November 17, 2024 • 39 mins
(00:39) Unlock the secrets to crafting a memorable holiday feast with insights from our pros, Chefs Janet Loughran and Alekka Sweeney. With a wealth of experience in meal delivery, teaching, and kitchen spaces, these culinary experts offer invaluable tips and techniques for navigating the joys and challenges of holiday cooking.
(08:34) Eager to make your Thanksgiving turkey the talk of the table? We explore innovative techniques like spatchcocking for even cooking and using bacon for effortless basting. You'll also hear about the debate of different brining methods.
(20:42) Discover how to bring unexpected flavors to your table with alternatives to cranberry sauce or surprise guests with individual-sized pies and poached pears for dessert. We also share creative ideas for using leftovers, including a savory twist on monkey bread and breakfast bake recipes.
(34:05) Plus, Catherine Montest guides our wine selections for the holiday meals ahead. With imaginative and resourceful ideas, your gatherings are sure to be memorable, ensuring every guest leaves with a smile and a full heart...and belly!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug (00:01):
Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host.
Doug Heilman, do you have theprivilege of hosting a big
holiday feast in the comingweeks, or maybe you're just
contributing a little somethingto the meal?
Well, this episode is for you.
From timing and turkey todesserts and more.
We're getting the inside advicefrom a couple of pros.
(00:23):
We're getting the inside advicefrom a couple of pros.
And what bottles are youpulling off the shelf or out of
the chill chest for your nextbig feast?
Resident wine expert CatherineMontest gives us some guidance.
All that ahead.
Stay tuned.
Hey everybody, we're joinedtoday with two of our favorite
prior guests and I'll let themreintroduce themselves, and then
(00:48):
we're going to talk aboutholiday dinners and some of the
fun stuff that folks encounterwith that.
Would you go first?
Janet (00:53):
Sure, my name is Janet Loughran.
I've been a chef for almost twodecades and actually my
counterpart here.
We are kind of similar in whatwe do, so there might be some
overlap.
I have an Instagram page ChefLife Hacks that I love sharing
tips and tricks and recipes.
I'm on KDKA Talk Pittsburghonce a month.
I do cooking classes and then Ialso have a meal delivery
(01:14):
service called Red Wagon MealsProvide meals for families each
week A mom of two and a wife, soyeah, it's a lot, Janet.
Doug (01:22):
you have nothing going on.
Well, we talked a few monthsago.
What have you been doing sincewe talked last?
Any big things happening?
Janet (01:30):
Well, I've gained some new clients, which is nice
because they're kind ofspreading the word.
If you are a busy workingparent and you want to have
ready to heat meals, that's justkind of blown up.
I've really gone strong intocooking classes.
I've really loved theinteraction, the questions that
they have.
You know you don't realize whatyou know until people ask you
questions, and it's nice toshare.
(01:52):
So, yeah, it's one of myfavorites.
That's why you're here today,yeah love it.
Doug (01:56):
Can I add one more thing?
Sure, I noticed you doing a lotof stuff for the Kaufman
Apartments downtown.
Oh, yes, it's like a reallycool gig.
Janet (02:03):
Oh my gosh, the apartment store that was there was huge
in my life growing up.
It was like a mecca for us forChristmas and you would go to
Santa's Secret Shop and you know, have breakfast there and
everything.
So what they've done wheneverthat closed down is they
basically blew out the center ofthe apartment the I keep saying
apartment department store andso it's like a nice courtyard
for the apartments.
They have windows andeverything.
(02:24):
Huge, beautiful rooftop with alot of amenities.
But yeah, I'm their residentchef.
I do a lot of cooking classesthere.
If they have a happy hour I'mthere, so it's been fun, super
fun.
Yeah, I love it.
Pinch myself moment every time.
Doug (02:37):
And let's move over to our second guest of today.
Alekka (02:40):
Hi, doug, I am Chef Alekka.
Just like Janet, I am a privatechef.
I do lean into a lot of thecooking for people's special
events.
I also teach cooking classestoo.
I've used Janet a lot for myprivate events when I need an
extra set of hands because sheis a monster in the kitchen.
(03:03):
I love it.
Janet (03:04):
We work well together.
Yeah, we work really welltogether.
Yeah, we have fun.
Alekka (03:08):
I'm on Talk Pittsburgh twice a month and I also just
started teaching again at PhippsConservatory.
Doug (03:14):
I have seen these classes.
Alekka (03:16):
I love them so much.
Doug (03:17):
Yeah, so I was going to ask, same as Janet, like what
you've been up to, but these aresort of a new thing you've been
doing this summer, right, yes,Anyway, what's the audience?
Is it adults, Is it kids?
Alekka (03:27):
Well, the summertime I did do the kids summer camp,
which I love.
Like I said before, I loveteaching the kids and at night
it's adults.
Doug (03:36):
Any special topics that you guys have focused on over at
Phipps.
Alekka (03:39):
Just, we're all over the all over the board, all over
the board, but they do like tofocus on, you know, using the
stuff from their garden andkeeping it healthy.
Doug (03:47):
I think I just saw you outside of Phipps picking stuff
to use.
Catherine (03:53):
It looks so cool.
Alekka (03:54):
So cool.
Oh my gosh, I just got chills.
The big news is my sharedkitchen space is open in Mount
Oliver.
Doug (04:03):
So exciting, thank you.
Do you have a name for thisspace yet?
Alekka (04:12):
It's called the Mount Oliver Shared Kitchen.
Oh, okay, yeah, so I'm themanager of it, and it's been a
long journey, as you guys haveknow about and if folks want to
know more.
Doug (04:18):
I don't know if you're filled up yet with the capacity
there, but this is a commercialspace that if you're doing
cooking you could sort of joininto and do your cooking in the
legal way the health departmentcleared way and take that food
elsewhere.
Or does it even have space todo dinner there?
Alekka (04:38):
Yeah, so there's a little event space in the front
and then right around the corner, in the hallway, there's a
shared kitchen.
Doug (04:46):
Like, if people want to learn a little bit more about
this, like where should theyreach out If this is interesting
to them?
Alekka (04:51):
We actually have an email now.
Okay, I'll have to tell you ina minute.
I have to look it up.
Sounds good.
Doug (04:58):
So, friends, we're actually here to talk about
holiday meals.
We're in that sort of fallseason where folks start to
gather for the big turkey meal,or maybe into the holidays in
December, into January, and Ithink it'd be really interesting
to get your takes on some ofthe questions that you get and
just share some of thatknowledge.
Sound like a plan, yeah.
Janet (05:19):
You got two good people to do that.
Doug (05:21):
Well, let's just throw it out there first.
When you are dealing with maybesome of your clients or just
folks in life and they're saying, oh my gosh, I have to prepare
this big meal, it feels like alot of pressure.
What are some of the commonquestions or pitfalls that
people bring to you?
Janet (05:38):
I think the biggest thing is timing making sure that all
of these things that you want tomake for that holiday party are
going to come together.
Be hot and ready at the sametime.
My biggest tips, number one tryto pawn some items off on your
guests.
Doug (05:53):
Share the work right.
A lot of times they say whatcan I bring?
Janet (05:57):
Let them bring something.
Maybe it's something that theyfeel comfortable making it's
their family meal.
Or if you say, hey, I reallyjust need mashed potatoes, can
you make those for me and bringthat?
So pawn off if you can.
If not, try to do as much aheadof time before the day of your
party as you can.
Those mashed potatoes can bemade up to four days ahead of
time.
You know, those, thosecasseroles can be put together
(06:17):
and and even probably par cookedand then finished cook on the
day.
You know, obviously, if you'rehaving a turkey or something
like that you want to do thatday of.
But try to look at the menuthat you've written down and say
, what can I do ahead of time?
Dips, a lot of appetizers canbe done ahead of time so you
don't have so much on your platethat day and you can enjoy your
guests.
You can not be rushed.
You know we're not on the bear,remember that bear episode with
(06:39):
the mom just going crazy.
You don't have to be like that,it can be a lot more relaxed.
Doug (06:43):
You want to enjoy it.
I'm right there with you andI've gotten some of these tips
from my mom.
She makes several things ahead.
She peels her potatoes a dayahead.
I like to pawn off theappetizers and sometimes the
dessert, because that way, if Ido have a menu in my head that
you know, people don't have tobring that casserole that might
interrupt the flavor, butappetizer and dessert are those
(07:09):
bookends that people can alsojoin into.
