Your Thanksgiving Cooking Questions Answered, Maintaining The Tradition During An Unusual Year

Speaker 1: 00:00 So many things are different about this Thanksgiving holiday because of the pandemic we're advised not to travel, not to have large gatherings and to avoid the usual family holiday reunions, but it's still Thanksgiving and we still have things to be thankful for. And one thing we're thankful for here at midday is that we're able to bring you an annual Thanksgiving tradition. Chef Bernard Ghia says here for some Turkey talk. And just to remind you, chef Bernard is the executive chef of the LA Jolla beach and tennis clubs, the shores restaurant, and the Marine room restaurant. Welcome chef. It's so good to speak with you. Speaker 2: 00:37 Most of them are in, it's always a pleasure to be able to share the love on these very special celebrations. Speaker 1: 00:44 Oh, you know, I'm wondering how different is your preparation for this year's dinner at the restaurant and at your home? Speaker 2: 00:51 Well, I would say that it's very, very different because usually I have the shores and the club who have big buffets and this year there is no buffet and the Marine room is extremely busy with about six, seven, 800 guests. And this year, unfortunately the Marina is closed. So we are focusing on the outside dining at the shores and the club. And, uh, it's looking really good. We will add great celebration. That's the, for sure when it comes out at home, but you know, I am working that day. So my home is my work and I love it. Speaker 1: 01:25 Okay. Well, a lot of gatherings will be smaller this year, whether people are working or not, lots of people may want to pair back on their holiday meal. Now we usually have people call in to ask you questions directly chef. But as I said, this year is different. In many ways this year we asked listeners to send us some of their questions. And our first question is from Marissa Cabrera Speaker 3: 01:50 Jewish, Jeff Bernard. This is Marisa former midday, addition producer. And my question is given the pandemic, how would you approach cooking a small Turkey dinner for two people, happy Thanksgiving to you and the rest of the midday team Medici? Speaker 2: 02:06 Well, it is always a pleasure to hear that beautiful voice. And I would say that, you know, dinner for two, uh, I would recommend that you cook maybe like a small Turkey, because remember there's Turkey available around 10 pounds, I would say a 10 to 14 pounds, or you can use the Turkey breast. And, uh, my sister in France, for example, we'll use a Turkey breast because she has a, a small family. And what it would do is she would make the stuffing, but instead of baking the stuffing on the side, she would butterfly the Turkey breast, put the stuffing inside and then slowly roasted in the oven, which is great because it's really a, a one, one pot recipe, I would say because it's really everything in, in one. So it's really, really delicious, keeps it nice and juicy. And of course you have your best team, you know, Brittany, a lot of butter and, and fresh herbs, which is really, really great. It's a great way to do it. Speaker 1: 03:01 How do you make gravy if you're roasting a Turkey breast? Speaker 2: 03:04 Well, um, my recommendation is that you roast some vegetables, for example, onion, carrot, celery time, a little bit of Sage with a little bit of butter. And then when it's nice and Brown, you will add the same amount of butter and flour to make a room. So you add your butter. First, you melted with those roasted vegetables, you add your flour. And then if you want to have a really great flavor profile, add some Madeira or Marsala, which is not very expensive wine whatsoever. And then you add some chicken, bone broth, very important bone broth as much more flavor, and it's richer in flavor. And then what you will be able to do after that is you simmer it for about 30 to 45 minutes, and then you strain it and you will have a beautiful, beautiful gravy. Speaker 1: 03:51 We have another question. This one is from Kim. Speaker 4: 03:54 Hi, this is Kim and Lamesa. I was wondering what your best advice is for someone cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year. Speaker 2: 04:04 Well, you have to be, uh, well-organized and make sure that all the recipe that you will do have a very easy to put together. So the simpler it is the better it will be. So, um, I would recommend that you already make a list of all of your ingredients that you will need for, uh, for the Fiesta. And then you see what you can prepare today. So you could be able to prepare, for example, your cranberry relish you back your beacon by you can get ready with your, uh, with your stuffing, uh, get your vegetables ready, want to be able to peel trim and everything goes into fridge. And then tomorrow you just had to put the bird in the oven and just enjoy the beautiful aroma who will take over the old house, which is like, I