Hubert Keller - Hubert Kellers Christmas in Alsace

Me, Lili Baltenweck, Dany Haas, and his wife, Michele, at our holiday party in Alsace.

Dusk during the December holiday fair.

I was so excited when Ribeauvills mayor took me up into the towns bell tower and let me pull the rope to ring the bell.

I have not included a recipe here for stollen, which I think is more German than Alsatian in origin. It is basically a brioche dough with dried fruit, nuts, candied orange zest, and marzipan folded in. You can easily make a similar bread by using brioche dough and kneading in a half pound or so of fruits and nuts.

Early in December Chantal begins decorating our houselining the front steps with poinsettias and hanging red bows all over. We set up a tree, and every year it has a new look. Usually Chantal chooses a color theme and then goes from there. When it was white, the tree was covered in white feathers. When it was blue, the lights and balls were blue and there were little mirrors to create reflections. Like everyone else, we have an ornament collection. Many are gifts from friends and Fleur de Lys guests who often choose ornaments in the shapes of fleurs-de-lys, burgers, and boxes of fries. By the week before Christmas, Chantal has set the table. She will have collected all sorts of decorations to fill out her ideas. For a red-and-white-themed year she set up a tray of champagne flutes and put a candy cane in each one to act as a stirrer for her champagne cocktails. And she bought solid chocolate Santas in dark and white chocolate. These were the place cardsshe glued the name of each guest underneath the Santas. Finding your seat became a game of hide-and-seek.

For my first cookbook, my mom and dad sent me the recipe for Schnetzwecka, a traditional Christmas bread.

Chantal and me admiring Christmas window displays.

Every year, for many years, the same group of friends has gathered at our house for Christmas dinner. Everyone brings a dish (when we first moved to San Francisco and lived in a small apartment, guests had to bring their own chairs) to round out the menu. And Chantal and I do the appetizers and the plat principal , which is usually from Fleur de Lys. (The restaurant has a new, special menu each Christmas Eve and closes Christmas Day.) It could be roasted lamb chops, venison, baeckeoffe / laundry day stew made with lots of black truffles, or . To begin, we always have oysters and smoked salmon, which are traditional for the holidays in Alsace, too. If we were in Alsace, we would have foie gras as well. It is made throughout the region and comes to market especially for the holidays.

Petits Bonhommes

ONE OF THE MANY TREATS my brother and I looked forward to during the Christmas holidays was having a freshly baked petit bonhomme for breakfast or for an afternoon snack. The breads seemed to have a best friend, too: hot chocolate. Still today shop windows display the petits bonhommes in sizes ranging from seven or eight inches to several feet high. Some families buy a large bread to put in the middle of the holiday breakfast table. My father made his petits bonhommes from brioche but tells me they can also be made from the kugelhopf dough.

Makes about 10 individual petits bonhommes

1 recipe dough, through first rise (recipe follows)

2 egg yolks

Raisins, nuts, drages, or other such decorations

cup (2 ounces) powdered sugar (optional)

Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut the dough into 10 evenly sized pieces (about 3 ounces each) and roll each into a ball. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 400F.

To shape the petits bonhommes: Make sure your figures are very distinct; otherwise the shape will be lost in the oven as the breads rise. Use very little to no flour on the work surface. You need the dough to stick slightly to the countertop. Roll each ball into a log about 6 inches long. To form the head, about 1 to inches in from one end, press down with the edge of your hand. Roll your hand back and forth. A neck will form and the head above it. Taper the body so its wider at the shoulders and narrower toward the feet. Pat the body down to flatten it. With a sharp knife or with sharp scissors, make a single cut to form the legs and pull them apart. (Dipping the blades in water helps them cut more cleanly.) Make 2 diagonal cuts beginning at about the waist and angling in and up to below the shoulders. Pull the arms out. After that you can play, perhaps making a hat or muffler from scraps. Transfer the breads to the baking sheets, cover with kitchen towels, and let them rise for about 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1 teaspoon of water. With a pastry brush, brush the breads with the egg wash. Press the raisins or other decorations firmly into the breads to make eyes, noses, buttons, and other details as your imagination prompts. Bake the breads for about 20 minutes or until dark golden brown. Let them cool on a rack.

You can leave the breads glossy from the egg-yolk glaze or give them a sugar glaze. In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar with just enough water to make a brushable paste, about 1 tablespoon. Brush the glaze all over the breads while they are still warm. Serve them the same day you bake them.