WALTER PAULSON
Tucked inside one of Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village’s smallest courtyards, Rene at Tlaquepaque has been Sedona local’s fine-dining go-to since 1978. But its tucked-away vibe, cozy booths and tiny wine bar still make it feel like Sedona’s best-kept secret. At this time of the year, there’s a Christmas tree in the lounge, making it even cozier. Walter Paulson has been the executive chef at Rene’s since 1993, and, in 2016, he became the restaurant’s owner. Though Walter started working in a kitchen when he was 13, washing dishes at Nantucket Lobster Trap in his hometown of Phoenix, he likes to say he was destined for the restaurant business even earlier: His mom worked as a dishwasher while she was pregnant with Walter. And like you’d expect from someone who’s dedicated his life to cooking meals for others (and someone who works 80-plus hours a week), the holidays are basically nonexistent.
When was the last time you had Christmas off work?
When I was 13 years old [laughs].
What is Christmas Day at Rene’s like?
For me, it’s just like any other day. In the past, we’ve offered a fourcourse, prix-fixe meal, but last year, everyone wanted to order off our regular menu, so we’re going to stick with that this year. Sometimes I try to get the staff together before we open, but we’re always so busy getting ready for our guests that there’s rarely time. And after we close, everyone just wants to have a drink and go home. Is it the same on Thanksgiving? We have a traditional menu on Thanksgiving. It’s funny because I personally don’t like turkey, but every Thanksgiving I promise I’ll eat some, and I always go home empty handed.
If I were coming to Rene’s this year, what should I order?
Everyone knows that when I come in for dinner, I usually order the same things. I start with the Dungeness Crab Cake followed by the Spinach and Wild Mushroom Salad. And for the entrée, it’s the Roasted Duck. I don’t have a big sweet tooth, so I like to end with a glass of Remy Martin VSOP Cognac and a cappuccino.
Tell us about the recipe you’re sharing with our readers.
It’s an Egg Nog Crème Brûlée. I’ve been serving it in the restaurant for four or five years. Like a lot of my recipes, I’ll be reading a cooking magazine, and I start getting ideas. I take it from there. This recipe uses Myer’s Rum and brandy – there’s no egg nog in it. But it tastes like egg nog made from scratch. It’s very popular with guests. People say it’s unusual, but in a good way.
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CLAUDIA GONZALEZ
It’s been two years since Claudia Gonzalez, owner of Tamaliza restaurant, has been back to Mexico for Christmas, and though she admits she misses her hometown of Taxco in the state of Guerrero, she has her own traditions in Sedona. Claudia moved to the U.S. seven years ago, and she has been in Arizona for 5 years. She opened Tamaliza in 2015 after searching in vain for the flavors of home (Tamaliza roughly translates to “a large tamale feast”). The tiny, homey West Sedona restaurant is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so Claudia spends time with her husband, her son and her local family of friends. As for the delicious tamales she serves at Tamaliza, Claudia says tamales in her hometown are considered street food, not holiday specialties like they are here in the Southwest. In Guerrero at this time of the year, it’s all about posole and ponche.
What was your Christmas tradition in Mexico?
We would [decided on] a menu, and then on Christmas Eve morning, the women in my family would meet at 9 or 10 to start cooking together. It’s tradition to cook at the grandparent’s house or at the oldest daughter’s house. We would make posole and shrimp patties and small chickens stuffed with potatoes and fruit. There is the Christmas salad, which is potatoes, carrots, green peas and mayonnaise. And an apple salad with carrots, raisins, brown sugar and sour cream. There’d also usually be a pork leg cooked in the oven with pineapples and cherries. We would sit down to dinner at 9 or 10 p.m. Then we open gifts after dinner. Some families tell the kids the gifts come from Santa Claus. Others say they are from Baby Jesus.
Wait a minute, what are the men doing while you are cooking all day?
Entertaining [laughs]. They bring the tequila and go get the ice and keep the children entertained.
What is the one dish you have to have at the holidays, no matter where you are celebrating?
Ponche. It’s a spiced Christmas punch.
How do you celebrate Christmas here in the U.S?
My daughter usually comes from Mexico, and I celebrate with her and my son and husband. I make ponche and usually salmon or shrimp patties because I don’t really like turkey. In Mexico, we celebrate with posadas the nine days before Christmas, and each night there’s a party at a different neighbor’s house. We do that here in Arizona, too. It’s a catholic tradition, and there are Mexican families who celebrate that here.
Did you own restaurants in Mexico?
No, I worked for the federal government. I was a business advisor for the secretary of the economy.
Did you meet your husband in Mexico?
We met in Utah. He’s from the U.S. He owned a hair salon, Studio Rich, in Sedona. When we moved here, he kept telling his clients about my food. He loves whatever I cook. So his customers all wanted to try my food.
