Chip and Amanda Dunham are going all out for the holidays at their restaurant, Magnolia & May.
They’re featuring their Magnolia & Mistletoe pop-up menu between now and the end of the year.
Think Who Hash from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas for dinner. With maybe a Cindy, Who? cocktail or a Top of the Naughty List shooter.
And, Chip says, the restaurant at 718 Mt. Moriah Road is “over the top with decorations.”
Colorful ornaments and wrapped presents hang from the ceiling. Lights twinkle behind the bar. Their “artistically inclined” staff members made hanging snowflakes.
Outside, the restaurant is strung with lights. A tree hangs upside down from the porch ceiling near a box, where people can leave items to be donated to Toys for Tots.
One side of the restaurant features Grinch decorations. Presents are wrapped in Grinch wrapping paper. A painting of the Grinch stealing a toy train from under the Christmas tree is on one of the windows. “More greens on that side vs. reds on the other side.”
The red is for Santa Claus — the theme on the other side of the restaurant. “More reindeer. My staff made poster board ornaments.”
“We just thought it would be a fun idea,” Chip adds. “In Atlanta, New York, the restaurants do stuff like this. We just thought it would be a fun thing to do.”
As for that Who Hash, Chip had to come up with his own recipes because Dr. Seuss doesn’t “specify” how to make it in the book. Chip is featuring his grilled mahi mahi with bacon and veggie Who Hash with a satsuma beurre blanc.
Another new holiday menu item is his Home Place Pastures sirloin steak with stuffing, brussels sprouts, and cranberry demi-glace.
Desserts include peppermint creme brûlée, reindeer cheese cake, and a gingerbread pudding. Chip also talked his mother into baking cookies.
Amanda came up with the extensive — and playful — holiday drink list, which includes Santa Slay with Prichard’s cranberry rum, cranberry juice, and sparkling wine; and Abominable Snowman, which is made with Forthave coffee, Dough Ball whiskey, butter pecan moonshine, cream, and nuts.
The mocktail list also includes Island of Misfit Toys, which is hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows.
The Dunhams are ready for the holidays at their home, too. “We’re big Christmas people around here,” Amanda says. “This year we actually are decorating early because of the pop-up. We started decorating this morning a little bit. We got the tree out. My son was dancing in front of the tree singing ‘O Christmas Tree.’ Doing his whole thing.”
The Dunhams fondly remember holiday traditions with their families. “One of my biggest Christmas memories — we did this almost every single year — was Aunt Gen’s ‘Feast of Seven Fishes,’” Amanda says. “That’s a very Italian thing to do. We would go every Christmas Eve. She would make it and I would usually help her. It was a huge feast. All these different fish, crab, and it was absolutely phenomenal. It was part of the reason I went to culinary school. A big factor.”
Recalling side dishes at his family’s holiday meal, Chip says, “We did mashed potatoes and the green bean casserole with mushroom soup and onions on top. That and the stuffing was one of my favorite things we always did. We did a cornbread stuffing typically with andouille sausage. Kind of a Cajun influence.”
But, he says, “The side dish I hated the most was the praline sweet potatoes, but we always had it.”
His mother put brown sugar and pecans on top. “I’m not a ‘sweet’ person,” Chip says.
But, as a nod to that side dish, Chip’s Magnolia & Mistletoe menu includes a grilled pork porterhouse with braised greens, mustard barbecue — and praline sweet potatoes.