Over the years, we’ve gathered a collection of tried and true holiday recipes from Austinites, including local celebrities and everyday folks. This year, our roster of side dishes and desserts includes a new pie recipe from Mayor Kirk Watson.
Ready for a change-up to this year’s holiday menu? Try some favorite recipes from readers and notable Austinites.
Mikala Compton / American-Statesman
Mayor Watson’s Cherry O’ Cream Pie
Mayor Kirk Watson shared a family recipe to bring the spirit of the holidays right to your kitchen.
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“It’s ridiculously good and has been a staple for the Watson holidays and special occasions since I was a little kid.” Mayor Watson said, “When Cooper Watson was about 6-years-old, he tasted it for the first time. When he took a bite, he looked at his parents as if he had been abused and said, ‘Why am I just now eating this?’”
1 Graham cracker pie crust
2 packages of 8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 10 ounce can of Borden’s (Eagle Brand) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 14 1/2 ounce can of cherry pie filling
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Put the cherry cans in the refrigerator.
Mix cream cheese, milk, lemon juice and vanilla together.
Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
Refrigerate it on a lower shelf in the refrigerator for one to two hours.
Top it off with cold cherries just before serving the pie.
Camila Alves McConaughey’s Easy Baked Pears
Camila Alves McConaughey’s easy baked pears are a great addition to your holiday recipes for a sweet Austinite taste.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
Camila Alves McConaughey, a well-known figure in Austin, is not only an entrepreneur but also a talented home cook. As the founder of Women of Today, she’s shared numerous delicious recipes with her online community. Here’s a seasonal recipe from her that’s perfect for the holidays: a versatile dish that can be enjoyed as an appetizer, side dish or even a dessert.
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8 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, sliced in half and cored
Juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 cup hot water
Greek plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream (for serving)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a baking dish large enough to fit the pears, arrange peeled, halved and cored pears.
Sprinkle lemon juice over the pears. Drizzle the maple syrup over the pears and top with crushed nuts and pinch of nutmeg.
Add the 1/2 cup hot water to the baking dish by pouring it in from the edge.
Loosely cover the baking dish with parchment paper and bake in oven for 50 minutes.
Remove the parchment paper and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown and pears are tender.
Serve with Greek yogurt or vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of maple syrup.
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Marcia Ball’s Corn Maque Choux
Marcia Ball’s corn maque choux is a kicked-up version of creamed corn.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
“So, at our house we’re liable to pat a turkey down with adobo and stuff it with tamales” — shucks off, of course, says longtime Austin blues musician Marcia Ball — “or make up a rice and cornbread dressing with oysters in it, but one dish you’ll always find on the Thanksgiving table is corn maque choux. It’s a sort of fancied-up Cajun cream-style corn. It’s fresh and colorful and very tasty.”
You also could add browned andouille sausage or lightly sautéed shrimp to this corn and make it a main dish, “but we like it on the side,” she says.
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4 tablespoons of butter or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
8 ears of fresh corn scraped off the cob, or 20-24 ounces of frozen corn, thawed
1 cup half and half (or heavy cream)
2 green onions, finely chopped
Salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning or hot sauce
Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the onion and bell peppers. Sauté until they wilt, about five minutes.
Add the garlic and sauté for two more minutes, until it’s aromatic.
Stir in the thawed or scraped-from-the-cob corn and simmer for three or four minutes.
Pour in the half and half or cream and simmer on low for about five minutes, until it heats through and thickens.
Season to taste with salt, black pepper, or Cajun seasoning. Serve in a bowl and top with the green onions.
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Katrina Brooks’ Sweet Potato Casserole
You’ve had sweet potato casserole. Katrina Brooks’ recipe is as good as it gets.
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Katrina Brooks, the owner of Austin indie bookseller Black Pearl Books, says she usually doubles this classic recipe, “as it’s a big favorite during the holidays!”
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2 cups of cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup half and half
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 stick of butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For topping:
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup corn flake crumbs
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all casserole ingredients in a large bowl and transfer to an oven-safe dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
While baking, combine topping ingredients in a medium bowl.
Remove dish from oven after 20 minutes and spread topping mixture evenly.
Bake an additional 10 minutes.
Cheryl Bakhtiari’s Cranberry Salad
What’s more American than a salad with marshmallows? Try this tangy-and-sweet cranberry concoction this holiday season.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
“Here is our favorite cranberry recipe,” says reader Cheryl Bakhtiari. “It is a must-have every year. We often camp for Thanksgiving and we always make this one — usually whipping the cream by hand. Even people who say they hate cranberries love this one.”
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Bakhtiari suggests using a crisp apple variety, and the pineapple can be fresh, canned, or crushed. As a shortcut, Cool Whip can be used in place of fresh whipped cream.
2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped, coarse ground or processed
1 apple, chopped
2 to 4 cups mini marshmallows
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1/2 cup pineapple
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
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Wash, sort, and dry cranberries. Coarse grind or process the cranberries. Stir in sugar and marshmallows. Chill overnight.
