Celebrity chef Paula Deen shares this Southern-inspired holiday dish on the Food Network.

Pork Crown Roast with Stuffing

Ingredients

16-rib crown roast of pork
House Seasoning, to taste, recipe follows
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoon butter, melted
2/3 cup uncooked instant rice
1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped dried prunes
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
Canned apricot halves, drained

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Sprinkle roast on all sides with House Seasoning; place, bone ends up, in a shallow roasting pan. Insert a meat thermometer, making sure it does not touch fat or bone. Saute onion in butter until tender but not browned. Add rice, House Seasoning, to taste, and poultry seasoning and water to onion; stir to moisten rice. Bring rice mixture to a boil, then remove from heat. Cover tightly and let stand 10 minutes. Stir dried prunes and dried apricots into the rice mixture. Fill center of roast with rice mixture. Place a folded strip of aluminum foil over exposed ends of ribs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes per pound to until thermometer registers 170 degrees. Garnish with apricot halves, if desired.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Italian chefs always have a signature pasta dish, and this is one of Roberto Donna’s favorites. It’s delicious, gourmet enough to serve guests, but fuss-free for days when you’re too tired from holiday shopping to cook.

One of the most popular chefs in the Washington DC area, Donna actually hails from Italy, and aims to teach what “real” Italian food is (as opposed to the watered-down stuff they sell at steakhouses).

Serve this dish with a Pinet Noir, he suggests, and a bowl of light chicken broth.

Ingredients
1/2 loaf Italian bread, crust removed and sliced (preferably day old bread)
1 onion, very thinly sliced
6 celery ribs, thinly sliced
1 small cucumber, peeled, quartered, seeds removed, and thinly sliced
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, quartered
1 bunch basil, shredded
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Soak the bread in cold water for 15 minutes. Then, in a separate container, soak the onion in water as well (place on paper towels when done).

Mix celery, cucumber, tomatoes, basil and onion. Throw in the the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the bread and toss well to combine.

We mean that in a good way.

This is Rachael Ray’s recipe for spiced nuts, taken from Food Network which hosts her show. If you’re making this in bulk buy nuts from the market.

Ingredients

2 cups walnut halves
1 cup peeled hazelnuts
1 cup whole unsalted cashews
1 cup whole pecan halves
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground anise
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
1 cup smoked almonds (recommended: Diamond Smokehouse almonds)

What’s Next

Toast nuts in a pan. This usually takes 7 minutes but use your nose as your judge. Transfer to a plate when done. Then, melt butter in the pan, adding your spices. Pour back the nuts. You’re done!

Mindy Segal was named Chicago’s best pastry chef — and at a
chef portal she shared a recipe that readers can whip up in their own kitchens for a delightful holiday breakfast. Tip: after making the pancakes, stack them up with lemon curd sandwiched between. Pour compote on top.
Yum!

Ingredients:

Lemon Curd:
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
8 tablespoons butter

Blueberry Compote:

2 pints blueberries (4 cups)
1 vanilla bean (optional)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
¼ cup lemon curd (from recipe)
1 tablespoon orange juice
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter

Pancakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs, separated
6 ounces Wisconsin Ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups milk
Confectioner’s sugar

What to do:

Mix 3 eggs, 3 egg yolks, lemon juice and ½ cup sugar in a bowl. Whisk away all the lumps. Place over double boiler with simmering water, then continue to whisk until it reaches a thick consistency. Add the butter. Refrigerate until set.

Blueberry Compote:

In sauté pan, combine blueberries, vanilla bean, cornstarch, 1 cup sugar, water, 1/4 cup lemon curd, orange juice and pinch of salt. Cook over low heat, until blueberries are tender but not broken down. Let the mixture simmer until it bcomes thick. Turn off the heat, mix in 1 tablespoon butter. Let cool.

Pancakes:

In medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir in lemon zest. Set aside. In large bowl, mix 2 egg yolks and ricotta cheese. Fold in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Whip 2 egg whites until medium-stiff peaks form. Fold into batter.

Alton Brown is known both for his zany sense of humor and how he’s introduced “science” into the art of cooking in his show and website. (In other words, he’s a mad food scientist.) But what people don’t realize is that… this man really knows how to cook! And you can see it in how he elevates everyday, ordinary food to blissful perfection.

Like the pancake. His recipe for this humble breakfast food is the best you’ll ever find. Enjoy.

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (check expiration date first)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to mix.
Use the mix within 3 months.

Instructions

2 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups “Instant” Pancake Mix, recipe above
1 stick butter, for greasing the pan
2 cups fresh fruit such as blueberries, if desired

Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F. Heat oven to 200 degrees F.

Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter.

Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don’t try to work all the lumps out.

Check to see that the griddle is hot by placing a few drops of water onto to the griddle. The griddle is ready if the water dances across the surface.

Lightly butter the griddle. Wipe off thoroughly with a paper towel. (No butter should be visible.)

Gently ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and sprinkle on fruit if desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the griddle-side of the cake is golden, gently flip the pancakes. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.

Serve immediately or remove to a towel-lined baking sheet and cover with a towel. Hold in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.

Yield: 12 pancakes

We love Nigella’s simple but elegant desserts — very doable for even ordinary cooks (though we’d never look half as good in an apron). Here she shares a recipe from her childhood. Get more from her website or her numerous cookbooks.

Ingredients

350g dark chocolate
3 Metric Cups (750ml) Cream
5 Dessert spoons Honey

Combine the chocolate, broken into pieces, the honey and 3/4 cup of cream over a barely simmering water bath. Stir until chocolate has just melted and combined with the cream and honey. Set aside to cool. While the mixture is cooling, whip the remaining 2 1/4 cups of cream to not quite firm, but a little more than soft peaks (this is exactly what I have written in my book). Gradually fold in the whipped cream to the now cooled chocolate mixture. Pour into one serving bowl or individual bowls if preferred (this makes a generous amount) and refrigerate. If using one large serving bowl, the mousse will probably take a good 3 hours to set.

Make a quick, easy and delicious gourmet meal as Gordon Ramsey demonstrates an idiot-proof way of preparing porkchops with pecan sauce. The video alone makes you want to make a beeline for the kitchen. He makes it look so easy, and yum those chops look great!

Celebrity chef Cat Cora, known for her online cooking show “Chef to the Rescue” and being the first female Iron Chef, gives a great solution for leftover turkey: put it in soup. Soup mixes add moisture to turkey that usually gets dry and petrified when placed in the fridge. Here’s one of her favorite recipes

Ingredients

4 slices Oscar Mayer Bacon
3 cups sliced leeks, white and tender green parts (alternatives are scallions or green onions)
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and quartered
Salt and white pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped
1/2 cup Breakstone’s or Knudsen Sour Cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley
Triscuit Rosemary & Olive Oil Crackers, for serving

Heat a soup pot over medium flame. Toss in bacon and cook till crisp. Remove (drain the oil on a towel) and then add leeks and garlic to the bacon drippings left in the pot. Cook, stirring often, for three minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and add potatoes. Cover the pot, allowing it to simmer till the vegetables are tender (usually takes half an hour). Remove from the heat.

Puree the soup (with a hand blender or food processer). Return the soup to the heat and fold in the turkey meat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve in soup bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream, crumbled bacon and sprinkling of fresh chives or parsley. Serve immediately with crackers.

Try this gourmet version of mashed potatoes by Australian celebrity chef Benjamin Christie (or any other of his many recipes.)

Truffled Mashed Potato is carried by many of the world’s finest restaurants, usually paired with
ocean trout, beef fillet, lamb loin or pork cutlets. Serve it at your Thanksgiving dinner and impress your guests with your culinary expertise.

Ingredients

500g potatoes
60ml cream
40g butter
10g Alpine pepper
10ml Paperbark Smoke oil
10g salt

Instructions
Peel the potatoes and place them in a saucepan of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft. Drain and return to the pot. With a potato masher, roughly mash the potatoes. Ideally, use a potato ricer and pass the potato through to get a fine mash. Alternatively, keep mashing to smoothness. Add the cream, butter, Alpine pepper and season with salt to taste.

To serve as a side dish, try simply drizzling the Paperbark Smoke Oil over the top. Alternatively, mix it through for a delicious mash potato

James Martin’s culinary career started very early — by 12 years old, he’d cooked for the Queen Mother. (Well, it helps that his dad catered for Castle Howard.)

He started training when he was 16, training at Scarborough before Antony Worrall Thompson became his mentor. The two then traveled around France, before opening the Hotel and Bistro du Vin in Winchester. He was 22. Pressure was high. Did he buckle? Never. In fact, he changed the menu every day.

He’s become a well known TV Chef, starring in popular shows like Delicious! and Jamies Martin Sweet. Now, he’s part of Saturday Kitchen which airs on BBC.

Known for his desserts, he published James Martin - Desserts in Spring 2007. Here he shares his recipe for spun sugar:

1. Place 125g/4½oz caster sugar in a pan
2. Pour in just enough cold water to cover.
3. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has turned light caramel in colour.
4. Using a fork, carefully pull out the sugar threads from the pan and shape over the back of a ladle or large spoon.
5. When hardened, gently ease off into ball shapes. Repeat with the remaining caramel.