Alekka (07:10):
That's a great idea.
You pawned that off on me.
So, aleka, what would you say?
Mine is and I said this lastnight in my cooking class is go
shopping now for what you canuse for the holidays, because I
always know in my house my dadis always the one running out
that day.
You know stuff for gravy orlike a miscellaneous item.
So I say, right now, throw awayyour baking powder, your baking
(07:32):
soda.
Oh yeah, get all new.
You know you can freeze flour.
You can buy a couple bags offlour.
You can get your pumpkin piefilling now.
You can even, if you want, tobuy the bread for the stuffing.
Doug (07:46):
Yeah, all the non-perishables, all the
non-perishables, you know, getthem now.
If you've got the room in thefreezer, you can put a lot of
things in there.
Alekka (07:53):
When it's like the Hunger Games, like right before
Thanksgiving, and people are,you know, like raiding the
stores.
You can get all of that now.
Yeah, the shelves don't need tobe bare.
If you buy your stocks or yourspices, get it now.
Doug (08:10):
I think you make a really good point too.
This is a great time of year togo through your cupboard and
refresh all of the baking items,because I can tell you right
now, my flour in this cupboardbehind me is like a year old.
Yeah, it needs to go Right.
You don't want to make that pie.
That's supposed to be specialwith old stuff, with
questionable flour.
Janet (08:26):
Exactly, or yeast, you know, if it's not going to bloom
for you.
Doug (08:29):
Yeah, no good.
So since we're kind of leaninginto that shared gathered meal,
let's go ahead and talk a littlebit about Thanksgiving and
specifically about turkey.
For some reason, I thinkpersonally it's not that hard,
but people seem to make a bigdeal about roasting the turkey
and whether to brine it or notbrine it.
I'll throw it back to you again, janet.
(08:50):
You know what are some of thequestions you get and what are
some tips you would tell folksabout roasting the turkey.
Janet (08:56):
I think the biggest thing is people don't know how to
gauge what the temperature is ofthe turkey.
If it's done properly, notundercooked, what you need to do
is not use one of those poppersthat you sometimes can see when
it comes in the ones thatthey're embedded in the turkey
breast.
Doug (09:10):
Yeah, pull it out, throw it away, throw it away.
Yeah, I don't really likecooking with plastic in the item
and while we're at it, take thegiblets and stuff out of the
center because they're in aplastic bag.
Yeah, for sure, yeah.
Janet (09:24):
They're not accurate, those poppers, so you just want
to use a thermometer, put it inbetween the drumstick thigh area
of the turkey and then, whereit meets, the chicken breast,
the white meat, and 165 is whatwe're looking for.
Doug (09:37):
And where it meets the turkey breast Did I say chicken
breast, you did.
Janet (09:41):
For Thanksgiving Poultry, the poultry breast, and just
want to insert it where it meetsthe turkey breast and get the
165 degrees there.
Doug (09:48):
All right.
Any other tips for keeping theturkey moist and delicious while
it's baking?
Janet (09:54):
I have a couple.
There's something calledspatchcocking.
If you've never heard of that,I know it's a funny name that
we're all turning 12 years oldright now, but what you
basically do is just cut out thevertebrae of the uh turkey and
then lay it flat yeah, okay,yeah, right um, and then you lay
it flat so that all has an evencooking time, because dark meat
takes a long, a little bitlonger than white meat.
(10:15):
That's why white meat can be alittle bit dry.
Speaking of that, how to maybekeep that not so dry for the
turkey breast is you actuallycan lay over slices of bacon and
that fat that renders out goesinto the turkey breast Sounds
like the best way to baste aturkey.
Doug (10:30):
Why not?
Janet (10:31):
Seriously hands off basting.
I didn't even think about that.
And then the drippings that youget from that for the gravy
with the bacon flavor in there.
Doug (10:37):
A different smokiness.
I'm hungry now.
I know, aleka, what about you?
And talking turkey, is thereany other tips that you have?
Alekka (10:46):
So my trick is I put the turkey in at a high temperature
first to get that crispy, thatbrowning on the top, that
browning.
But, everybody forgets aboutthe underside of the turkey.
Doug (10:58):
Yeah, it gets kind of anemic looking because it might
be sitting right against thejuices.
Alekka (11:03):
So after that first initial high temperature,
everybody turns the oven down.
So I flip my turkey over, sothe breast is facing down, and
then you get that color on thebottom.
That's for about 20 minutes.
30 minutes Per pound, yeah.
Janet (11:20):
Per pound.
But I also like that idea too,because you're putting the
juicier dark meat on top of thewhite meat, so all those juices
are filtering down exactly.
They have a better.
What is it called whenever theheat is you?
Alekka (11:32):
know, on it, it has more uh exposure there's more
exposure to the heat, and my dadis like the king of gravy at
our house, so he puts the turkeyon like a cookie rack and puts
all the veggies underneath.
Doug (11:46):
Aromatic veggies, yeah, so all the fat drips on those
veggies.
Alekka (11:50):
I mean I eat half of them during the day.
Doug (11:52):
Yeah, we're talking like carrots and onion and maybe
celery.
Alekka (11:56):
Garlic celery.
He incorporates that into hisgiblet gravy.
Doug (12:00):
Delicious.
Are you pro stuff the turkey ornot stuff the turkey, not stuff
.
Yeah, I think we don't do iteither.
We don't stuff, we do thestuffing dressing in a totally
different pan or something.
Janet (12:11):
I didn't grow up that way .
My grandma always put thestuffing in but, I, think as I
get older I realized that youhave to have the middle of that
stuffing at 165.
So, what temperature is thatoutside, dry?
You know turkey right now.
Doug (12:24):
Yeah, Because you know, for foodborne illnesses you have
to make sure that that insidetemperature is 165.
Janet (12:31):
And so you're drying out the outer actual meat, the good
stuff, yeah to get that stuff incooked?
Doug (12:34):
No good, no, all right.
Last question Do you brine yourturkey or not brine it?
What camp are you all in?
I'm in camp brine.
Alekka (12:42):
Me too.
Oh, I'm not, but that's myfamily, yeah.
Doug (12:45):
Oh, so how do you do it, Alekka?
Alekka (12:47):
I just do the salt water peppercorns bay leaf and then I
do the salt dried or likewhatever.
Doug (12:55):
And what's your kind of time horizon there?
Do you do?
Alekka (12:57):
it 24 hours, 24 hours.
Doug (12:59):
Yeah, all right.
You're not like my parents whogo really big and they'll brine
for a couple days, whoa.
Janet (13:04):
Wow, does it change the texture of the meat?
Doug (13:07):
Yeah, we've loved it more because we used to not do that.
We also roasted on a countertoproaster and it just turns out
amazing.
We don't go for like the wholecrispy skin brown, but all of
the meat is super, super juicyand so that's sort of been the
winner way for, oh my gosh, thelast 10 years with them.
Cool, what about you, Janet?
Janet (13:27):
Well, I don't know.
I feel like it's more timeconsuming.
You have to have some sort ofpot or receptacle that's large
enough to hold that turkey tothere's displacement with the
water.
Oh we should maybe talk aboutdisplacement of oil If someone's
going to fry their turkey.
There's a lot of issues withthat.
We could go back to that.
Anyway, it just made me thinkabout that.
But yeah, I me personally, Ifeel like it maybe changes the
(13:49):
texture of it a little bit.
I might be a little bit highmaintenance that way, but if you
guys love like, I'm not one ofthose people that say this is
the way I do it and the way youdo it is different and it's
wrong no, if that makes youhappy and you have the results
that you want, great, yeah, cool.
Doug (14:02):
If you've got the fridge space, yeah, and you like the
way it tastes and texturedoesn't change for you, go for
it.
Now, Janet, since you are notin the camp of like a wet brine,
do you do like a copious amountof salt and pepper on the bird,
like how do you season it up?
Janet (14:17):
I actually will make a compound butter which basically
is just butter with ingredientsadded to it.
Alekka (14:22):
You put that underneath the skin, under the skin, yeah.
Janet (14:25):
If there's someone who's a little squeamish about chicken
, don't have them in the kitchenat that point, because it's not
a pretty process.
Doug (14:31):
You are talking about my husband.
He would pass out watching youdo that.