Stir in the apples and pineapple several hours before serving. Chill again.
Just before serving, stir in nuts, if using, and fold in whipped cream.
Patti Horton’s Spinach and Artichoke Casserole
Water chestnuts give this spinach and artichoke casserole a nice crunch.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
Reader Patti Horton first submitted this side dish recipe for a Kitty Crider story in a 1993 Statesman food section. “It still holds up!” she says. For the bread crumbs, Horton prefers the panko-style stuff.
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2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach
1 stick softened butter
8 ounces cream cheese
6-ounce can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 teaspoons fresh chopped basil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Salt to taste
14-ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup bread crumbs
Thaw spinach and squeeze out excess moisture.
Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large sauce pan and add the spinach. Heat just enough to blend ingredients. Remove from heat.
Add the water chestnuts, basil, lemon juice, white pepper and salt.
Quarter artichoke hearts and line bottom of a well-buttered casserole dish with them. Pat spinach mixture on top. Sprinkle on enough buttered bread crumbs to cover the surface (about 3/4 cup).
Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the bread crumbs are brown and the spinach mixture is bubbly.
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Vera Carp’s Pear Pie
Take a trip to Tuna, Texas, this holiday season and try Vera Carp’s Pear Pie.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
We’re bringing you a recipe straight from the quirky town of Tuna, Texas. Yes, the same Tuna made famous by Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. Aunt Pearl, one of Tuna’s most beloved characters, shared this dessert recipe.
According to Pearl, “I have never liked the banker’s wife, but when she brings this pie out for a gathering, the line always forms behind me.”
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6 pears
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
2 ready-made pie crusts
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Ground cloves
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
1 small container sour cream
1/4 cup milk
Core and slice the pears.
Melt the butter in a medium-size pot and add the pears. Add nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon to taste. Simmer the pears.
Pour the simmered pears into a large pie crust. Spread the brown sugar over the pears. Cover the mixture with sliced almonds and lightly spread sour cream over the entire mixture.
Use the other ready-made pie crust as a top crust. Make small cuts in the top crust.
Pour milk over the top crust to keep it moist and place it in the pre-heated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes.
Turn down the oven temp to 350 degrees and cook for 25-30 minutes. Top crust will be light brown when the pie is cooked. Remove the pie to cool.
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A little test kitchen pro-tip: spread the brown sugar over the simmered pears once they’re in the crust. Toss the sliced pears in the brown sugar, simmer them for about 20 minutes in the butter to create a tender, juicy filling and then pour it into the crust.
Lalo González’s Passionfruit Margarita
Lalo González, carrying on his family’s tequila legacy, partnered with Austin locals David Rodriguez Carballido and Jim McDermott to create Lalo Tequila, a brand distilled in Jalisco, Mexico. The founders share a cocktail recipe perfect for sipping while preparing dinner.
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2 ounces Lalo tequila
1 ounce Grand Marnier or Cointreau
1 ounce passion fruit puree
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
Tajin or salt for the rim
Dehydrated lime slices, for garnish
Bruce Willenzik’s Armadillo Pinto Beans
“From the earliest days of the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, most of the intense planning sessions have been done somewhere near a batch of pinto beans simmering gently on a stove,” says Armadillo Christmas Bazaar executive director Bruce Willenzik, also a former employee of the fabled Armadillo World Headquarters.
Willenzik continues: “I was hired by the Armadillo for my pinto bean recipe. I will always be thankful that a simple bowl of pintos, brought to a birthday party in 1974, opened the door for my career here in Austin.”
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“Now I make a family-size batch just about every week. I want them always to have the same quality, taste and consistency as those we served in the Armadillo Beer Garden in the 1970s. It is important to me to remain true to my roots.”
1 pound dry pinto beans
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tomato, peeled and chopped
1 head of garlic
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 small can of La Costena homestyle medium salsa, or about a cup of any medium salsa
1 shake of Tabasco
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The day before serving, pick out the small rocks, dirt clumps and non-pinto beans from 1 pound of dried beans. Wash beans with cold water. Place in a covered pot and cold soak for 12 to 24 hours. Pot should be about half full of soaked beans. Drain the cold beans. Wash again with cool water, drain again and then refill water to one-and-a-half inches above top of beans. Put on a medium burner to bring to a boil. Chop onion. Peel and chop tomato. Peel head of garlic and leave some of the pieces whole; chop the rest. Place oil, onions, tomato, garlic, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, bay leaf, salsa and Tabasco in a large frying pan. Sauté the mix while beans are coming to a boil.
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After beans come to a simmer, remove white foam from the top of the pot. When there is no more foam, add the mix from the frying pan to the bean pot and stir gently. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and stir gently every half-hour for about 4 and a half hours.About 20 minutes before serving time, turn up the heat to a medium boil and stir often enough to prevent any sticking or burning on the bottom of the pot. When the liquid thickens into a creamy texture, reduce heat to a very low simmer and serve.
Dining and Cooking