How to Be Your Own Private Chef: Thanksgiving Edition

On my calendar, there is no greater date than Thanksgiving, the one day a year where indulging in four thousand calories in a single sitting earns zero guilt or shame. In fact, it’s a national pastime.

More often than not, I feel my obsessive love affair with food carries a bit of a stigma or is met with bland indifference. It’s incredibly rare for someone to get as excited as I am when I tell them about the amazing taco I had last week or the blissful breakfast sandwich I’ve been fantasizing about for days. But on Thanksgiving, the entirety of the United States joins me in glorious gluttonous revelry as hundreds of millions become fixated on the preparation and consumption of a single meal.

Brined, jerked, BBQed, fried or herb rubbed? Garlic mashed, sweet with bruleed marshmallows or au gratin? Pie or cobbler? Is the stuffing cornbread, oyster or Stove Top? Do we even need a salad? These are the consuming questions that barrage families in the days leading up to the main event.

Let's get ready to ruuuuumble, ya'll! It's Turkey Time once again.

In recent days, I've gotten quite a few queries about how to make the best possible Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a few tips that guarantee a succulent bird and a happy crowd...


Commandment #1: Thou Shalt Flavor-Inject!

Everyone knows that brining your bird before roasting is one of the best ways to get a juicy turkey. Recently salt cures have come into fashion as well, and while both are smart, if messy, my recommendation is that you should also invest in a flavor injector.

Used after you brine and before you roast, a flavor injector, which looks like the needle Travolta used on Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, imparts even deeper flavor and juiciness. But don't stop at a one shot deal. Wash your injector well (you don't want raw turkey ick spreading) and use it multiple times during the roasting process, re-injecting each time you baste.

All you need is a big ass needle (available at places like William Sonoma or Bed Bath and Beyond) and a flavor injection mixture.

Turkey Flavor Injection
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (full of umami goodness)
a dash of hot sauce (optional)
1 spring (about two tablespoons) fresh rosemary
1 spring (about two tablespoons) fresh sage
1 spring (about two tablespoons) fresh thyme

In a small saucepot, bring all ingredients to a boil. Straining mixture and allow to cool slightly. Inject away!

Commandment #2: Thou Shalt Not Abide Lumpy Gravy

Gravy should not be indiscernible from the mashed potatoes! Lumps be gone!

I've found that the easiest way to create smooth, beautiful gravy is to use Wondra when making my roue. Take 1/2 a cup of the pan juices from the roasting turkey, heat it in a small saucepan along with 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and whisk in 1/2 a cup of Wondra. Cook over medium heat 45 seconds-1 minute, whisking constantly before adding the rest of the turkey drippings in a slow, steady stream. Add 1/4 cup white wine and bring gravy to a boil, whisking constantly, until gravy reaches desired consistency. Serve warm.

Commandment #3: Thou Shalt Honor All Stages of Thy Cranberries

When making your cranberry sauce, along with some orange zest, walnuts and a can of crushed pineapple, try adding both dried and fresh fruit. Dried cranberries give cranberry sauce a more interesting texture and better flavor than fresh cranberries alone. I also like adding some tart dried cherries as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How to Be Your Own Private Chef: Five Ingredients That Make Your Food Look and Taste Like a Million Bucks

As a private chef for the last 16 years, I’ve developed all kinds of little tricks to make my food appear more dynamic, high-end or effortful. Here are five easy additions to any recipe that will make you look like a pro.


#1. Truffle Oil

I like to call this stuff “Liquid Gold.” It’s pricey, about $20 bucks for 4-6 ounces, but it’s well worth it and way cheaper than an actual truffle. Besides, a few drops goes a long way so that tiny bottle will last you months.

Made by infusing olive oil with either black or white truffles, black truffle oil, which is slightly less expensive, tends to be lighter and spicier than the deeper, muskier overtones of white truffle oil.
The two most important things to remember about truffle oil is you don’t want to store it in the refrigerator, just in a cool, dry place like the pantry, and you never ever want to heat it or cook with it; that burns off the flavor. When your dish is done cooking, the idea is to drizzle truffle oil over the top, allowing it to release its rich earthiness, just before you serve. Think of it like spritzing perfume on your neck just before you walk out the door.

Use it to top pasta, eggs, meat or, my new favorite, mixed with stone ground mustard and lemon juice to make an amazing vinaigrette.

#2. Sriracha

When I was a kid, I traveled around Southeast Asia quite a bit with my family. When we returned to the United States, I was so disappointed to find that my favorite table staple, a thick hot sauce paste made from chili peppers, garlic, sugar, vinegar and salt, was nowhere to be found, replaced by boring ol’ Heinz. Luckily, in recent years, Sriracha, or “rooster sauce,” has started to infiltrate more restaurants and recipes. It even got a shout out during Top Chef’s ice cream Quickfire Challenge in season three.

Adding heat, tons of pungent garlic flavor and just the right amount of acid, Sriracha brings new dimension to everything from soup to chicken. But use it with caution if you’re not much of a chili-head. #3. Zest-- the rind of citrus, not the soap

I used to have a client who was good friends with Bill Clinton. I never had the chance to meet our former president but I did get to use a gift Bill bestowed on them; the raddest microplane ever. I don’t know if it was the fact that it was a Clinton-approved zester or simply the ease of use, but it got me obsessed with adding zest to dishes, especially when I discovered how it brightened them up, both in terms of flavor and presentation.

Zest, the outer rind of citrus like oranges, lemons and limes, is where all the good citrus flavor lives, thanks to oils in the fruit. It’s also beautiful and colorful, lending a little visual pop to your dish. Bonus Jonas: a good microplane or zester only costs about $10 bucks.

Try lime zest in Mexican dishes, orange zest in pancake or muffin batter and lemon zest with seafood or vegetables.

#4. Flat leaf (aka: Italian) Parsley

I’m a garnish eater. When I was younger and would go to Denny’s with friends, I would always steal the wilted curly parsley from their plates and pop it in my mouth. Because of its clean flavor and vibrant green color, parsley is the perfect addition to any dish that needs a little freshening up. Chopped, left whole, added to sauces, used to make Gremolata or Chimichurri, parsley is the bomb. But stay away from the Denny’s-style curly stuff and go for the flat-leaf variety. It’s got way more flavor and none of the diner food connotations.

#5. Kosher Salt

There are all kinds of scientific reasons for why chefs prefer kosher salt but basically it comes down to basics. Less flaky and overwhelming than flake salt, less cumbersome than sea salt, more flavorful than table (or iodized) salt; kosher salt has the perfect texture to pinch and sprinkle over dishes, the slightest crystallized crunch and a delightful briney flavor. Plus, it’s the salt of my people. I gotta rep The Tribe.

By adding any of these five things to your repertoire, you can make everyday dishes, from eggs to salads to dessert, taste infinitely better.

Originally posted to CafeMom