Janet (14:34):
Yeah, but it's actually easier than you think to
separate the skin from the fleshand then, you know, put
whatever stuffings you want inthere.
Doug (14:40):
Oh, it's so good.
Janet (14:41):
And then it's like you know, it's basting itself.
Doug (14:43):
Take your rings off.
Watch your fingernails.
Have really clean hands.
Yeah, get under there and justdo it.
Or wear gloves, yeah, or weargloves yeah, all right, and
we've probably thrown somevegetarians on pause right now.
Alekka (14:56):
Yeah, welcome back come back.
Doug (14:57):
Well, yeah, let's do that.
So what if we have some folkscoming to a meal and we know
they're vegetarian?
So many folks do that from alifestyle choice, but they also
sometimes have to do it forhealth reasons.
Is there another?
Alekka (15:18):
dish that you have made or seen that really works well
as a vegetarian offering anddoesn't necessarily make them
feel left out.
Doug (15:22):
I think Thanksgiving would be like a vegetarian's dream
with all the sides.
Just go for all the sides, yeah.
Alekka (15:26):
I mean they're so you know.
Just eliminate the, replacewith vegetable stock.
One thing that I made for asecret menu social that I'm
going to do this Thanksgiving isa marinated zucchini.
So you marinate it in olive oil, so I do champagne vinegar,
some red pepper flakes and thenyou grill it, you saute it till
(15:49):
it gets nice and caramelized.
I put that on a bed of herbedricotta and some hazelnuts and
some mint.
Janet (15:58):
That sounds delicious.
Yeah, I bet the mint reallybrightens up.
Alekka (16:00):
Yeah, it does, because you know you don't want like a
table of brown food either.
Doug (16:05):
Yeah, yeah, I think, getting some acid things, some
fresh things.
I like the idea of somegrilling things, because we can
still do that even in the coldmonths.
Go out to the grill, do alittle smoky char on something,
yeah.
Janet (16:23):
Yeah to the grill.
Do a little smoky char onsomething.
Yeah, yeah, I grill in thewinter all the time.
Me too, my neighbors think I'mcrazy, but I love it.
It still works.
My thinking is, if you havesomeone that would like a main
item, not just all of the sides,if you take acorn squash and
par, bake it for 30 minutes, youcan easily cut through that.
It's not going to have anyresistance to it.
Scoop out those seeds,literally fill it with whatever
you want.
Oh, that's good.
I've done a quinoa, kalecarrots, maybe even some vegan
cheese if they're vegan or youcan do.
(16:43):
Parmesan, if they're vegetarian.
Alekka (16:46):
Nuts in there or something.
Oh yeah, pine nuts.
Oh my gosh, a little bit ofcrunch.
Janet (16:49):
Or you can make it a sweet and savory.
I've added dried cranberries toit, so they basically get a
half of an acorn squash as theirmain item and it's quite
filling because you scoop it'skind of like a baked potato,
yeah.
You know you scoop the flesh inand kind of keep the skin
intact.
The other thing I've used inthe past is a portobello
mushroom.
I was just going to say that,yeah, the portobello mushroom
you got to scoop out those gillsand then you can put, you know,
(17:11):
a breadcrumb filling in mixturewith some vegetables.
It kind of tastes beefy andit's filling.
So those are my two thoughts.
Doug (17:19):
I love those ideas and I also like the idea that maybe if
you're doing a Friendsgiving,you could go vegetarian for that
whole thing, skip the turkeyand make these mains like you're
suggesting stuffed squash,stuffed portobello mushroom and
everyone's eating the same thingand still enjoying themselves A
dinner of carbs, I know totallyfine.
Janet (17:35):
I feel like so many people hear vegan and vegetarian
and they think flavorless andyou know tofu and there's so
many options.
A lot of the things you'reeating every day are vegan and
vegetarian already so it's notthat far-fetched um to me to get
out of your comfort zone.
I like spaghetti squash I dotoo I love to do that too.
I'm a big squash fan.
People think that they're justdecorations, but they're tasty
(17:56):
if you do it right.
Doug (17:57):
This time of year they're all fresh and then, even if you
buy some, they last for like acouple months.
I know, they're like yourrations for the winter.
Janet (18:10):
Hi, this is Janet Loghran of Chef Life Hacks.
Alekka (18:13):
And this is Alekka Sweeney of Chef Alekka PGH.
Janet (18:17):
And you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug (18:21):
You both sparked another question too and I think it's
important to talk about.
It comes up more with theThanksgiving meal, but it should
not just be all brown food andwe should have some pops of
flavor in there.
The one thing I hear about thatfolks struggle with with the
Thanksgiving meal is maybeincorporating acid or some
freshness.
I know we get that from thecranberry sauce, but are there
(18:41):
any other sides or casserolesthat you like to incorporate to
make sure that you have thosedifferent notes of flavor and
it's not just that one heavybrown food plate?
Janet (18:53):
I think a lot of times it can maybe come from a
vinaigrette on a nice salad.
Oh yeah, you know, get somehearty vegetables and vegetables
really that aren't cooked.
You know, I think a lot oftimes it can maybe come from a
vinaigrette on a nice salad.
Oh yeah, you know, get somehearty vegetables and vegetables
really that aren't cooked.
Yeah, you know, basically Iwould think maybe a balsamic
would be nice, like if you do aroasted butternut squash with
some sage and shallots and havesome balsamic on there Like a
balsamic drizzle on top.
(19:14):
Nice little yeah, nice littlepop I like that I do.
Alekka (19:17):
instead of croutons, I do like a fried goat cheese
crouton.
Doug (19:22):
On a salad, on a salad.
Alekka (19:25):
But you have to freeze the goat cheese first.
I can put it through a littlebreading procedure.
Doug (19:32):
While it's chilled, while it's chilled freeze it.
Alekka (19:35):
And then you can either bake it or fry it and then put
that on the salad with the acid,so you have that crunchiness in
the ass.
Janet (19:44):
Look at your face dog it is.
I've had it.
It's delicious.
She made it for me.
Doug (19:48):
I'm also envisioning it back to that squash recipe that,
jan, you know, maybe put alittle block of that on the end.
Janet (19:54):
Yes, goat cheese on anything is good for me.
I little block of that on theend.
Yes, goat cheese on.
Alekka (19:58):
anything is good for me.
I love goat cheese, but it'svery important to freeze it
first before you do anything toit, because then it's just going
to ooze out everywhere yeah.
But it's got that tang, it'sgot that sort of acidity to it,
yeah, and people don't expect it.
Doug (20:09):
A couple of years ago I started making an Ina Garten
recipe and you braise carrots,parsnips and I think it's
shallot in orange juice and theylook bright, the colors are
good.
I do cook them to their soft.
There's a little thyme in thereas well, but that acidity that
was like a new add to my plateand that was like, yes, we're
going to keep this.
Janet (20:28):
I like that.
Yeah, because everything'sreally rich that day, yeah, so
this is a cleaner flavor.
Doug (20:33):
A little citrus in there always seems nice.
Janet (20:36):
Cool.
Doug (20:37):
Well, I think we've hit the holiday meal and especially
we talked turkey and now somesides.
I'd like to talk about thesweets or the desserts For
Thanksgiving.
I'm pretty much a pumpkin pieguy.
If you ask me for Christmas oranother Friendsgiving, I don't
know, I'm kind of up in the air.
I feel like it should bespecial and I start thinking
(21:04):
about apple things or spicythings like a spice cake, what
do you all like for holidaydesserts or what are your
specialties?
Alekka (21:08):
So I always gravitate towards more individual desserts
.
So, for example, I show mypeople, my people, I show my
students.
Instead of making five or sixfull-size pies where people
bring them, I make my pies incupcake pans.
Oh my gosh, that's genius.
(21:28):
That is genius.
Doug (21:29):
Yes.
Alekka (21:30):
So you can do like three pecan, three pumpkin, a couple
apples, some cranberry, andeverybody gets their own little
individual little pilot orwhatever you want to call it.
Doug (21:42):
I just had a vision of a pie charcuterie board with all
these little pies why, not yeah,and a lot of people like the
crust, so it sounds like you getmore crust to filling ratio
with all these little guys andyou don't have to commit to a
big piece that's
Alekka (21:54):
right you have a little one maybe go on another one.