would say aroma therapy for all your senses it's village. Speaker 1: 04:58 It is, it is, you know, chef it's a lot easier to get a small chicken than a small Turkey. Would that be a good substitution? Speaker 2: 05:07 Yeah. Then we did a good substitution, but my recommendation make sure that you buy like a chicken who's going to be, I don't know, five, six pounds. So it's a nice big chicken and organic chicken is the way to do it. What I like to do is I stuffed the cavities with some fresh herbs, and then I put some, maybe some onions and some carrots and some garlic. And if you want, you can even put some fresh herbs, right under the skin and some butter under the skin. And when you cook it, you roast it very, very, I would say slowly at 350 degrees, and it's going to be just, just delicious, going to be awesome. Speaker 1: 05:42 You know, of course I've heard, you mentioned butter several times, which is of course what our Turkey talks are famous for, but I'm wondering, is it the same process of, of butter basting, a Turkey breast as it is a, you know, a whole bird? Yeah. Speaker 2: 05:58 You know, the, the, the technique is exactly the same, but what do you want to do is you make sure that you cook it at about 325 degrees. Not more than that. So the reason I say that is because you want to make sure that that breast doesn't shrink. So if you could get at a high temperature, that muscle will just shrink a little bit. And, and the juicers usually have a tendency to escape the, uh, the, the flesh itself. So what you want to do is you cook it at three 25, you based it every 20 minutes to make sure you don't forget about the Turkey and forget about the base thing. You could have a little timers or like this you're all set. It will cook much quicker. So I would say a 325 degrees for a seven pound, a couple of hours, and then you, you you're ready to go. You need to make sure that you rest that Turkey breast for about 10 to 15 minutes. If you slice it right away, you will have all the juices will escape and you will have a dry Turkey. So it's very important to give a little bit of resting time to the Turkey. Speaker 1: 07:01 I am speaking with shift Bernard. Yes. And we are talking Turkey as our annual Thanksgiving special. And right now we have a clip. Someone had called in, uh, with another question about cooking, hot Turkey, Speaker 5: 07:16 Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. This is [inaudible] from USD. And my question is about a hot cooked Turkey where you roasted, uh, four 50 or even 500 degrees uncovered instead of covering in base thing and all the rest of the stuff you do at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. My house, we've done a variation of this for years. And we include a couple of days of dry Browning beforehand. And most of the time, most of the time it comes out great, but every fourth time or so, the breast gets overcooked and it doesn't seem to matter what the thermometer says when you pull it out. So that might have got two questions for you. The first is what do you think is starting the bird with the breast side down for 30 minutes or so? So you can get the dark meat going without overdoing the breasts. And second, since the juices need to mingle before it gets to temperature and given how fast things happen in hot cook, how do you know when it's done? Thanks. Speaker 2: 08:11 Well, it looked like it is a Turkey of circa de Solei it's upside down, but the thing is this, when you are, when you're cooking a Turkey breast side down, it's a really great way to do it because it's true that all the juice will go toward a door, the breast, and you'll be able to cook the legs and, and the thighs and all that, all that area. The only thing is there is a little bit of, uh, uh, safety that you have to really be very careful because now you're going to have to have a very awkward to have you have to flip back. So my recommendation is you can, uh, is to cook it at a high heat at the beginning for maybe like, uh, an hour. And then you lower the down to about, um, three 50 or something like this. And then you'll be able to really have everything cook really properly. Speaker 2: 09:01 You need to make sure that you are cooking. The, the temperature has to be at 160 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh, not 180 degrees. So the recommendation is always one on a nanny, but, but by the time it's 190 in the, uh, in the thigh, your breasts will be very overcooked. So you have to remember that this is the bird itself. It becomes almost like an oven. So at 160 degrees, when you take it out, it would call to you to cook and go to 180 on its own. So as you're resting it for about 30 minutes, and then you were able to really have all those juicers pretty much flowing all throughout the bird and the bird would be nice and tender and juicy, Speaker 1: 09:50 You know, chef, a lot of people like to fry their Turkey. We have a question about that from