Chefs offer last-minute tips for Christmas meal in Las Vegas

Yup, it's here again.

It may seem impossible — wasn't it March just yesterday? — but Christmas is two days away. If you haven't started planning what you'll be serving family and friends who stop by during the day, never fear, because local chefs have plenty of suggestions for last-minute Christmas entertaining.

Micah Waltz, executive chef of Andiron at Downtown Summerlin, would start his last-minute preparations in the Chinatown area of the valley, centered around Spring Mountain Road. There he'd pick up some Peking duck, bao (steamed buns), hoisin-orange glaze and boxed stuffing, to create sort of an Asian version of the classic turkey sandwich.

"Also an easy one would be braised pork belly with apple-jalapeno," Waltz said. "They're one-stop shops; you could go to 99 Ranch or 168 Market and you could make both of those things."

Waltz said when he was growing up, a family tradition was zuppa di pesce, made by his aunt, the owner of a culinary school.

"You do the broth first, layered with fennel, Pernod, carrots, the lobster body, fennel fronds, shallots, garlic and a little bit of orange zest," he said. "And lobster, clams, spotted prawns — you could do it as easy as you want. All of the seafood flavors itself."

Rick Moonen, executive chef of RM Seafood and Rx Boiler Room at Mandalay Bay, also would turn to seafood.

"I like to make a paella," Moonen said. "It's so easy, so good. If you have a group of people it doesn't matter if it's five or six people or 15 people, you can still make a good paella."

He said to start with a good Mexican chorizo and brown it in extra-virgin olive oil.

"So now you've got a red oil in the pan," he said. "Saute chicken thighs in the same oil. Add onions and cook that for a minute, then add garlic and then bell peppers. Then you add rice, saffron, oregano and I add all the chorizo and chicken back to it. Tomatoes — diced tomatoes out of the can are fine — and some chicken stock. It can just be chicken stock that you buy in the store. It's not that important; you don't have to lose your mind making the perfect chicken stock."

Then, Moonen said, add whatever seafood you want.

"This is where I love to have fun," he said. "Shrimp, scallops, mussels; you can add lobster if you want. Then get it all cooking together and when it comes to a simmer cover it with tinfoil and cook it on top of the stove so the rice starts to get crusty on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Take the top off and pummel it with parsley.

"It's a great dinner; it's a lot of fun. The whole thing takes about 45 minutes to an hour."

"Last-minute ideas for Christmas dinner should always start with seafood," said Anthony Meidenbauer, corporate executive chef of Block 16 Hospitality, which has numerous restaurants in Las Vegas. He suggested Sicilian-style roasted sole with capers, tomato and olives, which are readily available at the supermarket and quick and easy to put together.

"You don't need a lot of planning or prep time to throw a great gathering at the last minute," he said. "You just need to keep things simple."

Mark LoRusso, executive chef of Costa di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas, also believes in keeping it simple, although he wouldn't use seafood.

"If you took a prime rib and seasoned it well the night before, and roast it the next day in the oven with roasted vegetables, it's still elegant but you're not spending the whole time in the kitchen," he said.

He starts the morning simply, too, with biscuits and bacon when the kids wake up.

"I usually make the dough the night before, punch them out and let them rest," LoRusso said. "A little fruit platter is nice — something to graze on while you're opening all the gifts."

Johnny Church, chef of the Cafe at Artisanal Foods, and Julian Asseo, executive chef at Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace, would turn to poultry.

"I would say take a couple of Cornish game hens and make a nice little stuffing," Church said. "You're going to want to put them at around 375, with olive oil and seasonings. Put them on a roasting rack, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let them rest and they'll be perfect."

For side dishes, he said he'd choose traditional comfort foods such as green beans almondine, roasted Brussels sprouts or truffled mac and cheese.

As for what kind of stuffing to use, Church said, "every kid's mom made the best stuffing," although you can always branch out.

"Right now I'm kind of going crazy with organic mushroom-truffle stuffing," he said, "with brioche, a little Parmesan cream, some fines herbes — parsley, tarragon, chives, thyme."

"I love to do whole birds, either some really good free-range chicken or like a whole duck or a capon, depending if I have a lot of people over," Asseo said. "I think it's something very family-ish; you can break it apart and you can share that in the center of the table. It's pretty and also, it's delicious. You can just season them and put them in the oven and let them roast. You don't have to be in the kitchen three hours sauteeing. You are able to spend time with your family and friends and not spend all your time in the kitchen."

With the bird, Asseo said he likes to prepare some simple sauteed wild mushrooms — "and chestnuts, very Christmassy; you can actually find whole roasted peeled chestnuts at Trader Joe's."

And he usually starts with oysters.

"That's something I grew up with," Asseo said. "It's very traditional of a French Christmas, but I think it can be adapted to Christmas in the United States. A simple preparation — a nice mignonette and some lemon wedges. Showcase the beautiful brininess of the oysters in the winter."

Joseph Zanelli, executive chef of Jardin, the newest restaurant at Wynn Las Vegas, is resigned to the fact that he'll be working on Christmas, but he seems to hold out hope.

"If I was able to get off for Christmas — for some reason, God forbid — you can't go wrong with a rotisserie chicken from one of the nicer grocery stores," Zanelli said. "And I would make some nice mashed potatoes and biscuits when I get there."

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter: @HKRinella