Homemade For The Holidays

The holidays are so tightly tied to memory—the scent of your grandma’s pumpkin pie baking, the taste of the brined turkey seasoned with dad’s secret recipe, or your aunt’s cornbread stuffing that always sends you back for thirds.

In a world where we typically rely heavily on boxed, prepped, and premade foods, it feels particularly sentimental to respond to guests’ compliments with, “Oh, that? it’s homemade.”

Whether you consider yourself chef status in the kitchen or simply want to dabble in preparing a homemade side dish or two, holiday cooking can be rewarding and, dare we say, fun.

Start by ideating your menu—a main dish or two, side dishes, appetizers, and desserts, for example. Decide what you want to cook yourself, what you may want others to bring, what ingredients you’ll need, and any special orders you’ll want to place with expert local providers.

“Don’t be afraid to delegate,” says Sarah K. Schreifer, owner of Sarah K’s Gourmet in Destin. “It makes the work lighter, more fun, and a whole lot less stressful. Let family or friends bring a side or dessert so you can focus on enjoying the day as well.” 

Many recipes can be made or prepped one to two days ahead of your dinner party.

“If you prepare the meal in advance, the house won’t be a mess, and you will look like a pro when you are pulling out casserole dishes and pans from the oven ready to serve,” says Kyle Swift, owner of Swiftly Catered in South Walton.

Swift advises using stainless steel stackable buffet pans, allowing you to remove racks from your oven to stack cooked side dishes to keep warm on low heat, 200 to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Right before you are ready to serve, bump the heat up, then keep those pans stacked on the counter while you heat up the more time-sensitive meats.

Take inspiration from cooking shows, online cooking blogs, Pinterest, magazines, or even your own family members when deciding on the menu items you want to make. Swiftly Catered, Blue Mountain Bakery, and Sarah K’s Gourmet, provided three recipes that are a hit with their company and are sure to be palette pleasers at your table.

Lemon Herb Roasted Turkey Breast

Recipe courtesy of Swiftly Catered

Ingredients

1 boneless turkey breast roast, tender intact, and skin-on

Dry Rub

¼ cup lemon pepper seasoning (preferred
brand Lawry’s)

½ cup dry Italian seasoning

¼ lb. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. olive oil

Instructions

Keep the skin and tender fully intact on the large boneless turkey breast. Use a roasting pan or heavy-duty foil pan. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit with the convection fan on. If you don’t have convection, change the temperature to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rub the turkey breast with olive oil. Fully coat the turkey with a thin layer of the dry seasoning, and rub it under the skin. Spread room-temperature butter to fully cover the breast. Lightly sprinkle the bottom of the pan with seasoning and the top of the turkey with additional seasoning.

Place the turkey in the oven uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes or until the skin is crispy and brown. Once the skin begins to brown, you can also baste it with the pan juices and butter to help get a more crispy and uniform brown color.

Remove the breast from the oven when it is fully browned. Turn the oven temperature down to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and wait until the oven has dropped down. Cover the pan loosely with foil, but don’t fully seal the foil closed. Bake another 25 to 45 minutes or until the temperature at the thickest part reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit. It will continue to cook another 10 degrees or more in the pan.

Let the turkey rest, covered in foil and sitting in the pan juices, for 30 minutes, remove the juices from the pan. Place the breast on a cutting board and slice to about ¼- to ½-inch thick or your preferred thickness. Heat up the juices and drizzle back over the sliced turkey before serving.

This process can also be done 1 to 2 days in advance to save time. Slice and store the turkey fully covered in the fridge. Bake fully covered at 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit until warm. Heat up and drizzle over the remaining pan juice just before serving.

Classic Layered Lettuce Salad

Recipe courtesy of Sarah K’s Gourmet

Ingredients

1 medium head of lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces

2 stalks of celery, finely sliced

1 small sweet onion, approximately ¼ cup, finely sliced

¼ cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. wine vinegar

Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Instructions

Place the torn lettuce pieces on a shallow plate. Add the finely sliced celery and onion on top of the lettuce, layering the ingredients evenly.

In a bowl, mix the sugar and sour cream until smooth. Spread this mixture evenly over the top of the salad, making sure to cover the edges.

In a separate small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and wine vinegar. Pour this mixture over the top of the salad. Sprinkle the entire salad with Parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

French Toast Casserole

Recipe courtesy of Blue Mountain Bakery

Ingredients

1 loaf of brioche bread

8 large eggs

½ cup melted butter

1½ cups whole milk

½ cup Prosecco

½ cup orange juice

½ cup heavy cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

¼ tsp. all spice

Pinch of salt

¼ cup maple syrup

Instructions

Cut your bread into 1-inch cubes and place them in a baking dish in an even layer.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream, Prosecco, orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread cubes. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the dish from the fridge and let sit for 15 minutes while the oven heats. Cover the baking dish with foil and set on a center rack. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the French toast has puffed up. Top with maple syrup and melted butter.

Semi-Homemade

If making an entire homemade spread is daunting or you don’t have the time or energy to commit to cooking this year, consider a premade option that tastes just like a family member made it. Sarah K’s Gourmet and Swiftly Catered offer holiday meal packages or al a carte options to complement your own menu.

“Take-and-heat meals give you the best of both worlds,” said Schreifer. “You serve a delicious, homemade quality holiday meal without spending days in the kitchen.”