Janet (21:56):
maybe have a buddy that's going to have one.
Yeah, Share one with you.
Alekka (21:58):
So you can satisfy everybody you know in like two
cupcake pans.
Janet (22:02):
Love it Genius.
Alekka (22:03):
Another thing I'm gravitating towards and kind of
putting on a menu is poachedpears.
Oh, yeah.
This is pear season.
It looks beautiful if you poachit in some red wine.
Janet (22:16):
Tell them how easy it is to poach a pear.
It is stove top, only rightit's all on the stove top right
yeah
Alekka (22:19):
you have to hollow out.
I use a melon baller to hollowout the bottom of the pear and
then you cut a little foot on it.
Remove the skin.
Yeah, remove the skin.
The trick is, when you put itin your poaching liquid, is to
put a piece of parchment paperon top to keep those.
Keep them down.
Listen to you.
(22:40):
You're my cartoon.
Doug (22:41):
I know what I'm talking about.
This is a fancy chef time, sothe parchment paper keeps them
way down below the surface.
Yeah, so you can.
Alekka (22:49):
You don't want to occasionally turn them around.
You get like an even so.
Janet (22:52):
Then you cook it until I take a paring knife, until it's
the consistency of like potatoesfor potato salad Just go in
Like the knife goes in and outclean and then I reduce that
poaching liquid to a sauce, soit's like one pot dessert, and
then it becomes like a glazekind of, as you let it evaporate
some of that liquid.
Alekka (23:12):
It's sort of like some creme fraiche or some vanilla
ice cream.
Doug (23:16):
Here's what I love about this it doesn't involve the oven
.
Some people don't have thatcapacity and want to do that.
It doesn't sound like highflying, like pie dough rolling.
All of that's eliminated.
Do you have any idea how longyou typically do simmer the
pears?
Janet (23:32):
It depends on the pear, I feel like, if you're using
Asian pears.
They're like an apple or a.
Doug (23:35):
Bosc pear, it's a little bit skinnier, so I would say
what 30 minutes to an hour,depending on how thick it is,
like a simmer simmer you don'twant to boil it because the
outside's going to be mushy.
Janet (23:44):
Yeah, and then the inside's going to be raw almost
and those can be held in therefrigerator and either served
cold or reheated day of.
I mean with that sugar outercoating it.
It's in a preserve.
It's so good yeah.
Alekka (23:57):
And then the leftovers you can cut up and use in a
salad.
Janet (24:01):
Oh, my gosh With like goat cheese and walnuts, yeah.
Catherine (24:04):
So it has multi-task, multi-uses.
Doug (24:06):
I love the poached pear idea.
Alekka, if people don't want touse wine, have you ever done
this in like a brown sugar syrupor something else like
non-alcoholic?
Yeah, Can I do that?
Alekka (24:16):
There are some really good Open Road here has some
really good non-alcoholic winesyou can use.
Doug (24:22):
Yes.
Alekka (24:22):
My advice on desserts for Thanksgiving.
I know a lot of people want toreally impress your guests.
Really, don't try to dosomething brand new, no Right?
Doug (24:34):
I think that's a good rule for anybody.
Yeah, you want to practicefirst anyway.
Janet (24:39):
When you're entertaining guests, you're stressed already.
You want the house to be nice.
You want everything to cometogether.
Don't try something new thatyou've never made before.
Alekka (24:45):
It's likely not going to turn out perfectly the first
time and you can buy pre-madepie dough Mm-hmm.
Doug (24:52):
You can buy the dessert.
Alekka (24:55):
I'm starting to make my pie doughs now for the holidays,
because you can freeze unsaltedbutter for three months, going
back to like my buying stuff forthe holidays.
You can buy your butter now andkeep it in the freezer, oh,
okay.
So going back to the sharedkitchen space, I'm going to be
doing a class there a couple ofdays before Thanksgiving, called
(25:17):
I Forgot to Make a Pie.
Good name.
Doug (25:21):
I like this.
Alekka (25:21):
So you either bring in a pie pan or I'll provide one and
we make pies and I'll show youhow to make homemade pie dough.
Doug (25:28):
So this is like a pie emergency.
Yes, if I don't know how to doit, I forgot to do it.
I promised I'd do it and neverdid it.
You're going to help me do it.
Janet (25:35):
Yes, cool.
Doug (25:37):
I love these ideas of mini pies or the poached pears, and
I could see those working on anytype of holiday meal, not just
Thanksgiving, Janet.
What about you when it comes todessert?
Any tricks, tips?
You could do it, girl.
Janet (25:51):
I look at Alekka for this .
Doug (25:52):
I was going to say didn't you say, this isn't always your
forte.
Janet (26:01):
It's not my although I am interested and will attempt,
I'm more of a savory cook, notso much a pastry chef.
I think it has similartechniques and you know things
that you have to keep an eye onbut, she shines in that world
Alekka of Alekka of this, yeah.
I mean, I can't even hold acandle to what she can make in
terms of baked goods.
So I just I can't even hold acandle to what she can make in
terms of baked goods.
So I just, I go to the expertsfor that and I don't want to.
So you would buy your desserts.
(26:22):
Yeah, I know Probably from you.
Alekka (26:27):
People just invite me, knowing that I'm bringing
dessert, perfect Good thing toknow.
Doug (26:32):
I think we've talked through the whole holiday meal,
but why don't we just sort ofopen it up?
Are there any other tips ortechniques that we didn't land
on that we should tell folks?
I tell people to make ice Ice.
Yes, days ahead, days ahead.
Do it now.
Well, maybe not.
Alekka (26:52):
It's a little early maybe, but you think about what
I've learned in catering.
Maybe you too.
Janet is to cut the alcohol orwhatever you're drinking in half
and double the amount of food,because people always seem to
run out of food and they haveway too much to drink.
That's what I found.
And then the rule forappetizers is everybody eats two
and a half.
Janet (27:11):
Yep Two and a half.
Alekka (27:12):
Three options, little bites, little bites for
calculating the amount of foodyou're going to cook.
Janet (27:18):
And the more appetizers you have, less than that,
because they're not going tohave one of each.
Exactly, if you have 30 people,you're not going to have 30
tartlets.
Alekka (27:25):
Right.
Janet (27:26):
Maybe.
Yeah, kind of spread it around.
I like these tips.
I have one for you.
Go for it.
So if you are low on oven spaceand you want to keep things
that are hot, you want to keepthem warm, you take a cooler,
regular cooler that you wouldusually put, you know, pop and
water and beer in.
Okay, get really hot tap waterand pour it in the bottom of the
cooler, close the lid for fiveminutes, use the little spigot
(27:48):
on the bottom, remove that.
You now have a warmer.
The entire cooler stays warm.
So you can put those food itemsthat are already hot, take them
out of your oven, put them rightin the cooler.
Now what I would do is maybe Iwould put a box, or something
like that, on the bottom,because you don't want to maybe
melt anything if it's too, toohot.
Doug (28:06):
And if you fill it up with stuff, it's really going to
maintain that temperature.
Janet (28:08):
It is the residual heat from all the items in there will
kind of act like a thermos butit's a huge space and out of the
oven.
Doug (28:15):
That's brilliant.
I don't have a second oven.
I am going to do that someday.
Alekka (28:20):
Oh, here's my tip Don't use blue yarn to truss your
turkey.
I ran out of butcher twine oneyear, no way.
Janet (28:29):
And guess what happened?
There were like blue marks allover it oh you poor things.
Doug (28:34):
You only do that once.
Kitchen twine all the way yeah.
Alekka (28:37):
Oh my gosh.
Doug (28:39):
Is there anything else that you guys would like to
share with the listeners that wedidn't hit today?
Janet (28:43):
I have an amazing breakfast for if you have guests
at your house and you want tofeed an army and you don't want
to be slaving over the stove.
Doug (28:49):
Well, you're leading me to my next question.
I was wondering if you guys hada recipe to share.
So I love this, because we'realways thinking about the meal
but we're not thinking aboutpeople that might be coming in
from out of town and stayingover.
So this is a breakfast dish.
Janet (29:03):
So what I call it is a breakfast bake and it leaves it
very open to what ingredientsyou want to add to it.
So the basis of it is bread,eggs, either heavy cream and
milk, whatever meat you want orno meat, whatever veggies you
want or no veggies, and thenwhatever cheese you want.
