Stars' Favorite Holiday Dishes

By InStyle.com
Updated Nov 20, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
Stars' Favorite Holiday Dishes
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1 of 8

Jessica Alba's Cornish Game Hens

Douglas Friedman
"This recipe is from my great Aunt Ruthie and one of my favorite things my mom made when I was growing up."

Ingredients:
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped white mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 6 slices day-old white bread, cubed
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• ½ cup each dried cranberries, dark raisins, chopped walnuts
• 2½ cups chicken broth, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 Cornish hens (about 1¼ lb. each)
• 1½ cups apricot-flavored brandy
• 2 sprigs each rosemary, sage and basil
• 1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges, drained

Directions:
1 Preheat over to 375°F. 2 In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter; add onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic and poultry seasoning. Cook until vegetables have softened, about 8 minutes. 3 In large bowl, combine bread, rice, cranberries, raisins and walnuts. Stir in vegetable mixture. Add 1 cup broth and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve 2 cups mixture for stuffing hens. 4 Lightly grease 9"x9" baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into dish. Cover with foil; bake 30 minutes. 5 Meanwhile, in measuring cup, combine remaining broth and brandy. Set aside. 6 Discard neck and giblets; season hen cavities with salt and pepper. Stuff each with ½ cup stuffing. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Arrange breast side up, on rack in roasting pan. Pour in half of brandy mixture; scatter herbs and oranges around poultry. Roast for 30 minutes basting occasionally. 7 Pour 1 cup brandy mixture into roasting pan. Continue roasting 15 to 20 minutes, or until thermometer inserted in hens registers 175°F. 8 Transfer to cutting board; let stand 10 minutes. Remove rack from pan and pour in remaining ½ cup brandy mixture. 9 Deglaze pan over high heat, scraping up brown bits. Toss herbs. Transfer liquid to saucepan and bring to boil until slightly thickened, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 8.
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Heidi Klum's Guacamole

Johansen Krause
"When we're in Mexico, we eat differently-a lot of fish, grilled cactus and definitely more guacamole."

Ingredients:
• 4 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and peeled
• 2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 small serrano chile, seeded and chopped (optional)
• Salt to taste

Directions:
1 Coarsely mash the avocados. 2 In a bowl combine mashed avocados, tomatoes, onion and lime juice. 3 Stir in chile (if using). Season with salt. 4 Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.

3 of 8

Jamie Oliver's Mushroom Risotto

Geoffrey Sokol; Douglas Friedman
"This earthy, hearty mushroom risotto is a perfect comfort food."

Ingredients:
• 9½ cups chicken stock
• 2 handfuls dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 small onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 celery sticks, peeled and chopped
• 3 cups risotto rice (about 1½ lb.)
• 1 cup vermouth or white wine
• 6 large handfuls wild mushrooms (chanterelle, shitake, black trumpet or oyster), cleaned and sliced
• Salt to taste
• 5 sprigs fresh chervil, tarragon or parsley
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

Directions:
1 Heat stock in saucepan and keep on low simmer. 2 Place porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour in just enough hot stock to cover. Leave for a couple of minutes until softened. Remove mushrooms from stock and chop, reserving soaking liquid. 3 In large pan heat a splash of oil; add onions and celery. Slowly fry for at least 10 minutes, then turn up heat and add rice. 4 Stir in vermouth or wine. 5 Pour mushroom liquid through a sieve into pan. Add chopped porcini, pinch of salt and a ladle of hot stock. 6 Turn heat down to simmer and add more stock, stirring and massaging starch out of rice; allow each ladleful to be absorbed before adding next. Continue until rice is soft but with a slight "bite," about 30 minutes. 7 While rice is cooking, heat a griddle pan and grill wild mushrooms until soft. Put mushrooms into bowl and add chopped herbs, a pinch of salt and lemon juice: toss. Set aside. 8 Remove risotto pan from heat. Stir in butter and cheese. Put a lid on pan and leave risotto to relax for 3 minutes. 9 Add salt, pepper and cheese to taste. 10 Serve topped with wild mushrooms, grated cheese and a drizzle of oil. Serves 8.
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4 of 8

Katie Lee's Green Beans with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Christopher Baker
"I love Thanksgiving. What could be better than a holiday devoted to eating?"

Ingredients:
amp#149; 3 lbs. French green beans
amp#149; 3 tbsp unsalted butter
amp#149; 2 shallots, minced
amp#149; 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
amp#149; 1y tbsp freshly grated lemon zest
amp#149; 1y tsp kosher salt
amp#149; ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1 Bring a large pot of hot water to a boil over high heat. Add green beans and cook 2 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare an ice-water bath (ice and cold water in a big bowl). Drain boiled beans and plunge into ice water to stop cooking. Drain. (This step can be done a day before; refrigerate beans until ready to cook.) 2 In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 2 minutes. Add beans, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cook until beans are heated through, about 5 minutes.

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Alicia Keys and her mom Terria Joseph's Maple Soy Salmon

Francois Halard
"It's just so fun to listen to music and be in the kitchen all day creating this beautiful meal that everyone will eat together."

Ingredients:
• 8 6 oz. salmon fillets
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup grade-B maple syrup

Directions:
1 Rinse and dry salmon fillets; rub each with lemon wedge. Brush 2 tsp oil on the flesh side of salmon (to help seasoning adhere). 2 In bowl, mix nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic powder, salt, onion powder and black pepper. Sprinkle each fillet with spice mix; let sit covered in fridge for 1 hour. 3 Heat skillet and coat bottom with 2 tsp oil. 4 When oil is hot, place salmon in skillet, flesh side down, and cook over high heat for about 4 minutes or until brown. Turn over and cook for an additional 4 minutes. 5 In a saucepan, mix together soy sauce and maple syrup over medium heat until sauce is think enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 7 to 10 minutes). 6 Drizzle sauce over salmon fillets and serve. Serves 8.

6 of 8

Tyler Florence's Sweet and Savory Mashed Potatoes

Douglas Friedman
"To satisfy everyone, I serve more side dishes than we need, but that just means more leftovers!"

Ingredients:
• 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
• Salt and pepper
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1½ tsp orange zest

Directions:
1 Bring 6 cups salted water to boil in large saucepan. 2 Add Yukon Gold potatoes and bay leaf. Simmer, covered, until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 min.; drain. Discard bay leaf. Return potatoes to pan. 3 Meanwhile, bring 6 cups salted water to boil in another large saucepan. Add sweet potatoes. Simmer, covered, until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 min.; drain. Return potatoes to pan. 4 While potatoes are cooking, heat heavy cream, butter and garlic in medium saucepan. 5 Mash Yukon Gold potatoes with hand masher, adding half the cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper. 6 Mash sweet potatoes. 7 Stir in mashed bananas, remaining cream mixture, honey, cinnamon and orange zest. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, gently fold both batches of potatoes together to combine. Serves 8-10.
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Eva Longoria Parker's Pan de Polvo (Mexican Shortbread)

Douglas Friedman
"These cookies are a Hispanic tradition I definitely want to pass down to other generations."

Ingredients:
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 cups butter-flavored shortening
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup, plus 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 325°F. 2 In a saucepan bring to a boil cinnamon sticks and 1½ cups water. Let cool. Discard cinnamon sticks. Refrigerate liquid until chilled. 3 In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 4 In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening, vanilla, ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup cinnamon "tea" until light and fluffy. Stir in flour mixture. 5 Roll dough into 1" balls. Place 2" apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes or until slightly browned around edges. 6 In bowl combine 2 tbsp sugar and ground cinnamon. Dip cookies while still warm in sugar-cinnamon mixture. Makes 3 dozen.
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