Kenneth and Chula Vista. Speaker 6: 09:57 Hi, chef Bernard. I'm planning to fry a Turkey this Thanksgiving, and I'd like to know what ingredients you would use for a marinade to inject the Turkey with. Thanks. Speaker 2: 10:08 All right. So you have to be very careful with the injections when you are doing fried Turkey. Uh, and you have to really follow the instructions if you have too much liquid into that Turkey and those injections, uh, what will happen is that during the cooking process, that liquid will come out and you have a chance that, uh, when it's released into the oil, the oil can go over the pot and then create a fire. Now, what I would recommend is you use, you do a dry brine. We using your dry brine as your dry spice, the whole Turkey in and out and under the skin. And you will be able to get really great results. Um, when it comes to flavors, I really like, uh, you know, flavor was going to be reluctance like some Apple and spices. So like this, you know, you really give you a nice flavor to the, um, to the Turkey. Speaker 2: 11:03 Uh, it's three minutes per pound is very, very quick. Uh, the, the thing to do is making sure that when you are, uh, deferring your Turkey, that you usually, you make sure that you have all the safety, uh, around that pot. So no kids around, no pets around just mom or dad cooking it and being very, very cautious that, uh, you have, uh, you know, you don't have a fire on you and nobody gets hurts one year. Some guys come in in front of the Marina room and they fry the Turkey on the beach. It was a sight. So I went to see those guys and that Turkey was just beautiful. So it's a great technique. And you just have to make sure that you keep it safe. Speaker 1: 11:47 Very good advice. We have another question. This one from Dan Eaton about carving a Turkey breast chef Speaker 7: 11:55 Bernard, I'm Dan Eaton legal analyst. I have a very, a non-legal question. How long after removing a bone-in Turkey breast from the oven, or should you wait before carving it? And once you do start to carve it, what's the best way to do that? Speaker 2: 12:17 Well, the best, the best way to carve a Turkey is you make sure that you rest your Turkey for about 20 to 30 minutes. And so you take it out of the oven, or you can open the oven, shut down the oven, open the oven, and he will rest in the oven. He means that it will stay nice and hot as well. Uh, and when you are starting to carve your Turkey, you carved from the breast, the breast first, and then you do the, the legs. Um, it's really important to make sure that you are resting the Turkey. So even if everybody's hungry, you have to tell them that maybe they want a little cocktail. Maybe they want to just take a little walk outside, but that Turkey need to rest. So like, this will be just perfect. Cause if you carve it too early, then all the juices will escape the flesh and then it will be dry. So this is, this is a thing that you have to always remember. Time is of the essence. Speaker 1: 13:12 Don't rush it. Now, we always like to talk about vegetarian and vegan options too, for Thanksgiving. What are some of those? Speaker 2: 13:24 Well, if a vegan vegan option, of course we have tofu Turkey, right? This is the, uh, this is the to go, but you know, there is so many other things that you can do. You know, this is the time of the year where you can go to your farmer's market, where there's bountiful vegetables available. So for example, if you do some roasted vegetable platter, you can do some wild rice. You can have some Elfie grains with it. I love to do you. Don't like a squash Curry, brussel sprouts roasted with pistachios, um, Canada onions, and maybe a little bit of balsamic syrup cauliflower. You can do a cauliflower GATA, or I did it the other day. I did some, uh, air fried cauliflower steaks in the oven and my neighbors knock at the door because it smells so good. Of course I had to be the economy of it, but they was so good. Speaker 2: 14:09 We're also at sweet potatoes with honey butter and cardamom. I love my cardamom wide leak, a casserole celery root mashed potatoes. So you can do a mashed potato we've celery with so you don't really care about potatoes anymore. So can I do a mash? That would be really, really cool. You're doing it with a silly roots, which is really delicious. And then of course, for that, when you are making those dishes, you can use the vegan cheese, cashew butter, nut milk, oat milk, and all that. Now the interesting thing is from last year to this year, I have been, uh, much more vegetarian or pescatarian than ever. So I have done a lot of research when it comes to, uh, to this, uh, side dishes and not only added research, but I'm cooking in the house all the time. I feel better. Maybe it look better and love is delicious. Speaker 1: 14:59 Uh, we, you mentioned Brussels for us. We actually have a question about Brussels sprouts. Speaker 8: 15:05 Hi, this is that Couser professionally. I