Maryland Lump Crab Cakes from Dressler’s.   Frannie's Chocolate Delight from Toast   Sweet Potato Casserole from Jeffery's

This season looks like it’s shaping up to be a covered-dish holiday party kind of year. In an iffy economy, it seems the first thing to be trimmed – besides the tree – is the entertainment budget. Still, there’s no reason to forgo festivities, especially if you’re willing to embrace the time-honored holiday tradition known as the potluck dinner.

A potluck can be even more fun than a catered soiree, especially if everyone does their part by bringing something wonderful. We asked four of Lake Norman’s top foodies what they would bring to an everybody-pitch-in type holiday party. The result: a potluck celebration any partygoer would be eager to be invited to.

Frannie’s Chocolate Delight from Toast
Brian Burchill, owner of Toast in Davidson and Huntersville, explains that this chocolate concoction was invented years ago by his mother, Frannie Sanatore Burchill. In the process of trying to salvage a dessert she had botched, the story goes, she created a marvelous muddle.

When Burchill decided to include it on the menu at his restaurants, he considered several different names for it – including “Chocolate Goo” – before settling on “Frannie’s Chocolate Delight.”

Today, Frannie works not in the kitchen but behind the cash register. So whether you wow your potluck friends with this dessert or order a serving at Toast, you’ll definitely want to stop by and thank her.

Frannie’s Chocolate Delight
Makes one 13-by-9-inch pan. Slice and serve with vanilla bean ice cream and whipped cream.

Frosting
2 1⁄4 cups water
2 teaspoons instant espresso
2 (16-ounce) cans Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Brownies
2 (15.9-ounce) boxes of Pillsbury Fudge Supreme Chocolate Extreme Brownie Mix (chocolate sauce included in box)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of milk
1 stick of butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla

In medium saucepan boil the 2 1⁄4 cups water, remove from heat and add instant espresso. Add two cans of frosting and stir until frosting completely melts in the water. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13-by-9 inch pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine two boxes of brownie mix and the baking powder. Add chocolate packets from brownie mix to the brownie mixture, then add milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Use mixer on low to blend, then stir with spoon from bottom to blend. Beat on high for about 1 minute. Put brownie mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly.

Pour frosting mixture on top of brownie mixture. Bake on bottom shelf of oven for 40 minutes. Let cool, then refrigerate.

Sweet Potato Casserole from Jeffrey’s
Patrons can get a taste of the holidays year-round at Jeffrey’s in Mooresville, where Chef Wesley Choplin offers a Sweet Potato Casserole side dish that’s much like the one his grandmother made every Christmas when he was a child.

“I remember walking into her house and you could just smell the cinnamon and the brown sugar and the butter,” says Choplin, who grew up in Winston-Salem.

This recipe uses three sticks of butter and one-and-a-quarter pounds of brown sugar, but it will feed a big crowd. Cooked fresh sweet potatoes can be substituted.

Choplin’s twist is to use cornflake crumbs to give it a crispy top. The chef frowns upon the use of marshmallows.

“I think that must be a northern thing, because my wife is from up North, and she uses marshmallows,” says Choplin. “I just have to correct her on that.”

Sweet Potato Casserole
Makes 15 to 20 portions

Filling
4 pounds canned sweet potatoes, drained (fresh can be substituted)
3/4 pound brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound butter, melted
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup cornflakes, crushed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 pound brown sugar
1/2 pound butter, melted

For filling: Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl; mix well. Place mixture in a large casserole dish.

For topping: Combine all ingredients and crumb the mixture over the filling in an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour or until the casserole is golden brown.

Maryland Lump Crab Cakes
from Dressler’s

You deserve a little luxury around the holidays. Jon Dressler, who owns Dressler’s in Birkdale Village with wife Kim, urges the use of jumbo lump crabmeat – not plain-old lump, not flaky backfin – in his crab cake recipe.

Jumbo lump, from the pair of muscles that drive the crab’s swimming legs, is the most expensive variety of crabmeat, often selling for $40 a pound. “We think it’s well worth it,” says Dressler. “You can absolutely tell the difference between jumbo, lump and backfin. In short: Nothing beats the best.”

If you’re going to splurge on crabmeat, you might as well do it up right – like Dressler’s – and use Japanese panko breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. The restaurant’s devotion to using the finest ingredients has made this dish a favorite of at least one crab cake connoisseur.

“My father-in-law is from the eastern shore of Maryland, and crab cakes are the only thing he eats when he comes to the restaurant,” says Jon.

This recipe yields 12 generously sized crab cakes, but you can stretch it to make as many as four dozen mini-cakes. Consider serving them with lemon slices and tartar or cocktail sauce or, as they do at Dressler’s, a sophisticated rémoulade.

Maryland Lump Crab Cakes
12 crabcakes or four dozen mini-cakes

2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons parsley
1 3/4 tablespoons Old Bay
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 tablespoon Worcestershire
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 egg, beaten
2 pounds jumbo lump crabmeat
Olive oil

Combine dry ingredients; set aside. Combine wet ingredients and add crab. Gradually add dry ingredients, tossing gently, so as not to break up the lumps of crabmeat. Portion into 12 (3-ounce) cakes, then pan sauté in olive oil until brown on both sides.

Nut Roast
from Restaurant X

At Restaurant X in Davidson, you’ll find a whole world of influences on the menu – from Asian to Mediterranean to American. But there’s no place like home for the holidays, so husband-and-wife owners Chris and Christina Phillips selected a classic British entrée, Nut Roast, for their holiday covered dish offering.

“We’re not a British restaurant, but we do serve some British dishes,” says Christina Phillips, who hails from Belfast. “Whenever we put this one on the menu, people love it.”

The roast is beautiful, fragrant, and just unusual enough to spark conversation and curiosity among guests. Even if you don’t have a party to go to, it makes for a good weeknight vegetarian meal.

“Chef’s secret – it’s the easiest thing in the world to make,” says Chris Phillips, who was born and raised in England by his Welsh father and German mother.

Most of the work in this dish goes into grinding the nuts and chopping the vegetables. One ingredient you probably won’t have in your pantry: Marmite, a British spread made primarily from yeast extract and salt, which is dissolved in hot water and used to add moisture as well as a savory characteristic to the roast. And while it might sound exotic, it is available at most major grocery stores in the area.

Nut Roast
Serves four

4 ounces bread crumbs (Phillips prefers panko)
2 ounces cashews, ground or chopped
2 ounces hazelnuts, ground or chopped
2 ounces sunflower seeds, ground or chopped
1 medium apple, grated (with or without peel)
1 medium carrot, grated
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped or dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing
1 teaspoon of Marmite, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water
1/2 pint tomato juice (or V8)

Combine nuts, breadcrumbs, apple, carrot, and herbs in a bowl. Season as desired, preferably with sea salt. Sauté onion, garlic, mushrooms, and peppers in oil until soft. Add to nut mixture and toss with hands. Add just enough marmite stock and tomato juice so the mixture binds together like a meatloaf. Put it in an ovenproof dish or pan and bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

More info:

• Chef Wesley Choplin, Jeffrey’s, 704-799-1110
• Jon Dressler, Dressler’s, 704-987-1779
• Chris and Christina Phillips, Restaurant X, 704-892-9369
• Brian Burchill, Toast, 704-560-2089.