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For some families, Christmas dinner is an exact repeat of Thanksgiving. And if that brings you joy, by all means, go for the redux.
But if you want to mix things up this holiday season, our menu offers a festive blend of the classics, some possibly new-to-you dishes from local restaurants and a couple holiday cocktails to warm your spirits.
THE APPETIZER
 Feast & Graze owner Cristina McCarter has built her charcuterie and cafe business with unique offerings such as this tasty goat cheese-based dip. (Courtesy Feast & Graze)
Take a cue from girl dinner with Feast & Graze’s hot honey goat dip. This dip is a hit with Feast & Graze owner Cristina McCarter’s charcuterie customers, and it comes together in minutes with only five ingredients. Just make sure you take your goat cheese out of the fridge to soften before blending the dip. Serve with crackers, pita bread, baguette slices or raw veggies.
THE MAIN COURSE
 Chef Jimmy Gentry’s signature dish is Corn Mash with Roasted Squash and Bacon Jus at The Lobbyist restaurant in Downtown Memphis. (Courtesy Jay Adkins)
Impress your guests with the signature dish from Michelin-recommended restaurant The Lobbyist. Chef Jimmy Gentry’s Corn Mash with Roasted Squash and Bacon Jus was one of The New York Times’ best dishes of 2024, but you don’t have to go there for the recipe. We have it right here. This veg-forward main features creamy, cheesy corn, roasted winter squash and a smoky gravy.
Here’s a spin on the traditional turkey or ham: Make a pot pie. Cara Greenstein of Caramelized shared her recipe for a Turkey Pot Pie with sweet potato, celery, peas, tarragon and puff pastry. She makes this with leftover Thanksgiving turkey, which, if you’re lucky, you may have in your freezer. If not, here’s a recipe to cook your turkey first.
 Courtesy Sharon Fox O’Guin
Hanukkah begins Sunday, Dec. 14, and runs through Monday, Dec. 22. And if you celebrate — or even if you just love potatoes — you’ll want to make Memphian Sharon Fox O’Guin’s latke recipe. These pan-fried gems are perfect with sour cream or applesauce. (Note: I veganized O’Guin’s recipe last year by replacing the egg with two tablespoons of ground flax seed mixed with six tablespoons of water, and they came out perfectly.)
THE SIDES
 Alcenia’s B.J. Chester-Tamayo makes her candied yams just like her mom did. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
It’s likely you’ve already had candied yams this year, but were they Alcenia’s candied yams? We have the soul-food queen B.J. Chester-Tamayo’s family recipe, which is (thankfully) marshmallow-free.
There’s another Thanksgiving side that deserves an encore at the Christmas table, and that’s good ole Southern-style cornbread dressing. I shared my family recipe (a version for omnivores and one for vegans) in our Thanksgiving newsletter. But we’ve since published a new dressing recipe from Moreno McCalpin of Mane Street Seasonings. His recipe is similar to mine but includes two of his signature seasoning blends, which would make great stocking stuffers if you’re already ordering some for your recipe.
THE DESSERT
 If you don’t feel like baking your own pecan pie, Char sells whole pies during the holiday season. (Courtesy Char Restaurant)
There aren’t a lot of ingredients in season in December. But pecans are! So, make use of the South’s native nut in a pecan pie. Char Restaurant shared their recipe, which happens to be a fave of food writer Jennifer Chandler’s. It’s made special by a secret ingredient that’s, well, not so secret anymore.
THE COCKTAILS
 The Liquor Store’s Winter’s Ruin is a whiskey-based cocktail with chai simple syrup, lemon and egg white. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Of course, you’ll need some spirits to get yourself into the, um, holiday spirit. The Liquor Store shared a hot tip for holiday cocktails: Always have chai simple syrup in the fridge. The chai spices — cinnamon, clove and star anise — are the same as holiday baking spices, so a chai syrup is an easy way to winterize any cocktail. They shared their syrup recipe and two cocktails — the whiskey-based Winter’s Ruin and the rum-based Over an Icy Pond — that make use of it. Cheers, and happy holidays!
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