am a political scientist at UC San Diego, and I am a very amateur home chef. And my question for chef Bernard is about an issue of controversy and our Thanksgiving dinner every year with our extended family, it's divided us. It's polarized us. That is what's the best way to cook brussel sprouts. We're in two camps, I'm in the whole sprout camp. You cut off the base, maybe make a little X market, but you cook the thing by itself. But my brother-in-law's mother who always gets the right to cook our brussel sprouts at Thanksgiving slices and dices them. So that they're a little bits and pieces. Now, the dish she makes is amazing, but that's because it has olive oil and garlic and bacon, and that makes everything amazing. But I miss that center that nutty bitterness of a brussel sprout. So chef Bernard, please tell us what is the best way to cook a brussel sprout and, uh, whether it's one way or the other, or if you can find a compromise, a modern compromise in between, uh, save our Thanksgiving. That would be great. Thank you. And hope everyone has a restful and safe holiday. Speaker 2: 16:24 Uh, it's a very good question. Brussel sprouts. My family is exactly the same. There are some people like a chop, some people like get roast or roasted. So my grandmother will all roast the brussel sprouts we have, of course she's from Brittany. So you have the bottle, you have the Gallagher, the fresh herbs, and she put in the oven. The only thing is when you cook it that way, it's, um, he has a very, very, uh, strong flavor. And for me, I like to cut it into pieces and then roast them because the more common lization you're getting on that brussel sprouts, the most flavor you will have. So if you count Ally's, door's, Brasso spotlights and roast them, uh, can be roasted in a pan or in the oven and you finish it with, you know, the legalese, a bit of that. Sweet. And it'd be that, that sour, those brussel sprouts. So you can have a little bit about, somebody's got a bit of honey or a little bit of honey, a little bit of citrus, and it would be just delicious. So, you know, I may going to, am I going to have to say, grandma, I love you with your whole bars as well, but guess what? My boss was proud when they cut into, into business tests so much better Speaker 1: 17:34 Improvements. The generations make improvements. Now, some people might want to experiment this year since they don't have to please grandma or other relatives with the same traditional dishes. So this question comes from Krista Bartlett, who asks an easy, impressive side dish. Speaker 2: 17:52 You know, the thing that I like to do is you take beautiful carrots who are in season. Now, some orange juice, some ginger, a little bit of butter, or even a little bit of olive oil. And then you slow cook it on the stove and the caramelize with the sugar, the carrot and the sugar of the oranges and the ginger. It is delicious. You don't even take some yam and you make a Ghada. And instead of, instead of making it just regular, you can have a little bit of mascarpone and some spice to rum. It is really, really good instead of French green beans do sugar bees with those two elements and, and shallots. Uh, you know, if you take butternut squash, you can cut it into planks. You can roast it. Then you do a Brown butter and Sage with it. We should we be delicious, then mash potato, of course. Speaker 2: 18:41 But if you want to make the best mashed potatoes, you need to start to cook it in cold water with a little bit of salt, then you pass it to a food meal and you finish it with butter, creme, fresh, and a little bit of mascarpone, salt and pepper. You need to put a lot of butter. Butter is the key ingredient into your mashed potato. And I'm not kidding. When you are tasting that measure there, you will be like crazy. The great thing about it is when you have leftover, you can do a little bit of Shepard pie today after with the leftover jerky and leftover mashed potato, which is fantastic. Speaker 1: 19:16 And we have another question. This one from Jade Heineman, our midday edition cohost. She has a question about a special Mac and cheese. Hi, chef Bernard. I'm curious to know what your best recipe is for seafood Mac and cheese also, is it important to saute the seafood before adding it to the Mac and cheese mixture? Thanks. Speaker 2: 19:37 The best thing for Mac and cheese that I like to do is made with crabmeat shrimp and scallops, and a little bit of cream, of course, your pasta and your, um, your cheese. Now, the best use is to use pretty Basque. I like to put together a basket because he has that really creamy flavor. And no, you do not need to cook your seafood in events. Okay? Speaker 1: 19:58 Yay. Well, I'll be back with chef Bernard GS in just a moment more Turkey talk is coming up after this short break. First, a few words of wisdom from one of our listeners. Speaker 4: 20:09 My name is Kathy Cullen and I live in Carlsbad, California. It's