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Flavor and Festivity: New Braunfels Dining, Holiday Delights, and Local Treasures
The holiday season is all about joy, warmth, festive get-togethers, and, of course, delicious food. In the spirit of celebrating the festive season by way of our taste buds, the team at Mayfair is delighted to share some of our favorite holiday recipes and local New Braunfels dining and shopping secrets so you can find the perfect ingredient to elevate your holiday feast or a last-minute stocking stuffer for the fellow foodie in your life.
Join us on this culinary journey through mouth-watering recipes, cherished holiday traditions, and the best New Braunfels has to offer.
The Mayfair Team’s Favorite Holiday Recipes
Green Bean Casserole
Todd Richert, Broker
Ingredients:
- 2 cans of green beans (substitute fresh if desired)
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- Black pepper as desired
- 1 1/3 cups french fried onion rings
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Stir soup mix, soy sauce, milk, black pepper, green beans, and 2/3 of the onion rings together in a 1 ½ quart casserole dish.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbling.
- Remove and stir; add the remaining onion rings on top.
- Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until onions are golden brown.
Butter Bundt Bread
Thad Rutherford, President & CEO
Ingredients:
- 1 stick butter
- 3 packages of Hungry Jack biscuits (10 oz)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt one stick of butter in a bundt pan.
- Arrange the biscuits in the pan without separating them.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes.
- Use a rack to cool.
Grandma’s Simple Sage Cornbread Stuffing
Terry Ramirez, Vice President of Operations
Ingredients:
- 6 cups of pre-prepared cornbread, slightly stale/dry and broken into chunks
- ½ stick of butter
- 3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 cup turkey, chicken, or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons sage (fresh chopped if available, dried if not)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt your butter in a large skillet, ideally cast iron.
- Cook onion and celery until they just start to soften and become translucent.
- Add half of your stock and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes, uncovered.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the cornbread, sage, and the rest of the stock.
- Dump the stuffing mix into a baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top layer of stuffing begins to brown and crisp.
Thanksgiving Dressing
James Tipton, Development Manager
Ingredients:
- 1 bag Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing
- 1 bag Pepperidge Farm herb-seasoned stuffing
- 1 lb breakfast sausage
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 4 cups chicken broth
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix stuffing, eggs, and butter.
- In a skillet, brown the sausage, then add the celery and onion. Cook until translucent.
- Add the sausage and vegetables to the stuffing mix.
- Add chicken broth until the stuffing is very moist.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until fully heated through.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding
Kristi Robinson, Director of Marketing & Community Relations
Ingredients:
- 8 cups stale (or oven-dried) bread, cut into cubes
- ½ cup toasted pecans, chopped
- ½ cup cinnamon chips
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
Instructions:
- Grease your slow cooker and place your bread cubes, cinnamon chips, and toasted pecans inside.
- Whisk your eggs with the pumpkin, cream, sugar, butter, and spices.
- Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes; if necessary, stir very gently to ensure complete coating.
- Place the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low heat for around 4 hours.
- Optional: Serve with vanilla ice cream!
Fried Turkey
Chip Mills, Senior Vice President
Ingredients:
- Turkey
- Hot grease
Instructions:
- Place turkey in hot grease, and don’t burn down the neighborhood—thanks, Chip!
Mayfair’s Favorite Holiday Traditions and Decor
What good is an epic Christmas feast if you don’t have the decor to go with it and great people to join the celebration? The crew at Mayfair also has some thoughts about those all-important holiday aesthetics and the beloved family traditions that stand the test of time:
- Tree decorating (James Tipton). “Whenever our tree goes up (usually the first week of November), everyone in the house takes turns hanging their personal Christmas ornaments until the tree is full. It’s a simple but fun time to get together and watch that year’s tree come to life.”
- Advent calendars (Kristi Robinson). “My favorite home decoration is our advent calendar. My mom made it when our daughter was born, and we count down the days until Christmas by pinning fabric items to the holiday scene. As she got older, we started racing to see who could mark the most—it helps my record greatly now that she’s a teenager and sleeps in half the month!”
- Stockings (Chip Mills). “I remember the childhood Christmas stockings that my mom and grandmother made. Mine was Frosty the Snowman.”
- Cut-your-own Christmas tree (Thad Rutherford). “I loved when I used to take the kids to Elgin and cut down a Christmas tree, even in Texas! (Although it was small…)”
- Christmas morning stockings (Terry Ramirez). “I love having the stockings hanging empty all month long. In our house, Santa fills the stockings, so it’s always a joy to watch the kids (at any age) come down Christmas morning to see their stockings filled.”
- Christmas light cruise (Todd Richert). “My favorite Christmas tradition is driving around on Christmas Eve looking at Christmas lights, then heading to midnight mass.”
Mayfair’s Favorite Holiday Hotspots for Shopping
If you still need some gift ideas, these New Braunfels restaurants and gift shops are Holiday game-changers. Here are some of our favorite local shopping (and eating) secrets:
- Farmer’s Market & 2tarts (James Tipton). “We’re big fans of the farmers market that sets up in the Krause parking lot every Saturday. There are so many different vendors and random things you can buy, from food to houseplants. We are also guaranteed to make our way through 2tarts at least once over the holidays for a fun treat.”
- New Braunfels Smokehouse & Stahlman’s at Bear Creek (Kristi Robinson). “I always stop by New Braunfels Smokehouse during the holidays for Pecan and Raspberry Kringle. They are delicious! Then Stahlman’s at Bear Creek has amazing local jams, jellies, sauces, and even cute fresh holiday décor.”
- New Braunfels Candle Company. Everyone loves a nice candle for a Christmas present, and you won’t find any finer than the handmade offerings right here in New Braunfels at the New Braunfels Candle Company on Castell Avenue. In addition to some of the highest quality candles in Texas, they also have candle-making classes and a lovely line of bath and body products.
- New Braunfels Art League. For a truly one-of-a-kind gift, there’s no better source than your friendly local artists—and the New Braunfels Art League has the work of hundreds of them curated in one convenient location for shopping or just a little art appreciation. Put the New Braunfels Art League on your list of destinations for holiday shopping this year, and you’re sure to find something brand new for that person who truly has everything.
Mayfair – Your Home for the Holidays and New Braunfels Dining
The whole team at Mayfair would like to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season this year, and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.
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