Tell us about the recipe that you are sharing.
It’s Shrimp Patties in Adobo Sauce. In Mexico, we usually make it with mole sauce and with romeritos [ed. sprigs of a wild plant called seepweed]. You can’t really make romeritos here and mole sauce takes a long time to make, so my recipe calls for cactus and adobe sauce made with guajillo chilies. It’s also made with small potatoes, and it’s very good.
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LISA DAHL
On any given Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, you’re likely to find Lisa Dahl dressed to the nines, greeting guests – often times by first name – at Dahl & Di Luca Ristorante Italiano, Cucina Rustica and Mariposa Latin inspired Grill. That’s because Lisa often sees the same familiar faces at the holidays as locals and tourists have made her restaurants part of their tradition. That makes up for the fact that Lisa doesn’t really celebrate the holidays outside of her establishments. She brings her mom, who just turned 94, with her to the restaurants and, if she’s lucky, her two brothers and their families will join her for a meal around 9 p.m. But it doesn’t always happen that way. “During the last few years, I don’t think I’ve even gotten any leftovers,” she says, laughing.
What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving. Last year, we served more than 1,500 meals, and in 22 years, I’ve never missed a Thanksgiving. Maybe I’m more traditional than others, but I believe in the classics at the holidays – I just like to glorify them with interesting touches. When we first served Thanksgiving at Dahl & Di Luca, I think it was nervy that we chose to offer a traditional menu in an Italian restaurant, but that’s what people crave at the holidays. The turkey dinner has become more and more popular, which means more and more work for us. A traditional dinner is very labor intensive.
What is your favorite dish on the menu?
My signature garnet-yam soup. It’s like an elixir. It goes into your mouth sweet and then warms the back of your throat because of the chilies we use. I think it’s a neat way to replace a starch – I use it in place of yams or sweet potatoes. I’m a big soup person. I started Project Soup Hope, which takes a portion of the proceeds from all the soup we sell at the restaurants and donates it to victims of natural disasters. To date, we’ve donated $40,000.
What was your favorite dish as a kid?
I grew up in Indianapolis, and though you might not think of this, the Midwest is filled with food that is always freshly prepared. I came from a line of good cooks, and every night we looked forward to dinner. I thought farm to table was how food was supposed to be before it became a trend. At the holidays, my mom made a creamed-onion dish featuring cipollini onions with toasted almonds. I still serve that in the restaurants at this time of the year. It’s very rich. I was also always a huge fan of mashed potatoes and gravy. At the restaurants, I make sure we never run out of gravy. Tell us about the recipe you’re sharing with readers this holiday season. It’s my Veggie Nirvana. I crave this dish. It has all the sultry flavors you want at this time of the year. It’s served with organic quinoa, sofrito and black beans. It’s sweet and savory at the same time, and it can be prepared vegetarian or vegan.
What is one of your most memorable holiday experiences at the restaurants?
I’ve seen it all. One year, the power lines were down in West Sedona, so we brought in barbecues and grilled the turkeys. There’s been many different calamities over the years, but believe it or not, those seem to have made the holidays more special.
You’re big on decorations, too.
We don’t just write the menu and put up a few corny lights. I believe the holidays are about coming together in the spirit of family. We all have someone who we miss at the holidays. It’s a very poignant time of the year, and we try to capture that from the menu to the décor.
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MERCER MOHR
Mercer Mohr likes to joke that he started cooking because his mom didn’t. A part-time artist and a kitchen designer, Mercer’s mom filled their kitchen with the latest and greatest gadgets, and Mercer and his sister would experiment with recipes – on the dog. They would add veggies and fresh cheese to the canned dog food, something the pup greatly enjoyed. Mercer’s mom, who passed away last year, might not have been a cook, but she knew how to keep the kids busy on Thanksgiving and Christmas, thus the Cranberry Relish recipe he’s sharing with readers. Mercer offers the dish at both of his restaurants, Creekside American Bistro and Mesa Grill, at the holidays. Mercer has owned Creekside since 2008 when he purchased it sight unseen. After years of cooking at Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco and working for a caviar company, Mercer wound up relocating to Red Rock Country and within six years, he owned 12 restaurants all over the country. Today he’s down to the two Sedona locations, something his wife of 1 year appreciates.
How do you celebrate the holidays?
I eat in one of my restaurants. Last year was my first year being married, and my wife and I ate at Creekside. This year, we’ll probably go to Mesa Grill. It’s a very fun thing to sit at the bar and eat and greet guests. I haven’t cooked a traditional holiday meal in my house since I was in college. In fact, years ago I went home for Christmas, and my mom was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she said it was the first Christmas I hadn’t worked in 34 years.
I take it you don’t decorate, either.
