There certainly aren't many restaurants scheduled to open on Christmas Day. Other than the Broad Street Grille at The Chattanoogan and brunch in the Bluff View Art District, the only other one I've found of an upscale nature is The Palms at Hamilton Place, 6925 Shallowford Road. The Palms will be serving a traditional dinner, turkey with all the trimmings, from 4 p.m. till late night. For reservations, call 499-5055.
For a more casual meal, try Big River Grille (downtown location only). Pizza and select appetizers will be served from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m.
For a throw-your-coat-over-your-pajamas experience, area Waffle Houses, City Cafes and Huddle Houses will be open their usual 24 hours. IHOP opens at noon.
I'm a sucker for fried turkeys. Ever since they became the rage, I've been buying peanut oil by the gallon to refill my turkey fryer. Over the years, I've seen the price of fryers come down but never the price of the peanut oil they require. Now, I no longer have to worry about that.
My flammable gas turkey fryer is still in the garage, though pushed into a corner since I got my indoor electric fryer. The hot-oil fryer is now relegated to making potato chips and other deep-fried foods since I got my new Char-Broil Big Easy fryer, which uses no oil.
It's amazing. I really think I've come of age. Or at least the turkey fryer has. The Big Easy sits on our back patio hooked up to a propane tank. It turns on in seconds, heats up for a few minutes, then is ready to cook everything from turkey to Cornish hen to prime rib. It uses some kind of natural infrared heat, according to the instruction manual. All I know is that it gets very hot and in no time, the smells of "frying" poultry surround you.
I haven't yet tried a turkey. I decided to start off small and followed the recipe for Cornish hen that I found in the cookbook that came with the cooker. While it took a little longer than a traditional deep fryer might, I didn't have to worry about hot oil splashing or setting the garage on fire. And best yet, I won't have to be paying for peanut oil again.
This thing pays for itself. It's priced at $99, and three refills of peanut oil cost more than that. Check them out at Lowe's or other retailers that carry Char-Broil products.
Also new on the market ... KitchenAid has come out with a new line of hard-anodized, stainless-steel and porcelain pots and pans that are as good-looking as they are functional.
It's some of the best I've ever used. There's really nothing worse than having food stick to the bottom of the pan, as any cook knows. Cleanup is a dread, and the taste of burnt food is worse. Thus the beauty of good nonstick. It's worth every penny you pay.
I chose the hard-anodized simply because it goes with everything. Mine are very handsome, with dark gray bodies, glass tops and stainless-steel handles.
But it's their nonstick surface that's a thing of wonder. I don't even have to use cooking spray. Eggs, vegetables, meats -- they all just pretty much slide right out.
I'll never forget growing up with pans that required hours of soaking only to be followed with a good bit of elbow grease to get them clean. I'm so glad those days are gone. I've always known KitchenAid to make a good mixer. Now the company's done it with cookware.
The 14-piece set of new KitchenAid Essentials sells for $299.99 at amazon.com. You can get it by the piece, but the set is the best value.
A word of warning from Fine Cooking's Make Ahead Holidays magazine: If you're planning on serving crown roast of pork for your Christmas feast, make sure the butcher has removed the chine bone (part of the backbone). Left intact, it will make carving very difficult. A trimmed roast will stay juicy and look pretty, as well as more pliable for bending to make into a crown. Also, instead of weight, some butchers will ask how many ribs you want per person. About 16 ribs makes for a nice crown roast.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6285.