It’s Thanksgiving season — time to start planning the Turkey Day dinner. While pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce and stuffing are long-standing traditions in most houses, it never hurts to try something new: traditional Virginia peanut soup, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies or even a cream soup of butternut squash and chestnut.
Over the last few weeks, reporters Lauren Glendenning and Amber Healy hunted down local chefs and residents and gathered some of the recipes that make restaurants such as Christina’s at the Bailiwick and Clifton’s Heart in Hand famous, just in time for the holiday season.
Recipes from the Heart in Hand, Clifton
-Virginia Peanut Soup
Rich and creamy, this soup is a tradition in Virginia and a favorite at the restaurant for the holiday season. Serves 8.
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 cup ground Virginia peanuts
1 small onion diced
1/3 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 pound butter
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 stalks celery, diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups peanut butter
Melt butter, add onion and celery. Sauté for five minutes but do not brown. Add flour and blend well. Stir in chicken broth and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, strain. Add peanut butter, celery salt, salt, and lemon juice. Sprinkle ground peanuts on top of soup just before serving.
-Classic Pecan Pie
Not only a favorite for 25 years at Heart in Hand but also an old family recipe. Serves 8.
3 eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon real vanilla
3 tablespoons flour
1 9-inch deep-dish pie pastry shell
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup chopped pecan pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs thoroughly. Add sugar, flour, and syrup. Next add pecans, butter then vanilla. Pour into unbaked pastry shell.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, lower heat to 350. Bake approximately 30 minutes more. (Do not overbake).
Serve with sweetened whipped cream, so rich!
Recipes courtesy Susie Worsham, owner/executive chef
Heart in Hand Restaurant and Catering company
Recipes from The Waterford at Springfield
-Provencal Lamb with Demi-glacé
Servings: 50
6 Lamb racks Frenched (12 -14 ounces each). The racks should have seven chops per rack.
1/2 cup stone ground mustard
Herb mix: 1 bunch basil, 1/2 bunch thyme, 1/2 bunch rosemary, 2 cups bread crumbs
Clean lamb and rub mustard over loin.
Rub lamb with bread crumb mixture and place on sheet pan.
Split each rack between the fourth and fifth bones (chops). Intertwine the bones of the two racks to form one rack (four "chops" + three "chops").
Cook until internal temp reaches 130 for a good medium rare.
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Note: You can buy demi-glacé pre-made in fine grocery stores near you. Using a boneless leg of lamb works also works well.
To heat, sauce in pan and bring to simmer.
-Chicken Sedona with Apricot Sauce
Servings: 5
5, 6-ounce boneless chicken breast grilled
4 fresh peaches wedged into 8 (1-16 ounce canned peach halves also work)
1/2 cup Chardonnay
1/2 Vidalia onion diced small
1 cup apricot preserves
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Sauté onions and 1/2 the peaches for 3-5 minutes.
Add wine and vinegar and simmer for 1 minute.
Add preserves and sugar, mix together until smooth.
Place rest of peaches to sauce and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
I prefer serving over grilled chicken but pork or duck also taste great.
Recipes courtesy Mike Rogers, executive chef and chief operating officer, Waterford at Springfield
Recipes from Christina's Restaurant, Fairfax
-Butternut Squash and Chestnut Cream Soup
1/2 pound of Idaho potato, peeled and diced
1 pound of peeled chestnuts
2 pounds of butternut squash pulp
1/2 of a Vidalia onion, sliced
a pinch of nutmeg
1 cup of heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of butter
2 quarts of water
Lightly stir the vegetables and butter over a medium-high heat, without browning any of them. Add the water and boil for 45 minutes. Then add heavy cream and check the seasoning to taste. Blend the soup to a puree. Sifting out larger pieces is optional. Garnish with a parmesan crouton or a dollop of crème fraîche on top. Serves 8.
Recipes courtesy of Chef Thierry Sanchez, executive chef at Christina's Restaurant at the Bailiwick Inn, Fairfax.
Recipes from Lisa Wakeley, St. Andrew's Episcopal, Burke
-Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 well beaten eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 ounces chocolate chips
Mix in the order listed. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
Bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes. Makes about 40-50 cookies.
-Apple Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup shortening (butter flavor Crisco)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips
1 cup fresh apple (do not need to peel, but chop into small pieces)
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
Mix in the order listed. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 30-40 cookies.
-Ranger Cookies
1 cup shortening (butter flavor Crisco)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
2 cups crispy rice cereal (or crushed corn flakes)
Mix in the order listed. Shape a teaspoonful into a ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press flat with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.
Makes about 40 cookies.
-Molasses Cookies
3/4 cup shortening (butter flavor Crisco)
1 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
4 tablespoons molasses
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon each of ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix in the order listed. Form into small balls, dip one side into granulated sugar, and bake (sugar side up) on a greased cookie sheet at 350-375 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 40 cookies.
Recipes courtesy of Lisa Wakeley from St. Andrew's Church, Burke.