Last year, I was traveling back and forth between my mom and Sedona. When I got home, my wife asked if I noticed anything different. It wasn’t her hair or her nails – she picked up my hand and pointed at a decorated Christmas trees with presents underneath. That’s the first time there’s been a tree in my house for as long as I can remember.
Tell us about the recipe that you are sharing.
You know these little countertop grinders you can get at the hardware store? My mom would put that out and us kids – sometimes as many as 12 of us – would grind the cranberries and the fruit. There would be a garbage can underneath to catch everything. It was a lot of fun, and it’s such an easy dish to make. I serve it in the restaurants at Thanksgiving and Christmas alongside a more traditional, cooked relish.
Do you have any other favorite holiday memories?
My mom would have a cookie party every year. But our big holiday was 4th of July. I grew up in western New York, outside of Buffalo, and we’d have a big backyard party with lots of clams and fireworks. One year, my parents had a lobster party with lobster my dad got from Maine. Everyone wore bibs, and there was corn and clams. My parents weren’t cooks, but they were partiers.
Do you throw parties at your house?
My wife likes to entertain, and we have a big kitchen with beautiful views. We throw themed parties. Once it was a mussels party. I put out every ingredient under the sun, taped a bunch of recipes to the cabinets, and when guests started arriving at 4:30, I told them to have dinner ready by 8. The funniest party was a make-your-ownpasta party. At the end, the kitchen looked like someone had taken a bag of flour and shook it all over the place.
You’re somewhat of an oenophile. What do you drink at the holidays?
We love Champagne – Veuve Cliquot is our go-to. Right now, I’m also drinking a lot of Duckhorn Merlot and Loveblock Sauvignon Blanc. As for local wines, I like Javelina Leap, Chateau Tumbleweed, Pillsbury and Burning Tree Cellars.
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MICHAEL HAWKINS
If you’ve ever had the good fortune of dining or staying at Orchard Canyon on Oak Creek, you know the lodge with its immaculate grounds and cozy fireplace has a wholesome, back-when-days-were-simpler vibe. As it turns out, Executive Chef Michael Hawkins spends his holidays in practically the same setting, only it’s in Walnut Canyon rather than Oak Creek Canyon. His grandparents own a horseboarding ranch near the Flagstaff canyon, and every year family and friends gather at the ranch for about a week, cooking meals together, riding horses, skiing and playing board games. As many as 20 people might gather. Michael has worked at Orchard Canyon for six years, starting back when the property was known as Garlands Lodge. (Michael has held the executive chef title for one year.) Orchard Canyon closes in November and doesn’t reopen until March, which means Michael has the holidays free to spend time with family and to travel. The recipe he’s chosen to share with readers, a Pumpkin Pot de Crème, was being served for the first time at a wine dinner featuring Pillsbury Wine Company the evening we spoke. What wine pairs with this dessert? Pillsbury’s Sweet Lies.
The Pumpkin Pot de Crème is making its debut at Orchard Canyon tonight, but how long have you been making it for your family?
Three or four years. It’s a unique, different take on pumpkin pie.
Do you have a sweet tooth?
I really don’t, but my grandmother makes pumpkin and cherry pies every year for Christmas. Her cherry pie coming out of the oven is sort of the essence of Christmas to me. She sources the cherries from Oregon, and spices the pie with cinnamon and allspice. I’ll eat two or three slices on Christmas.
Because you’re a chef, do you spent most of Christmas Day in the kitchen?
I do about half the cooking, and my grandmother does the other half. She’s the one who inspired me to get into cooking. If my aunt is in town, she’ll help, and so will my niece. We have little tasks for everyone.
Tell us about your cooking career. Have you always been so lucky to have the holidays free?
No! I always worked the holidays. I got started in Albuquerque, working for a personal chef and caterer for three years. I worked at other Albuquerque restaurants, a summer camp in Wisconsin and for a caterer in Phoenix. I helped open a restaurant in Martha’s Vineyard. I also cooked in Portland, Oregon, and spent two years at The Turquoise Room [& Martini Lounge at La Posada] in Winslow where we made a traditional English Christmas dinner. It’s really nice to have the holidays off now.
What is your tradition on Christmas Day?
We wake up and get in the kitchen. We do gifts really early, but lately we’ve been getting away from gifts and making Christmas about being in the kitchen and making food. There’s always a roast beef that we cook on high heat and then let sit with the oven turned off for a few hours, so it’s cooked perfectly. By the end of the day, we’re playing board games and card games.
What were your favorite dishes as a kid?
I loved turkey and canned cranberries. It opened up a whole new world when I started trying the cranberry chutney. Coming into food was a cool experience. There’s so much more to a holiday dinner than canned foods and store-bought pies.
Any tips for home cooks at the holidays?
Try to make as much in advance so you have plenty of time to spend with family.