So I've done cubed up eitherfocaccia or sourdough or I mean
(29:24):
something that might be goingbad.
You can use this.
You put it in a nine by 13 pan.
Just use enough to fill thebottom with the bread.
You use literally six eggs,that's all you need, and then
add your heavy cream or yourmilk, and I usually will do
either ham or breakfast sausageor, if I have some bacon
leftover, I'll sprinkle that on,put some cheese on top and then
(29:46):
you just put it in the oven,375 for about, I would say, half
an hour to 40 minutes.
You just want to make sure thatthe center of it, the eggs, are
set and then you can just setit out.
People take a little slice whenthey want to and it's hands-off
.
It's wonderful.
Doug (29:59):
Oh, here's what I like about this too.
If they came in for a differentmeal and you had leftover bread
, or you had a leftover veggiethat would work, or ham, here's
a way to get rid of that stuffand reinvent it into something
completely new.
Janet (30:10):
Exactly.
We call it cross-utilization,don't we In the kitchen.
Alekka (30:20):
No, I'm such a nerd.
I'm sorry it's using aningredient in a lot of different
ways.
I'm speaking your language.
Doug (30:24):
Janet, I have one Go for it Alekka.
Alekka (30:25):
Mine's kind of like a savory monkey bread.
Oh, I like that Because youknow people I do.
I buy sometimes those biscuitsin the can and make a monkey
bread, but this one.
Doug (30:38):
Really quick.
Alekka.
If folks aren't familiar withmonkey bread, in our group we
called it bubble bread, and thisis just sticking little dough
balls all together, usually in abundt pan right.
Alekka (30:47):
Yes, okay, so mine is a savory version using your
Thanksgiving leftovers.
Janet (30:52):
Oh, I like that.
Alekka (30:53):
So you're going to take the biscuit and then I put it in
again, some if you have anyleftover salad dressing, or just
like olive oil, some herbs.
That would be the first layerand on top of that you would do
cut up little turkey and thenmore of the biscuits, and then a
layer of cranberry, more of thebiscuit.
(31:14):
So you're like layering thebiscuits with your Thanksgiving
leftovers, and again you're justusing the biscuit dough that
you pop open out of the biscuit.
So you're like layering thebiscuits with your Thanksgiving
leftovers.
Doug (31:18):
And again you're just using the biscuit dough that you
pop open out of the tube andyou cut those biscuits into like
what fours?
Or something, and are youdipping them in butter as well,
or are they just good on theirown?
Alekka (31:29):
You want to dip them in some type of butter, especially
to get it out of the pan too.
Doug (31:35):
That sounds delicious and people are just snacking at it.
Alekka (31:37):
Yes, or you can cut it like a slice of pie or cake to
see all those layers.
What do you call this?
Monkey bread?
I'm just going to make it upright now Thanksgiving monkey
bread.
Doug (31:49):
Oh, there you go, there you go, we're inviting the
monkey to Thanksgiving.
Well, thank you both so much.
I think you've given ourlisteners great advice, some new
things that I've never heard ofbefore.
I cannot wait to use my cooleras a warmer.
Alekka (32:05):
I know that was brilliant, Janet.
Janet (32:08):
I wish I remember where I saw that.
It was years ago.
I like to give people creditwhere credit's due, but I can't
remember where I saw it.
Alekka (32:12):
But yeah, it works well really well, yeah, because we
were usually running to ourneighbor's house like, do you
have space in your oven?
Doug (32:18):
Oh my goodness, this is why you are Chef Life Hacks.
Alekka (32:20):
I know.
Doug (32:22):
And with that let's go ahead and do a little bit of a
plug.
Sign off.
We'll start with you, janet,can you give everyone where they
can find you and follow you, ifthey aren't following you
already?
Janet (32:32):
Sure, so mainly I'm on Instagram and TikTok, a little
bit on Facebook, but on everyplatform it's Chef Life Hacks
and there are dots in between.
But if you just put Chef LifeHacks, it'll work well too.
I don't have a website at thispoint.
I actually dove into that andrealized I can kind of pass
along some cost savings to myclients if I don't have a
website at this point, but it isin the future.
(32:53):
So that is my main point ofcontact.
If you would just find me onone of those social media
platforms, if you want me to doany cooking classes or catering
with you or provide meals foryou for the week, just let me
know.
Doug (33:04):
Wonderful.
So, Alekka, let's turn to youas well.
If folks want to find andfollow you, and if they want to
find out more about that newkitchen space, where can they
find you?
Alekka (33:20):
So the information for the kitchen space is Hilltop
Shared Kitchen at gmail.
com.
All right, If you want to findme, I am Chef Alekka PGH on the
gram the Instagram the Instagramon my website is Chef Alekka.
com.
Doug (33:33):
All right.
Alekka (33:34):
And I will be either shopping or cooking or calling
Janet for help for the nextthree months.
I know.
Doug (33:42):
You guys get busy.
Alekka (33:43):
Or teaching.
Doug (33:44):
Aw Well, thank you both so much for coming back on the
show and sharing all of yourknowledge we appreciate it so
much.
Janet (33:50):
You're awesome.
Thank you for having us, mypleasure.
Doug (33:52):
All right, thanks, ladies.
If you want to revisit the fulldeep dive interviews with both
Janet and Alekka, you can checkout Janet on episode eight and
Alekka on episode 17.
Up next, wondering what bottlegoes with your next big meal, we
sit down with wine expertCatherine Montest of Your Fairy
(34:13):
Wine Mother to get a littleguidance from her.
Catherine, we're getting intothe holiday season and
Thanksgiving is coming up.
I have to be honest, my family,we don't do a lot of wine with
dinner, but I'm sure a lot ofpeople do, and so I'm wondering
what wines are you pulling outof the cupboard or out of the
chill chest for Thanksgiving.
Catherine (34:34):
Thanks for asking, Doug.
Pittsburgh is a turkey town forThanksgiving.
Thanks for asking Doug.
Pittsburgh is a turkey town forThanksgiving.
Yes, and the number one wine topair with turkey is Pinot Noir.
Yeah for red wine, Pinot Noirwith turkey.
It's a total no-brainer.
The wine has nice, brightacidity and it's really
versatile on the table.
It makes it a great choice, notjust with the turkey, but for
(34:58):
all of those side dishes that welove so much at Thanksgiving
time.
Doug (35:02):
I do want to just interject here.
We're talking Pinot Noir is ared wine, Correct.
Turkey is poultry.
And sometimes in the past we'vesometimes heard that old rule
that like reds go with meats butwhites go with lighter meats.
Are we just throwing that outthe window nowadays?
Yes, Okay.
Catherine (35:19):
Those are guidelines and not necessarily rules.
And even if they were rules,rules are made to be broken.
Of course, the Pinot Noir I'mreally partial to right now is
from Ponzi Vineyards and thenose on it has a really nice
warm raspberry jam, a littletouch of chili pepper and maybe
(35:40):
even some notes of gun smoke andred clay.
It's just the mouth feeling isas long it has dark tannins,
cola, maybe a touch of whitepepper, and you might even get a
whiff of a little anise flavorin the finish on the wine.
Doug (35:55):
All of these things are reminding me of sort of perfect
autumnal notes for any meal thatwe're having in the chillier
months.
Catherine (36:04):
Absolutely yeah.
Pinot Noir is super versatileand it's a great pairing with
turkey.
And good thing, the PonziVineyard Pinot Noir.
It's available at over ahundred of the fine wine and
good spirit stores here inPennsylvania.
Okay, so easily accessible,widely available here in PA.
Doug (36:21):
So, Catherine, if we're getting a little past the
Thanksgiving season and nowpeople are thinking about
Christmas and that sort of endof year.
I know a lot of families doFeast of the Seven Fishes.
Is there something you like topull out for that?
Catherine (36:34):
Great question, Doug.
Champagne.
Doug (36:37):
Wow, you know what, Catherine?
You grab champagne more oftenthan I ever thought you would.
Catherine (36:43):
Well, there's a good reason for that, Doug.
Champagne is absolutely themost versatile wine for pairing
with food bar none.
I did not know that.
It's very well documented andit has never disappointed me,
except for pairing it with redmeat.
They're not friends, okay, sodon't put them at the table
(37:03):
together.
No, champagne and red meat notfriends.
Doug (37:06):
But most of our poultry and some seafood.
