This Holiday Menu Is So Classic You Might Start Making It Every Year

“Here’s a salad that’s as festive as my parents’ house during the holidays,” says Heffernan. “With sweet cherries, spicy pecans, piquant blue cheese, and plenty of greens, it’s sort of a party in a bowl—and it holds up well, already dressed, on the table, which is always a plus during a long holiday dinner.”

“My grandfather loved to host and cook for big family events,” writes Heffernan. “He always served cracked crab with a mayonnaise-based sauce and hot crusty sourdough on Christmas Eve, starting with the fresh crab he’d buy live at the fish market. It doesn’t get more San Francisco than that! We still do this every year, with my dad carrying on the tradition. The girls delight in the sight of live crabs in a cooler before dinner, and we always prepare enough to have plenty of leftover crab meat for a Christmas Day seafood appetizer—like these crabcakes, made with plenty of fresh Dungeness crab. They’re the ideal handheld make-ahead bites for a special occasion.”

Tip: To make the cracker crumbs, put the saltines in a large resealable bag, close it, and use a rolling pin or wine bottle to roll them until well crushed (but not totally powdered).

Before roasting the prime rib, Heffernan and crew “pack it with a seasoned salt crust, which hardens and browns beautifully as the meat cooks,” the rancher says. “It lifts right off before serving, like removing a jacket, and leaves the meat not salty but perfectly seasoned.”

“Over the holidays, we always bring apples down to my parents’ house and fold them into a version of apple pie with the crunch of Oregon hazelnuts and a dose of cardamom, which together give the pie an almost Scandinavian accent,” writes Heffernan. “While chilling a pie crust is always important, I’ve found that you can cut corners in the rolling-out process—meaning you can roll out the dough immediately after making it, as long as the dough has time to get good and cold before baking.”