A Chef-Worthy, Shareable Feast

Entertaining with winter recipes from Trattoria Stella’s kitchen

By Geri Dietze | Dec. 16, 2023

We all know that when winter arrives, it’s here for the long haul. Some of us love it; some, not so much. But the shared experience of breaking bread, especially in the chilly season, is a beloved tradition that helps the short days and long nights pass that much faster.

Indeed, seasonal comfort food—be it simple or elaborate—is the foundation of winter entertaining. To get a professional take on the season, we went to Myles Anton, executive chef and partner at Traverse City’s Trattoria Stella, and asked him to share his thoughts (and some recipes!) to inspire our own version of a winter repast.

Dinner at the Antons’...When Your Host Is a Real Chef

If anyone can inspire us, it’s Chef Myles, who has created the dishes at the venerable Trattoria Stella since its beginning in 2004. Before that, starting age 15, he cooked in a family restaurant downstate, earned his culinary degree, and then practiced his craft in a variety of ways: from sous chef to personal chef to executive chef, ranging from southeast Michigan to Georgia to Maine.

Over his long tenure at Trattoria Stella, Chef Myles has helped the restaurant accumulate a boatload of awards and accolades, both for himself (multiple-time James Beard award nominee) and for Stella, with simply too many to list here. Watch for the January 2024 formal announcement of the latest honor: Stella has been recognized as a Distinguished Restaurant of North America (DiRōNA), of which there are fewer than 800 in the United States. Readers, this is a big, big deal.

Chef Myles’ food ethos should not surprise anyone, given Stella’s reputation for being 95 percent house-made, as well as its successful two-decade run. “I believe in hyper fresh and local [sourcing] when possible,” he explains. “Things need to be simple, letting the ingredients shine.” 

For cooking at home in the winter months, he shops the local farmers markets, Oryana, and Maxbauer, as well as some of the farms who also supply the restaurant. (Trattoria Stella has relationships with “around 30” farmers, some of whom have been supplying Stella for most of its run.)

“Winter embraces all the warm, comforting foods I can think of,” Anton says. He likes osso buco, lamb or pork shank, braised beef short ribs (see his recipe for this one), or slow-cooked whole duck. For vegetables, he turns to “a celebration of storage roots.” Think of roasted beets and carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash with a variety of pairings: toasted seeds or nuts, whipped cheeses, or cheese sauces (warm Gorgonzola cream!), or bean purées.

Chef Myles admits that his schedule makes home entertaining “fairly limited,” so he likes to “pull out all the stops,” to present something special. “As far as whipping up for guests at home, I always go to a beef roast, whether it be a whole roasted tenderloin with herbs, garlic, and lots of black pepper, or Wellington-style, wrapped in puff pastry with mushroom duxelles,” he adds. “The classics are classics for a reason—they rock.”

For sides, Anton serves mashed potatoes with whipped parsnips and sweet potatoes for the adults, (served plain for his kids). Add a shaved kale salad with apples, sundried fruit, and Gorgonzola, and roasted Brussels sprouts flavored with Dijon, honey, vinegar, and oil.

Winter Vintages from the Sommelier

Great food deserves some equally fabulous cocktails and wines. Trattoria Stella has a long list of meticulously handcrafted cocktails, and while we can’t guarantee restaurant-quality results at home, it’s worth a try.

A favorite winter cocktail includes the Perfect Negroni, made with Detroit’s Two James Old Cockney barrel-aged gin, plus Zucca, Campari, and Contratto Bianco and Rosso vermouths, with orange and lemon twists. Or try your home version of the Stellar Old Fashioned, with Maker’s 46, Dolin Rouge French vermouth, plus brown sugar and Angostura.

Amanda Danielson, Trattoria Stella’s owner/partner and advanced sommelier, has graciously shared some of her vast knowledge of winter wines. For this expert, the season indicates a “shift into richer expressions” such as southern Italian whites. 

“The Catarratto of Mt. Etna (Sicily) and Greco di Tufo (Campania) are favorites for whites without oak,” Danielson says. “I love the yeasty, toasty character of aged Champagne. [It] warms you up even if the wine is chilled.”

Danielson appreciates the complexity in European winter reds, but she also recognizes some local wines that are “Old World in spirit,” including Mari Vineyard’s Bestiary Ramato. She adds, “Blaufränkisch from Left Foot Charley and Shady Lane Cellars top my list as well.”

The Recipes

Hungry yet? Let’s get cooking. Chef Myles shared these two recipes to make your winter table the talk of the town…and a spot where there are sure to be no leftovers.

For the Meat Lovers: Braised Short Ribs with roasted butternut squash, rutabaga, and beets

Serves 4

Ingredients
Four 12-14 oz. short ribs, from local butcher
Salt and pepper
Flour
Olive oil
4 stalks fresh rosemary
6 cloves garlic
2 cups veal stock
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tbsp whole butter
One large butternut squash
1/4 lb. butter, cut into chips
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
Water
Salt and pepper
One rutabaga
3 small beets
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions for Ribs
Generously salt and pepper short ribs and dust all sides in flour. In a sauté pan, sear all sides of ribs in olive oil until golden brown.

Wrap rosemary and garlic in cheesecloth to form a sachet. Place the sachet in the bottom of a deep roasting or baking pan, placing browned ribs on top of the sachet.

Whisk tomato paste into veal stock and pour over ribs until three-quarters of the way up the ribs. Do not cover totally in stock.

Bake, covered with foil, at 325 degrees until very tender and falling off the bones. Let rest for 5 minutes. Strain stock into a bowl, whisking in 3 tbsp whole butter to thicken. (This is your yummy sauce.)

Instructions for Squash
Cut squash in quarters and scoop out seeds. (Separate the seeds from the meat and toast with salt and pepper for an interesting garnish.) Put the squash in a roasting pan, top with brown sugar, honey, and butter chips. Add a little water to 1/3 the way up the squash. Bake for 2 hours, covered with foil, until soft and buttery. 

Instructions for Rutabaga and Beets
Peel rutabaga, cube into small dice. (Be careful; it’s really tough!) Cook in boiling salted water for 10 minutes until tender, strain.Peel beets, cube into small dice, less carefully as they are not as tough. Cook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes until tender, strain.

Sautee each vegetable, separately, in olive oil until slightly crispy. Toss together with salt and pepper.

Instructions for Plating
Place a chunk of butternut squash on a plate. Carefully stack short ribs on squash. (It will really want to fall apart.) Pour sauce over the two. Garnish with sautéed rutabaga and beets on top of that. (Top with roasted seeds too if you prepared them.)

For the Vegetarians: Braised Cauliflower

Serves 2 (or can be served as a side)

Ingredients

2 heads cauliflower
2 tablespoons oil
12 cippolini or 1 large onion peeled and rough chopped
6 shallots peeled and halved
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 whole carrots peeled
8 fingerling potatoes
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch cracked black pepper
Fresh basil

Instructions

Dust the cauliflower heads with kosher salt. Hard-sear both heads top down in a dutch oven with oil—you’re looking for nice browning on top. Flip over. Add cippolini, shallots, garlic, carrots, potatoes, and nutmeg. Hard sear all for 3-4 minutes.

Add tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable stock, kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Give it a little stir to incorporate. Cover and cook in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour.

Let sit for 10 minutes uncovered. Gently take cauliflower and veggies out to portion. (It will be falling apart.) Spoon braising liquid over. Serve with fresh basil leaves and a little EVOO to finish.