been so difficult to do the right thing. Uh, I tell you, it took us a while to figure it out. I'm close with my family and we want to be together, especially now, but this year it isn't business as usual. So my sister, isn't coming to Carlsbad from Montana. My daughter, isn't coming from New York city nor my son from Baton Rouge. I will not have a house full of people this year for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Instead on Thursday morning, I'll start my with yoga in the gardens. And then later in the afternoon, I'll meet a couple of friends on the beach. We're going to each bring our own meal and I'll probably bring a sandwich. My family would get to see each other on zoom in the afternoon. So that's awesome. I'm okay with the chains of plans really it's just for now. It's not forever. Speaker 5: 21:09 My name is Diane Dwyer. I live in Cornado, I'll be staying home alone and not observing the holiday. I am a very senior citizen and I'm practicing an abundance of caution with the intention of thriving for pandemic. Speaker 1: 21:28 You're listening to KPBS midday edition. I'm Maureen Kavanaugh here with chef Bernard executive chef of the LA Jolla beach and tennis clubs, the shores restaurant, and the Marine room restaurant. We just heard a comment from listener Diana Dwyer from Carra Nado, and she's made the difficult choice of staying home alone, this holiday chef. Do you have any advice for people who are making that choice? Can they still get some pleasure from the day and some great food for Thanksgiving? Speaker 2: 21:58 Yes, indeed. But th the thing that you want to do is, uh, um, look at restaurants, for example, who are delivering will have to go, and you are able, and we'll be able to get a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner delivered to your apartment or to your house. I think that's a great way to do it. And also the thing to do is really, um, uh, connecting with your family. You know, you have zoom. Now, you can just give a call. I know that I will be zooming with my, uh, with my mom, for example, in France, even that we don't really have Thanksgiving, but she knows that we have Thanksgiving here. And it is a important holiday for me now because, uh, I leave here and this is my life, and this is my home. And, uh, um, we will talk about all the things that is going on and it's important. And she leaves alone as well. Speaker 1: 22:45 You know, some folks may want to prepare their own meals, but, you know, if they're very cautious about things, they might be a little nervous about heading out to the grocery store. What would you advise? Speaker 2: 22:56 What is a couple of things that you can do? You know, that there is grocery store that you can go online and you can order all the ingredients that you need and they will deliver it to your house. That's one thing that you can do, which is very, very safe. There's also, uh, you can also ordering ahead of time, uh, to the, to that grocery store and they will bring those groceries to your car. Speaker 1: 23:18 I read one article, you know, there've been a lot of articles about this very unusual Thanksgiving. And some people have decided apparently just to have their favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, only maybe a side dish, or even just dessert. What do you think about that? Speaker 2: 23:35 I think that's a, that's, that's great because it is still part of the tradition. So for example, if you do Turkey breast, the great thing about the Turkey breast is that you can roast that Turkey breast. You will have all feeling that everything, a feeling of normalcy, I will say, because you will have the, the, a Roma and, and, and that cooking process. And, and it's fun to do it. And I think that's, that's, that's a good way to do it. Um, you know, side dishes, you know, people love to do like, uh, you know, that cranberry sauce that you can do many different ways. You can be part of another, only one day, but part of the, of the whole week. So you can really celebrate, uh, from Thanksgiving all the way to, to, to Sunday, by doing some, uh, cranberry Turkey sandwich by doing, you know, so there's so many things you can do with it. So I am for it. Uh, I think that's a great idea stuffing instead of a stuffing, you can do a casserole and a casserole will be, you know, that, that, that it will be a stuffing. It will be a little bit different. You can put some sausage in your stuffing, for example, and then you will bring a sense of normalcy. Speaker 1: 24:41 Hm. Any recommendations on desserts for Thanksgiving that aren't pies? Speaker 2: 24:47 Well, you know, I still, you still have to talk about pies because we'll be a pumpkin pie, but you can do a sweet potato pie. You can do an Apple pie. Uh, you can do, you can do so much, but I love to do a pecan pumpkin cheesecake, a coconut cake, a salted caramel cheesecake, uh, Apple tartar, gluten-free chocolate pistachio cake. You can do so many