famous Chefs Favorite Holiday Dishes & Recipes

Get cooking! All the best holiday recipes straight from famous chefs

By Saira Malhotra Dec 19, 2014 6:36 PMTags
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The holidays mean a few things: Shopping, wrapping and cooking galore. And while there's always the traditional recipes to stick with—mom's sugar cookies, dad's sweet potato casserole—why not incorporate some new recipes into you holiday menu this year?

We've got all the best holiday recipes straight from the best chefs in the biz, from your favorite judges on Chopped to New York City restaurateurs. We're talking everything from homemade latkes to braised lamb shanks, people! So wait no long—check out these gourmet eats now!

Main Course
Braised lamb shanks
Courtesy Of Marc Murphy, Chopped judge and Executive Chef-Owner of Landmarc, N.Y.C.
Ingredients
4 lamb shanks, about 1 pound each
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into 1 in. pieces
1 celery rib, sliced into1 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 cups dry red wine
1 can peeled crushed tomatoes, 28-ounce
2 quarts veal stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf 
Prep
1. Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large ovenproof saucepot over high heat. Add shanks and cook until brown on all sides, turning occasionally for about 10 minutes. Remove shanks from pan with tongs and set aside.
2. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic, sauté and caramelized for 10 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half, again taking 10 minutes.
3. Return shanks to pot. Add tomatoes, veal stock, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Cover pot and bake 3 hours until lamb shanks are tender. 

Appetizers
Potato and sauerkraut latkes
Courtesy of Danny Elmaleh, culinary partner with SBE and Cleo South Beach
Ingredients
2 cups grated russet potato, rinsed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup sauerkraut
2 tablespoons chopped scallions,
1/2 egg white, whipped
1/2 tablespoon potato starch
1 tablespoon lebane (Lebanese yoghurt)
1/4 cup watercress
1 tablespoon pecorino romano
1 tablespoon apple sauce
 Prep
1. Mix all ingredients.
2. Pan fry with clarified butter till crispy, and season with salt.
3. Top with pecorino and watercress.
4. Serve with lebane and apple sauc

Whipped ricotta and pear jewel on toast
Courtesy of Chris Santos, Chopped judge and chef-partner at Stanton Social and Beauty & Essex
Ingredients
1lb fresh ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream
1.5 oz. roasted garlic, mashed
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups pear diced small
1/4 bunch basil, shredded
2 teaspoon crushed chili flake
1 oz. lemon juice
1 loaf of crusty bread
Butter and olive oil whipped together (70 percent butter, 30 percent oil)
Prep
1. Cut the bread into 1.5 inch slices. Brush the bread with extra virgin olive oil/butter blend and grill until crispy.
2. Whip the ricotta with the heavy cream and mashed roasted garlic. Slowly add the olive oil.
3. Cut pear into a small dice. Combine the pear with the basil, chili flake and lemon juice.
4. Spread the whipped ricotta on the toasted crostini. Top the ricotta with the seasoned pear. Finish with a drizzle of lavender honey and extra virgin olive oil. 

Roasted Carrots with thyme, garlic, and toasted breadcrumbs
Courtesy of Chef Jesse Schenker, owner and chef at The Gander
Ingredients:
5 shallots, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb. small heirloom carrots, peeled and cleaned
5-7 sprigs of thyme
5 cloves garlic
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon butter, unsalted
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3-5 sprigs thyme
1 clove garlic, smashed
Salt to taste 
Prep
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Place minced shallots in small sautee pan, cover with olive oil. Heat over very low heat (do not let simmer) until shallots are softened.
3. Toss carrots with olive oil, thyme and garlic in a bowl. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes or until fork tender. While carrots are roasting, melt butter in medium pot. Add breadcrumbs, thyme and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Salt to taste.
4. To serve, place carrots on a serving tray and drizzle shallot confit over carrots to your liking. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the carrots.

Corn bread stuffing
Courtesy of Aaron Sanchez, Chopped judge and executive chef and partner at Centrico & Mestizo in Kansas City

Ingredients
1lb. fresh Mexican chorizo
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish (optional)
1/2 cup chicken stock (low-sodium store-bought is fine)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Grated cotija cheese, for garnish (optional) 

Prep
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the chorizo, breaking it up with a spoon and stirring occasionally as it cooks, until it begins to brown.
3. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have browned. Add the crumbled cornbread and cilantro and gradually pour in enough of the stock so the stuffing is not too dry but still not too moist. Stir gently.
4. Butter a small casserole dish. Spread the stuffing in an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes until it's heated through and lightly browned on top. Serve right away, garnished with the cilantro and cotija, if desired.

Dessert
Bonker's bread & butter pannetone pudding tart
Courtesy of Jamie Oliver, Jamie At Home host and author of Comfort Food by Jamie

Igredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
4 tablespoons demerara sugar
26 oz. plain panettone
1 vanilla bean, slit in half by its length and seeds scraped
1 and 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 and 1/4 cups whole milk
5 large eggs
1/2 cup superfine sugar
2.5 oz. quality dark chocolate (70 percent), broken in to small-irregular pieces
2.5 oz. bitter orange marmalade

Prep
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2. Grease an 11-inch tart pan. Grind 2 tablespoons of demerara sugar with a mortar and pestle until fine, then mix with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Coat the tart pan base with the sugar and remove excess.
3. Slice the edges off the panettone in strips and use them to line the base and sides of the tart pan, pressing down hard to compact and create a pastry-like shell.
4. Put both seeds and bean into a saucepan on a medium heat, along with the cream, milk, and butter, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the butter has melted. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs and superfine sugar for 2 minutes, or until smooth. Whisking constantly, add the hot cream mixture to the bowl until combined, then discard the vanilla bean.
5. Pour 1/3 of the custard into the base of the tart and leave to soak in for a couple of minutes.
6. Tear up remaining panettone into rough chunks and soak them in the bowl of custard for a couple of minutes. Layer tart with remaining panettone adding chocolate and dollops of marmalade between the layers. Pour over any leftover custard, leaving it to soak in if necessary, then sprinkle with the remaining demerara sugar. Bake for 25 minutes, or until set.
7. Allow the pudding to rest for 10 minutes, then serve with cream, custard, or ice cream if you like—it's delicious cold too if you've got any leftovers!