So if we're doing Feast ofSeven Fishes, champagne would
maybe be a good option.
Catherine (37:12):
Champagne is going to take you all the way from your
clams and oysters and scallopsright through to your lobster,
crab and flounder and sole.
Janet (37:22):
I love this.
Catherine (37:24):
And because it's a special occasion, just please
splurge and get champagne Likethe real French defined
champagne Real French champagne.
But I've got a little caveat.
French champagne, but I've gota little caveat.
What I want you to do there,instead of looking for those big
, bold brand names thateverybody's aware of and who, by
(37:44):
the way, spend a lot of theirincome on advertising so that
their names are top of mind foryou, avoid those guys.
Look for smaller champagnehouses.
You may not have heard of thembefore, you may not see them
advertised.
You probably won't see themadvertised.
Doug (38:02):
I don't think I know what a small champagne house is.
Catherine (38:05):
Well, it doesn't have one of the big names on it.
Doug (38:08):
Can you just give me really quickly like two or three
of the big names, Because Idon't know those either.
Catherine (38:13):
Well, Moet Chandon, oh yes, Clicquot, Bollinger,
these are all the big guys.
Doug (38:19):
Those are big, big guys there.
Okay, so we don't have to go inthat direction, not at all.
Go for like a smaller operation.
Catherine (38:25):
A smaller operation and the reason that I'm
recommending a smaller operationis to college champagne.
It has to be grown in thechampagne region in France.
Right, we've talked about thisbefore.
It's got to be specific grapes.
The winemaking method has to beexactly the winemaking method
authorized by Champagne.
(38:46):
France has got a lot of rulesaround putting Champagne on the
label, so you can be assuredthat if it's made its way all
the way to our shelves here,it's really good quality If it
still has that word champagne onit, exactly.
And you can get some pretty goodchoices for right around $50.
Doug (39:06):
So your recommendation look for the bottles that have
the word champagne, but alsolook for the price range that
works for you with that labelchampagne.
Catherine (39:14):
Absolutely Okay.
Doug (39:16):
Catherine, thanks so much my pleasure.
Doug.
You can find out more aboutCatherine on her website, www.
yourfairywinemother.
com.
That's our holiday show.
We want to thank all of ourguests and contributors, and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
the music to our show.
(39:36):
Happy holidays, everyone.
We'll be back in a couple ofweeks with another fresh episode
.
Stay tuned.
Welcome to The Pittsburgh Dish.
I'm your host.
Doug Heilman, do you have theprivilege of hosting a big
holiday feast in the comingweeks, or maybe you're just
contributing a little somethingto the meal?
Well, this episode is for you.
From timing and turkey todesserts and more.
We're getting the inside advicefrom a couple of pros.
(00:23):
We're getting the inside advicefrom a couple of pros.
And what bottles are youpulling off the shelf or out of
the chill chest for your nextbig feast?
Resident wine expert CatherineMontest gives us some guidance.
All that ahead.
Stay tuned.
Hey everybody, we're joinedtoday with two of our favorite
prior guests and I'll let themreintroduce themselves, and then
(00:48):
we're going to talk aboutholiday dinners and some of the
fun stuff that folks encounterwith that.
Would you go first?
Janet (00:53):
Sure, my name is Janet Loughran.
I've been a chef for almost twodecades and actually my
counterpart here.
We are kind of similar in whatwe do, so there might be some
overlap.
I have an Instagram page ChefLife Hacks that I love sharing
tips and tricks and recipes.
I'm on KDKA Talk Pittsburghonce a month.
I do cooking classes and then Ialso have a meal delivery
(01:14):
service called Red Wagon MealsProvide meals for families each
week A mom of two and a wife, soyeah, it's a lot, Janet.
Doug (01:22):
you have nothing going on.
Well, we talked a few monthsago.
What have you been doing sincewe talked last?
Any big things happening?
Janet (01:30):
Well, I've gained some new clients, which is nice
because they're kind ofspreading the word.
If you are a busy workingparent and you want to have
ready to heat meals, that's justkind of blown up.
I've really gone strong intocooking classes.
I've really loved theinteraction, the questions that
they have.
You know you don't realize whatyou know until people ask you
questions, and it's nice toshare.
(01:52):
So, yeah, it's one of myfavorites.
That's why you're here today,yeah love it.
Doug (01:56):
Can I add one more thing?
Sure, I noticed you doing a lotof stuff for the Kaufman
Apartments downtown.
Oh, yes, it's like a reallycool gig.
Janet (02:03):
Oh my gosh, the apartment store that was there was huge
in my life growing up.
It was like a mecca for us forChristmas and you would go to
Santa's Secret Shop and you know, have breakfast there and
everything.
So what they've done wheneverthat closed down is they
basically blew out the center ofthe apartment the I keep saying
apartment department store andso it's like a nice courtyard
for the apartments.
They have windows andeverything.
(02:24):
Huge, beautiful rooftop with alot of amenities.
But yeah, I'm their residentchef.
I do a lot of cooking classesthere.
If they have a happy hour I'mthere, so it's been fun, super
fun.
Yeah, I love it.
Pinch myself moment every time.
Doug (02:37):
And let's move over to our second guest of today.
Alekka (02:40):
Hi, doug, I am Chef Alekka.
Just like Janet, I am a privatechef.
I do lean into a lot of thecooking for people's special
events.
I also teach cooking classestoo.
I've used Janet a lot for myprivate events when I need an
extra set of hands because sheis a monster in the kitchen.
(03:03):
I love it.
Janet (03:04):
We work well together.
Yeah, we work really welltogether.
Yeah, we have fun.
Alekka (03:08):
I'm on Talk Pittsburgh twice a month and I also just
started teaching again at PhippsConservatory.
Doug (03:14):
I have seen these classes.
Alekka (03:16):
I love them so much.
Doug (03:17):
Yeah, so I was going to ask, same as Janet, like what
you've been up to, but these aresort of a new thing you've been
doing this summer, right, yes,Anyway, what's the audience?
Is it adults, Is it kids?
Alekka (03:27):
Well, the summertime I did do the kids summer camp,
which I love.
Like I said before, I loveteaching the kids and at night
it's adults.
Doug (03:36):
Any special topics that you guys have focused on over at
Phipps.
Alekka (03:39):
Just, we're all over the all over the board, all over
the board, but they do like tofocus on, you know, using the
stuff from their garden andkeeping it healthy.
Doug (03:47):
I think I just saw you outside of Phipps picking stuff
to use.
Catherine (03:53):
It looks so cool.
Alekka (03:54):
So cool.
Oh my gosh, I just got chills.
The big news is my sharedkitchen space is open in Mount
Oliver.
Doug (04:03):
So exciting, thank you.
Do you have a name for thisspace yet?
Alekka (04:12):
It's called the Mount Oliver Shared Kitchen.
Oh, okay, yeah, so I'm themanager of it, and it's been a
long journey, as you guys haveknow about and if folks want to
know more.
Doug (04:18):
I don't know if you're filled up yet with the capacity
there, but this is a commercialspace that if you're doing
cooking you could sort of joininto and do your cooking in the
legal way the health departmentcleared way and take that food
elsewhere.
Or does it even have space todo dinner there?
Alekka (04:38):
Yeah, so there's a little event space in the front
and then right around the corner, in the hallway, there's a
shared kitchen.
Doug (04:46):
Like, if people want to learn a little bit more about
this, like where should theyreach out If this is interesting
to them?
Alekka (04:51):
We actually have an email now.
Okay, I'll have to tell you ina minute.
I have to look it up.
Sounds good.
Doug (04:58):
So, friends, we're actually here to talk about
holiday meals.
We're in that sort of fallseason where folks start to
gather for the big turkey meal,or maybe into the holidays in
December, into January, and Ithink it'd be really interesting
to get your takes on some ofthe questions that you get and
just share some of thatknowledge.
Sound like a plan, yeah.
Janet (05:19):
You got two good people to do that.
Doug (05:21):
Well, let's just throw it out there first.
When you are dealing with maybesome of your clients or just
folks in life and they're saying, oh my gosh, I have to prepare
this big meal, it feels like alot of pressure.
What are some of the commonquestions or pitfalls that
people bring to you?
Janet (05:38):
I think the biggest thing is timing making sure that all
of these things that you want tomake for that holiday party are
going to come together.
