Holiday must-have food

For many, traditional dishes are what make the holidays memorable. I asked Rick Mahan, chef-owner of the Waterboy Restaurant, what his holiday table would never be without:

“The one thing I have to absolutely have every year at Christmastime is creamed onions with toasted almonds. It’s something my grandmother used to bring to every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since she passed, I’ve made them every year and it wouldn’t seem like Christmas dinner without them. As for the other items, we usually do sort of a potluck thing, and all of my nieces and nephews are wild about roasted butternut squash puree. I take care of the mashed potatoes, the squash and the creamed onions and that’s my contributions, which is nice because that’s pretty easy.”