24 Inspiring Ideas for Holiday Main Dishes
Cherry-Marinated Beef with Roquefort Polenta and Corn Salsa [1]
This recipe comes from the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa near Traverse City, Michigan. Cherry juice concentrate lends it tartness and gives the beef a nice "char" when grilled.
Cherry-Marinated Beef with Roquefort Polenta and Corn Salsa recipe [2]
Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Red Currant Sauce [5]
Choose lean pork tenderloin for an after-work dinner party. We like it with the Brussels sprouts recipe also pictured on the plate. Our Test Kitchen recommends an instant-read meat thermometer for success when roasting meats.
Herb- Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Red Currant Sauce recipe [6]
Fried Walleye with Mango Sweet-and-Sour Sauce [10]
Tartar sauce gets a mango upgrade for fried walleye at Gunflint Lodge on the Gunflint Trail near Grand Marais, Minnesota. The exotic, yellow-orange mango adds beautiful color, plus lots of Vitamins A and C. Serve the state fish with the state grain: wild rice.
Crispy Beer-Batter-Fried Walleye with Mango Sweet-and-Sour Sauce recipe [11]
Mini Burger Party Platter [14]
To keep in step with the small-meal trend in restaurants, we created this Mini Burger Party Platter with fun sauces to choose from, including Balsamic Mayo, Herbed Goat Cheese and Citrus Ketchup. You could use this for an appetizer party or a main dish.
Wine-Tasting Lasagna [18]
If you're thinking about holding a wine-tasting party, the flavors of the red meat sauce and cheese-spinach layers in this colorful lasagna will complement the wines.
Midnight Star Chicken [22]
Jake's restaurant sits atop the Midnight Star Casino in Deadwood, South Dakota. This chicken stir-fry recipe adds distinctive Asian flair to the restaurant's menu.
Top Sirloin with Caramelized Onion-and-Mushroom Trio [26]
We took an old favorite, steak with mushroom sauce, and boosted its flavor and colors. Caramelized sweet onions add to a medley of mushrooms: meaty shiitake, robust oyster mushrooms and the more familiar button mushrooms. Sundried tomatoes and a splash of balsamic vinegar round it out.
Top Sirloin with Caramelized Onion-and-Mushroom Trio recipe [27]
Holiday Turkey with Cranberry-Pear Chutney [30]
For this traditional holiday favorite, we borrowed a couple of tricks from Sturkey's Restaurant in Cincinnati: basting the turkey with butter and cooking with broth in the pan. Serve your turkey with Sturkey's Cranberry-Pear Chutney (pictured).
Roasted Pork with Jamaican Snapdragons [35]
No flowers appear in this Caribbean-inspired dish from the Deadwood Social Club in Deadwood, South Dakota. The name simply sounded fun. Rum, raisins and sweet pork tenderloin provide the centerpiece of a delicious holiday meal.
Little Traveler's Chopped Salad [39]
Bacon and French-fried onions punch up the flavor in this crunchy, fresh-tasting, main-dish salad from Little Traveler, a gift shop/cafe in Geneva, Illinois.
Little Traveler's Chopped Salad recipe [40]
Little Traveler [41]
Antlers Wild Rice Soup [44]
We like the creamy richness of this chunky main-dish soup from Antlers Restaurant at Breezy Point Resort in Breezy Point, Minnesota.
Antlers Wild Rice Soup recipe [45]
Breezy Point Resort [46]
Grand View Lodge Spinach-Stuffed Chicken [49]
You have to try this spiral of chicken stuffed with oozing cheese, courtesy of Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Minnesota. For another Minnesota chicken dish, try Roast Breast of Chicken with Mushroom and Wild Rice Stuffing, a favorite at the Gunflint Lodge near Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Spinach-Stuffed Chicken recipe [50]
Grand View Lodge [51]
Gunflint Lodge [52]
Roast Breast of Chicken with Mushroom and Wild Rice Stuffing [53]
Spa Shiki Stir-Fry [56]
At Spa Shiki at the Lodge of Four Seasons in Lake Ozark, Missouri, guests are served the meatless side-dish version of this colorful and fresh-tasting recipe. Add 2 cups cooked chicken to make it a main dish.
Montana Broil [61]
At Camp Ticonderoga in Troy, Michigan, the cathedral ceiling, cobblestone fireplaces and wood floors remind visitors of an early 1900s Adirondack lodge. This menu at this restaurant offers game dishes alongside more standard items. Ticonderoga made this holiday dish with buffalo flank steak; we substituted the more common beef flank steak.
Montana Broil recipe [62]
Camp Ticonderoga [63]
Chicken-Artichoke Brie Soup [66]
Bits of spinach and artichoke color this creamy chicken soup. It warms up guests at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Minnesota. Serve it as a first course or alongside a sandwich for lunch.
Chicken-Artichoke Brie Soup recipe [67]
Grand View Lodge [51]
Yuletide Mango Chicken Salad [70]
This main-dish, orange-draped salad makes a spectacular showing on a buffet table. Try adding it to a holiday luncheon menu or an evening buffet.
Honey-Baked Cornish Hens [74]
This company-special main dish came from the holiday menu at the Latchstring Restaurant at Spearfish Canyon Lodge in South Dakota. The restaurant, open for more than a century, is between the towns of Spearfish and Deadwood. It's known for game and fish dishes.
Porcini-Herb Crusted Lamb with White Bean Ragout [78]
This special-occasion dish takes extra time to prepare, but it's worth it. We simplified the original recipe from the Raphael Hotel in Kansas City, so it's easier for you to make at home.
Creamy and Comforting Potato Corn Chowder [83]
Serve this hearty soup in a sourdough bread bowl for a delicious presentation. The original recipe, given to us by an Iowa hotel chef, called for roasting the corn in the husk before adding it to the soup, but we used frozen corn instead as a time-saver.
Pork with Cherry and Wild Rice Stuffing [87]
This stuffing, which includes sausage, dried Michigan fruit and wild rice, forms a spiral when rolled up into a top loin roast. The recipe came from New York Restaurant in Harbor Springs, Michigan.