Photo by volcanojw.

Many of the best parts of the holidays revolve around food: baking crinkle tops to give away as gifts, joining family around the table to share a big meal or waking up to full stockings and stacks of pancakes.

When we wrote to D.C. chefs this month asking them to share their holiday dishes and traditions, we expected responses about holiday feasts. And while many of the responses were food-related (latkes with toppings, gingerbread men, Yorkshire puddings, homemade lasagna, mincemeat pie complete with a recipe), we were surprised at the number of chefs who look forward to not cooking at all during the holidays. Instead, they’re content to let someone else put on the apron.

So if you’re interested in being elbow deep in holiday food preparation, we have some tasty dishes to contemplate, and even try (see Bryan Yealy’s recipe for the aforementioned mincemeat pie after the jump). But if you’d rather be as far from the kitchen as possible this holiday season, there are some chefs who relate, and have some suggestions to make you relaxed and jolly.

Danny Bortnick, Executive Chef, Firefly
“I love to put my own touch on family recipes from my mother, so during Hanukkah, I add unexpected toppings to my latkes. This year, I’m doing a sweet, salty and smoked trio: chicken liver pate with salted radishes, smoked sablefish with pickled shallots and scallion cream, and a latke with spice-poached pear and ginger chips.”

Antonio Burrell, Chef de Cusine, Masa 14
“Most of the places I’ve worked have been closed during the Christmas holiday, thank goodness. So I take it off to spend time with my family, often letting others do as much of the cooking as possible.”