Bradenton chefs share their favorite holiday recipes

Recipe from Jamie Gregorich, Manatee County schools culinary instructor and department chair

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place unpeeled, diced potatoes in a large stock pot and cover with water, bring to a boil and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes.

While that is cooking roast your shallots, place 1 tablespoon of whole butter in a sauté pan and turn on high heat, just when the butter melts add the whole shallots to the pan with salt and pepper, turn your heat down to med-low allow to brown on one side, shake to turn the shallots over and attempt to achieve a dark brown caramelization on the entire outer surface. Finish in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until soft, add more butter if needed.

Crumble bleu cheese.

When shallots are done either chop with a knife and cutting board or use a food processor to chop the shallots, don’t go too far in the processor though you do not want a paste.

When potatoes are fork tender, strain off water.

Place potatoes, bleu cheese, chopped shallots, half the butter and half the heavy cream into a table top mixer (or a bowl if using a hand mixer), mix ingredients until your desired smashed potato consistency, I like mine a little lumpy, dry and buttery because it reminds me of when I was little helping make the smashed potatoes for Christmas eve dinner.

Use your favorite Texas toast. Top with fresh ricotta and pickled peaches. Garnish with mint. Recipe from the Chiles Restaurant Group.

Bring mixture to 185 degrees and turn off heat. Let sit for 10 minutes, then scoop out curds and let them strain on cheesecloth

Growing up in a Sicilian family in North Jersey, we did not celebrate Christmas like most of our neighbors. Sure, we had a Christmas tree, exchanged presents and got into the whole spirit of the holiday, however we didn’t have a large celebratory dinner on Christmas day. We always had egg nog (spiked as we got older) on Christmas morning after opening our presents, but I can’t remember anything special other than that. Christmas Eve, on the other hand was when we feasted. My mother and father would prepare an incredible array of fish, seafood and vegetables that seemed to go on all night. One of the dishes they served was this incredible swordfish dish. If you cannot find swordfish, not only can you replace it with tuna, but the tuna version will also taste great cold the day following Christmas in a toasted baguette with some roasted peppers — Gaetano Cannata, owner of Ortygia Restaurant in Bradenton’s Village of the Arts.

Pat the swordfish steaks dry with a paper towel. Season each side with a pinch each of salt and pepper.

Heat pan with the olive over medium heat, then add the swordfish steaks to the skillet and cook until they turn white on the cooked side, about 3 minutes. Turn the steaks over add fennel seed and garlic and cook another minute and a half.

Add the white wine and tomatoes, cover the pan and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the swordfish is easily penetrated with a skewer or fork. Timing will vary depending on the thickness of the steaks — thin steaks may take less than 5 minutes while thicker steaks may take as long as 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and transfer the swordfish to a warm plate. Increase the heat under the skillet to high and cook until the liquid in the pan reduces to a thick sauce. Stir in the basil leaves and pour the sauce over the swordfish steaks.

Recipe by Eric Babb, Freedom Village of Bradenton

Make sure to use choice grade beef tenderloin. Remove from the packaging and place on a cutting board. Using a fillet knife, trim the tenderloin, making sure the fat is completely trimmed from the tenderloin. Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper.

Place the tenderloin on the grill to sear the sides. Brown all sides. Set aside. Melt the butter, add shallots, mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream, sherry, red wine, brandy, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Hold until use.

On a clean floured surface, place the puff pastry down. Place the tenderloin on the puff pastry. Using the mushroom mixture that was prepared earlier, coat the tenderloin. Wrap the puff pastry around the tenderloin.

Place the tenderloin in puff pastry on a wire rack that is on a baking pan. Make sure all the puff pastry seams are tucked under the bottom of the tenderloin. Brush with an egg wash, coating the puff pastry completely.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the tenderloin in the puff pastry into the oven. Bake the tenderloin for approximately 30 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown. Transfer the tenderloin to a cutting board and let it rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Slice the tenderloin into proper portions and serve using your choice of garnish with a side order of creamy brandy peppercorn sauce. Shown in photo are cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic and sliced mushrooms. Best served with favorite accompaniments.

Recipe by Eric Babb, Freedom Village of Bradenton

To prepare broth, add soup base to boiling water and stir until dissolved. Set aside.

In a saucepan, add oil, minced shallots, garlic and thyme. Sweat over medium heat for two minutes. Add brandy and stock. Reduce by half.

Strain the liquid into the saucepan and discard solids. Add cream and grain mustard, and reduce by half again.

As sauce is reduced to a thick consistency, be sure not to reduce too much. Sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. When ready, add green peppercorns and fresh chopped parsley. Serve immediately on the side or over grilled steak. If not served immediately, hold at 140 degrees or higher until service.

Serves 4.

Recipe from Donna Slawsky, Arts & Eats Restaurant and Gallery

pulse walnuts and grind to a meal texture. Measure walnuts after they’re ground. Transfer to a bowl and add other ingredients. Mix well. Using a tablespoon measure or a melon scoop, form balls from the mixture and flatten on to a greased cookie sheet. Cookies should be separated by about an inch. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Let rest for an hour. Enjoy.

Clean excess skin off pork leg and season with salt, pepper and rosemary and let rest in a roasting pan at room temperature for 1 hour

Place half the amount of all vegetables (carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic) and apples (except the olives) in a blender along with the apple juice and the Worcestershire sauce in a food processor or blender and process until the mixture is a finely pureed set aside

Place the remaining vegetables and apples in the pan along with the pork leg and then pour the puree over the leg. Then cover the roasting pan with foil and place the leg in a 350-degree oven and cook a total of 3 to 3½ hours. Cook for the first 2½ hours covered (basting with the additional apple juice every 25-30 minutes) then the final 45 minutes let cook uncovered the pork should reach an internal temperature of 155 degrees.