Be hot and ready at the sametime.
My biggest tips, number one tryto pawn some items off on your
guests.
Doug (05:53):
Share the work right.
A lot of times they say whatcan I bring?
Janet (05:57):
Let them bring something.
Maybe it's something that theyfeel comfortable making it's
their family meal.
Or if you say, hey, I reallyjust need mashed potatoes, can
you make those for me and bringthat?
So pawn off if you can.
If not, try to do as much aheadof time before the day of your
party as you can.
Those mashed potatoes can bemade up to four days ahead of
time.
You know, those, thosecasseroles can be put together
(06:17):
and and even probably par cookedand then finished cook on the
day.
You know, obviously, if you'rehaving a turkey or something
like that you want to do thatday of.
But try to look at the menuthat you've written down and say
, what can I do ahead of time?
Dips, a lot of appetizers canbe done ahead of time so you
don't have so much on your platethat day and you can enjoy your
guests.
You can not be rushed.
You know we're not on the bear,remember that bear episode with
(06:39):
the mom just going crazy.
You don't have to be like that,it can be a lot more relaxed.
Doug (06:43):
You want to enjoy it.
I'm right there with you andI've gotten some of these tips
from my mom.
She makes several things ahead.
She peels her potatoes a dayahead.
I like to pawn off theappetizers and sometimes the
dessert, because that way, if Ido have a menu in my head that
you know, people don't have tobring that casserole that might
interrupt the flavor, butappetizer and dessert are those
(07:09):
bookends that people can alsojoin into.
Alekka (07:10):
That's a great idea.
You pawned that off on me.
So, aleka, what would you say?
Mine is and I said this lastnight in my cooking class is go
shopping now for what you canuse for the holidays, because I
always know in my house my dadis always the one running out
that day.
You know stuff for gravy orlike a miscellaneous item.
So I say, right now, throw awayyour baking powder, your baking
(07:32):
soda.
Oh yeah, get all new.
You know you can freeze flour.
You can buy a couple bags offlour.
You can get your pumpkin piefilling now.
You can even, if you want, tobuy the bread for the stuffing.
Doug (07:46):
Yeah, all the non-perishables, all the
non-perishables, you know, getthem now.
If you've got the room in thefreezer, you can put a lot of
things in there.
Alekka (07:53):
When it's like the Hunger Games, like right before
Thanksgiving, and people are,you know, like raiding the
stores.
You can get all of that now.
Yeah, the shelves don't need tobe bare.
If you buy your stocks or yourspices, get it now.
Doug (08:10):
I think you make a really good point too.
This is a great time of year togo through your cupboard and
refresh all of the baking items,because I can tell you right
now, my flour in this cupboardbehind me is like a year old.
Yeah, it needs to go Right.
You don't want to make that pie.
That's supposed to be specialwith old stuff, with
questionable flour.
Janet (08:26):
Exactly, or yeast, you know, if it's not going to bloom
for you.
Doug (08:29):
Yeah, no good.
So since we're kind of leaninginto that shared gathered meal,
let's go ahead and talk a littlebit about Thanksgiving and
specifically about turkey.
For some reason, I thinkpersonally it's not that hard,
but people seem to make a bigdeal about roasting the turkey
and whether to brine it or notbrine it.
I'll throw it back to you again, janet.
(08:50):
You know what are some of thequestions you get and what are
some tips you would tell folksabout roasting the turkey.
Janet (08:56):
I think the biggest thing is people don't know how to
gauge what the temperature is ofthe turkey.
If it's done properly, notundercooked, what you need to do
is not use one of those poppersthat you sometimes can see when
it comes in the ones thatthey're embedded in the turkey
breast.
Doug (09:10):
Yeah, pull it out, throw it away, throw it away.
Yeah, I don't really likecooking with plastic in the item
and while we're at it, take thegiblets and stuff out of the
center because they're in aplastic bag.
Yeah, for sure, yeah.
Janet (09:24):
They're not accurate, those poppers, so you just want
to use a thermometer, put it inbetween the drumstick thigh area
of the turkey and then, whereit meets, the chicken breast,
the white meat, and 165 is whatwe're looking for.
Doug (09:37):
And where it meets the turkey breast Did I say chicken
breast, you did.
Janet (09:41):
For Thanksgiving Poultry, the poultry breast, and just
want to insert it where it meetsthe turkey breast and get the
165 degrees there.
Doug (09:48):
All right.
Any other tips for keeping theturkey moist and delicious while
it's baking?
Janet (09:54):
I have a couple.
There's something calledspatchcocking.
If you've never heard of that,I know it's a funny name that
we're all turning 12 years oldright now, but what you
basically do is just cut out thevertebrae of the uh turkey and
then lay it flat yeah, okay,yeah, right um, and then you lay
it flat so that all has an evencooking time, because dark meat
takes a long, a little bitlonger than white meat.
(10:15):
That's why white meat can be alittle bit dry.
Speaking of that, how to maybekeep that not so dry for the
turkey breast is you actuallycan lay over slices of bacon and
that fat that renders out goesinto the turkey breast Sounds
like the best way to baste aturkey.
Doug (10:30):
Why not?
Janet (10:31):
Seriously hands off basting.
I didn't even think about that.
And then the drippings that youget from that for the gravy
with the bacon flavor in there.
Doug (10:37):
A different smokiness.
I'm hungry now.
I know, aleka, what about you?
And talking turkey, is thereany other tips that you have?
Alekka (10:46):
So my trick is I put the turkey in at a high temperature
first to get that crispy, thatbrowning on the top, that
browning.
But, everybody forgets aboutthe underside of the turkey.
Doug (10:58):
Yeah, it gets kind of anemic looking because it might
be sitting right against thejuices.
Alekka (11:03):
So after that first initial high temperature,
everybody turns the oven down.
So I flip my turkey over, sothe breast is facing down, and
then you get that color on thebottom.
That's for about 20 minutes.
30 minutes Per pound, yeah.
Janet (11:20):
Per pound.
But I also like that idea too,because you're putting the
juicier dark meat on top of thewhite meat, so all those juices
are filtering down exactly.
They have a better.
What is it called whenever theheat is you?
Alekka (11:32):
know, on it, it has more uh exposure there's more
exposure to the heat, and my dadis like the king of gravy at
our house, so he puts the turkeyon like a cookie rack and puts
all the veggies underneath.
Doug (11:46):
Aromatic veggies, yeah, so all the fat drips on those
veggies.
Alekka (11:50):
I mean I eat half of them during the day.
Doug (11:52):
Yeah, we're talking like carrots and onion and maybe
celery.
Alekka (11:56):
Garlic celery.
He incorporates that into hisgiblet gravy.
Doug (12:00):
Delicious.
Are you pro stuff the turkey ornot stuff the turkey, not stuff
.
Yeah, I think we don't do iteither.
We don't stuff, we do thestuffing dressing in a totally
different pan or something.
Janet (12:11):
I didn't grow up that way .
My grandma always put thestuffing in but, I, think as I
get older I realized that youhave to have the middle of that
stuffing at 165.
So, what temperature is thatoutside, dry?
You know turkey right now.
Doug (12:24):
Yeah, Because you know, for foodborne illnesses you have
to make sure that that insidetemperature is 165.
Janet (12:31):
And so you're drying out the outer actual meat, the good
stuff, yeah to get that stuff incooked?
Doug (12:34):
No good, no, all right.
Last question Do you brine yourturkey or not brine it?
What camp are you all in?
I'm in camp brine.
Alekka (12:42):
Me too.
Oh, I'm not, but that's myfamily, yeah.
Doug (12:45):
Oh, so how do you do it, Alekka?
Alekka (12:47):
I just do the salt water peppercorns bay leaf and then I
do the salt dried or likewhatever.
Doug (12:55):
And what's your kind of time horizon there?
Do you do?
Alekka (12:57):
it 24 hours, 24 hours.
Doug (12:59):
Yeah, all right.
You're not like my parents whogo really big and they'll brine
for a couple days, whoa.
Janet (13:04):
Wow, does it change the texture of the meat?
Doug (13:07):
Yeah, we've loved it more because we used to not do that.
We also roasted on a countertoproaster and it just turns out
amazing.
We don't go for like the wholecrispy skin brown, but all of
the meat is super, super juicyand so that's sort of been the
winner way for, oh my gosh, thelast 10 years with them.
