Holiday eats

Good to go: Give your kitchen a rest for Christmas dinner with thesesuper(market) choices

Christmas is most likely the biggest holiday of the year and almost every gathering revolves around food. This year, let the pros take care of the preparations. Grocery stores around town are ready to cater to your needs (literally) by taking the stress and multiple grocery trips off of your last minute to-do list. Here’s who to call to make your holidays merrier by keeping you out of the kitchen.

Central Market

Central Market offers traditional meals like a turkey dinner ($129.99 for 6-8 guests) or a ham dinner ($99.99 for 6-8 guests), and also a gluten-free option ($139.99), a vegetarian option ($39.99 for two guests), or a rib-eye dinner ($159.99). All include various side dishes of vegetables, potatoes, dressing, and rolls. Other items are available a la carte like pies, cheese trays, or individual side dishes. Westheimer at Weslayan: 713-386-1700.

Whole Foods Market

Offering a variety of full dinners including prime rib, turkey, pork and vegan, Whole Foods has just about every eater covered. A prime-rib dinner includes roasted Brussels sprouts, parmesan asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes for $179.99 for 6-8 guests. A vegan dinner includes field roast, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, vegetables, and gravy for $14.99 per person. A la carte options include sushi, pies and gravy, among others. Call any location. Kirby at West Alabama: 713-520-1937.

Rice Epicurean Markets

The traditional turkey dinner option for eight to 10 guests includes a fully cooked Butterball turkey, side dishes of cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, green beans, rolls, and two pumpkin pies for $139 with your Rice Experience card. Rice also offers a roasted beef tenderloin option serving eight to 10 guests with sides and two pies for $239.99, and a complete honey glazed ham dinner for $179.99. A la carte choices including a whole roasted turkey, side dishes and desserts. Call any location. San Felipe at South Post Oak: 713-621-0422.

Randalls

A complete turkey dinner includes a 10-12 pound turkey, side dishes of stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, and one pumpkin pie for $39.99 with your shop card. Serves six to eight guests. A ham dinner ($49.99) and a prime rib dinner ($64.99) are available to order, too. Multiple locations.

Kroger

There are two options for turkey eaters — For $39.99 to serve six to eight guests, you choose a 10-12 pound roasted turkey, a Logan Farms ham, or a smoked turkey. The meal comes with cornbread, gravy, rolls, Coke and one pumpkin or apple pie. For a fried turkey serving six to eight guests with the same side dishes and dessert, the cost is $54.99. A complete dinner for 10-12 people of a 13-16 pound roasted turkey is $59.99, all with your Kroger Plus card. Multiple locations.

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can't-miss pies

Top Houston chefs fire up new pizza pop-up series for local nonprofit

Courtesy of Shredders Pizza

Nick Wong's honey pecan shrimp pizza will be available this Saturday, August 8.

A Houston pizzeria has recruited some of the city’s top chefs for one-day-only collaborations. Super Pizza Friends will unite Shredders Pizza with five culinary talents — and all the proceeds go to the Southern Smoke Foundation, the Houston-based nonprofit that provides emergency assistance and mental health services to hospitality workers.

Beginning this Saturday, August 8, Shredders will host the following chefs:

August 8: Nick Wong, Agnes and Sherman
September 12: Graham Laborde, Winnie’s
October 10: Lucas McKinney, Josephine’s
November 14: Evelyn Garcia, Jūn
December 12: Aaron Bludorn, Bludorn Hospitality

They’re an accomplished group. Garcia and her business partner Henry Lu just won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas for Jūn, the eclectic restaurant in the Heights. Similarly, Wong earned a James Beard Award finalist nomination for Best New Restaurant for Agnes and Sherman, his Asian American diner that’s also in the Heights. Josephine’s and Bludorn hold Recommended designations in the Michelin Guide, and Winnie’s has received multiple nominations in the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

Guest chefs are given full creative control over their pizzas. They’ll be available in limited quantities, with pre-sales beginning the Thursday before. All of the $30 from each pizza sold will be donated to Southern Smoke.

“This is an idea we’ve had since before we even opened,” Shredders co-owner Benjy Mason said in a statement. “We knew we wanted to build the shop with built in ways to give back to the community, and we love the work Chris and the crew at Southern Smoke are doing.”

Inspired by the honey pecan shrimp toast served at Agnes and Sherman, Wong’s pizza is topped with shrimp, shredded lettuce, honey mayo sauce, candied pecans, and sesame seeds. It’s served with a side of Calabrian chile crisp, and every pizza comes with a collectible, Garbage Pail Kids-style trading card.

“When we opened we decided to really focus on on what we felt like were the pizza delivery classics, your pepperonis and your sausages,” chef and co-owner Jason Kerr added, “but we are also chefs and we can’t turn off all the wacky ideas. This gives us a way to make really fun and exciting pizzas and to work with friends.”

Mason and Kerr opened Shredders in January. The restaurant serves New York-style pizza, salads, sides, and desserts. Primarily focused on delivery and to-go, diners can pair their pizzas with a tidy, well-priced selection of Italian and/or natural wines.

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