different things. And I think that it's important to, to do some things, maybe it was going to be a little bit different. There is a recipe that I do once in a while of the house, which is a passion fruit, uh, cake, which is so delicious because passion foods are really bountiful right now. So you take those fresh passion fruit. I do it with gluten-free flour, which is made with almond meal. It is delicious a little bit of frosting on top, but not too much sugar. So it really gives in balanced. So, you know, I have fun with it. Speaker 1: 25:41 It was wonderful. I was also wondering about adult beverages. You, you have a very special kind of martini that you wanted to tell us about. Speaker 2: 25:51 Well, you know what, knowing that this is a cranberry season, what about if you take the cranberry out of the cranberry sauce and you make it a cranberry martini, you know, is just looking outside the box. And I like to do it with a little bit of lemon grass. I have lemon grass growing in the, uh, at the house, which is really, really awesome, but you know, do a little bit of bubbles and don't, don't forget that, you know, you can do it, those, those champagne cocktail, but there is also the rest of the family. Was there. What about to making some mocktail for the kids? Because like, there's, they are part of the celebration. It is not, it's a family tradition. It is not only for the adults. So this is a great way to do it. Speaker 1: 26:31 Wine. What's a good wine to pair with a Thanksgiving meal. Speaker 2: 26:35 You know, if it's bubbles, you know, a Prosecco or sparkling rosé even, you know, just nice, nice rich chemo, the bull gun would be just perfect, but I love Rosie Roseanne Turkey. It's just, it's just Evan. It is so good. Uh, on the whites, you know, Pinot Grigio, Pino green, uh, I'm gonna say a Chardonnay, a nice Chardonnay, uh, like, you know, Rombauer, for example, it was nice and rich and creamy, which is really good. Um, when it comes to reds, you know, [inaudible] Granada, you know, a lighter red really worked out really well with that, but some people like to have a beer with it as well. So if you want a beer, I will say, I will go for a red hel or something was, was all Brown out. So I think it was, I would say some weight to it. Speaker 1: 27:25 Okay. So people who are listening to this and are going to do their best to prepare a rather traditional Thanksgiving meal, what should they be doing today, maybe right now to get ready for the feasts tomorrow? Speaker 2: 27:38 Make sure your Brian, your Turkey, Brian, your Turkey right now. If it's a whole Turkey, you need to brighten it. Um, yeah, you need to brighten it right away and they won't be Brian, I would say enough, but if you're doing a breast, it will be just perfect. So I would say, Brian, your Turkey made your cranberry sauce, baked your desserts, um, get your vegetables ready. Um, don't forget to get the wine and, uh, make some cookies as well. I mean, you know, it's not only just, you know, pumpkin pie or any other desserts, but I think that the kids love cookies. I love cookies. Speaker 1: 28:15 Everybody loves cookies. Now I know, I know chef that you're going to be working tomorrow, um, maybe for most of the weekend, but how will you be celebrating this year? Speaker 2: 28:27 Well, uh, as you say, I will be here, but I'm going to celebrate with everyone here, uh, Delilah beach and things up in the shores because you know, they are my family. Uh, all the rest of my family is in France. So they are my family and this is what I will be doing. And most likely on Sunday, I will go to Julian for a, um, just a quick, maybe Julian, a hopper hot cider, just to celebrate the upcoming season of the holidays, not only Thanksgiving, but also Christmas and new years. And just put you in the mood. It's going to be nice and cool in the mountains. Speaker 1: 29:04 It will be, you know, it's, I think it's so important for all of us to remember the things that we're grateful for this year. It's been such a difficult year. I know that I'm grateful for my health, for my family and for the people who listen to this show, what are some of the things you're grateful for? Speaker 2: 29:21 I'm grateful for, for my family. I know they are in France, but you know, we, we, we are closer now than ever because somehow we check on each other much more. I'm grateful that I have more time to really enjoy our region. And, you know, it's a new start. It's a new beginning and we still need to go through this very tough time, but the light is at the end of the tunnel. And I think by spring, next year, we will have a sense of normalcy will come back and life will be good again. Speaker 1: 29:56 I think we're all hoping for that chef Bernard [inaudible] thank you so much. I can't tell you. It's been wonderful to talk with you again. Thank you. Speaker 2: 30:04 Thank you very much and, uh, happy holidays to you and your family and, and, and thank you KPBS.