Cool, what about you, Janet?
Janet (13:27):
Well, I don't know.
I feel like it's more timeconsuming.
You have to have some sort ofpot or receptacle that's large
enough to hold that turkey tothere's displacement with the
water.
Oh we should maybe talk aboutdisplacement of oil If someone's
going to fry their turkey.
There's a lot of issues withthat.
We could go back to that.
Anyway, it just made me thinkabout that.
But yeah, I me personally, Ifeel like it maybe changes the
(13:49):
texture of it a little bit.
I might be a little bit highmaintenance that way, but if you
guys love like, I'm not one ofthose people that say this is
the way I do it and the way youdo it is different and it's
wrong no, if that makes youhappy and you have the results
that you want, great, yeah, cool.
Doug (14:02):
If you've got the fridge space, yeah, and you like the
way it tastes and texturedoesn't change for you, go for
it.
Now, Janet, since you are notin the camp of like a wet brine,
do you do like a copious amountof salt and pepper on the bird,
like how do you season it up?
Janet (14:17):
I actually will make a compound butter which basically
is just butter with ingredientsadded to it.
Alekka (14:22):
You put that underneath the skin, under the skin, yeah.
Janet (14:25):
If there's someone who's a little squeamish about chicken
, don't have them in the kitchenat that point, because it's not
a pretty process.
Doug (14:31):
You are talking about my husband.
He would pass out watching youdo that.
Janet (14:34):
Yeah, but it's actually easier than you think to
separate the skin from the fleshand then, you know, put
whatever stuffings you want inthere.
Doug (14:40):
Oh, it's so good.
Janet (14:41):
And then it's like you know, it's basting itself.
Doug (14:43):
Take your rings off.
Watch your fingernails.
Have really clean hands.
Yeah, get under there and justdo it.
Or wear gloves, yeah, or weargloves yeah, all right, and
we've probably thrown somevegetarians on pause right now.
Alekka (14:56):
Yeah, welcome back come back.
Doug (14:57):
Well, yeah, let's do that.
So what if we have some folkscoming to a meal and we know
they're vegetarian?
So many folks do that from alifestyle choice, but they also
sometimes have to do it forhealth reasons.
Is there another?
Alekka (15:18):
dish that you have made or seen that really works well
as a vegetarian offering anddoesn't necessarily make them
feel left out.
Doug (15:22):
I think Thanksgiving would be like a vegetarian's dream
with all the sides.
Just go for all the sides, yeah.
Alekka (15:26):
I mean they're so you know.
Just eliminate the, replacewith vegetable stock.
One thing that I made for asecret menu social that I'm
going to do this Thanksgiving isa marinated zucchini.
So you marinate it in olive oil, so I do champagne vinegar,
some red pepper flakes and thenyou grill it, you saute it till
(15:49):
it gets nice and caramelized.
I put that on a bed of herbedricotta and some hazelnuts and
some mint.
Janet (15:58):
That sounds delicious.
Yeah, I bet the mint reallybrightens up.
Alekka (16:00):
Yeah, it does, because you know you don't want like a
table of brown food either.
Doug (16:05):
Yeah, yeah, I think, getting some acid things, some
fresh things.
I like the idea of somegrilling things, because we can
still do that even in the coldmonths.
Go out to the grill, do alittle smoky char on something,
yeah.
Janet (16:23):
Yeah to the grill.
Do a little smoky char onsomething.
Yeah, yeah, I grill in thewinter all the time.
Me too, my neighbors think I'mcrazy, but I love it.
It still works.
My thinking is, if you havesomeone that would like a main
item, not just all of the sides,if you take acorn squash and
par, bake it for 30 minutes, youcan easily cut through that.
It's not going to have anyresistance to it.
Scoop out those seeds,literally fill it with whatever
you want.
Oh, that's good.
I've done a quinoa, kalecarrots, maybe even some vegan
cheese if they're vegan or youcan do.
(16:43):
Parmesan, if they're vegetarian.
Alekka (16:46):
Nuts in there or something.
Oh yeah, pine nuts.
Oh my gosh, a little bit ofcrunch.
Janet (16:49):
Or you can make it a sweet and savory.
I've added dried cranberries toit, so they basically get a
half of an acorn squash as theirmain item and it's quite
filling because you scoop it'skind of like a baked potato,
yeah.
You know you scoop the flesh inand kind of keep the skin
intact.
The other thing I've used inthe past is a portobello
mushroom.
I was just going to say that,yeah, the portobello mushroom
you got to scoop out those gillsand then you can put, you know,
(17:11):
a breadcrumb filling in mixturewith some vegetables.
It kind of tastes beefy andit's filling.
So those are my two thoughts.
Doug (17:19):
I love those ideas and I also like the idea that maybe if
you're doing a Friendsgiving,you could go vegetarian for that
whole thing, skip the turkeyand make these mains like you're
suggesting stuffed squash,stuffed portobello mushroom and
everyone's eating the same thingand still enjoying themselves A
dinner of carbs, I know totallyfine.
Janet (17:35):
I feel like so many people hear vegan and vegetarian
and they think flavorless andyou know tofu and there's so
many options.
A lot of the things you'reeating every day are vegan and
vegetarian already so it's notthat far-fetched um to me to get
out of your comfort zone.
I like spaghetti squash I dotoo I love to do that too.
I'm a big squash fan.
People think that they're justdecorations, but they're tasty
(17:56):
if you do it right.
Doug (17:57):
This time of year they're all fresh and then, even if you
buy some, they last for like acouple months.
I know, they're like yourrations for the winter.
Janet (18:10):
Hi, this is Janet Loghran of Chef Life Hacks.
Alekka (18:13):
And this is Alekka Sweeney of Chef Alekka PGH.
Janet (18:17):
And you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish.
Doug (18:21):
You both sparked another question too and I think it's
important to talk about.
It comes up more with theThanksgiving meal, but it should
not just be all brown food andwe should have some pops of
flavor in there.
The one thing I hear about thatfolks struggle with with the
Thanksgiving meal is maybeincorporating acid or some
freshness.
I know we get that from thecranberry sauce, but are there
(18:41):
any other sides or casserolesthat you like to incorporate to
make sure that you have thosedifferent notes of flavor and
it's not just that one heavybrown food plate?
Janet (18:53):
I think a lot of times it can maybe come from a
vinaigrette on a nice salad.
Oh yeah, you know, get somehearty vegetables and vegetables
really that aren't cooked.
You know, I think a lot oftimes it can maybe come from a
vinaigrette on a nice salad.
Oh yeah, you know, get somehearty vegetables and vegetables
really that aren't cooked.
Yeah, you know, basically Iwould think maybe a balsamic
would be nice, like if you do aroasted butternut squash with
some sage and shallots and havesome balsamic on there Like a
balsamic drizzle on top.
(19:14):
Nice little yeah, nice littlepop I like that I do.
Alekka (19:17):
instead of croutons, I do like a fried goat cheese
crouton.
Doug (19:22):
On a salad, on a salad.
Alekka (19:25):
But you have to freeze the goat cheese first.
I can put it through a littlebreading procedure.
Doug (19:32):
While it's chilled, while it's chilled freeze it.
Alekka (19:35):
And then you can either bake it or fry it and then put
that on the salad with the acid,so you have that crunchiness in
the ass.
Janet (19:44):
Look at your face dog it is.
I've had it.
It's delicious.
She made it for me.
Doug (19:48):
I'm also envisioning it back to that squash recipe that,
jan, you know, maybe put alittle block of that on the end.
Janet (19:54):
Yes, goat cheese on anything is good for me.
I little block of that on theend.
Yes, goat cheese on.
Alekka (19:58):
anything is good for me.
I love goat cheese, but it'svery important to freeze it
first before you do anything toit, because then it's just going
to ooze out everywhere yeah.
But it's got that tang, it'sgot that sort of acidity to it,
yeah, and people don't expect it.
Doug (20:09):
A couple of years ago I started making an Ina Garten
recipe and you braise carrots,parsnips and I think it's
shallot in orange juice and theylook bright, the colors are
good.
I do cook them to their soft.
There's a little thyme in thereas well, but that acidity that
was like a new add to my plateand that was like, yes, we're
going to keep this.
Janet (20:28):
I like that.
Yeah, because everything'sreally rich that day, yeah, so
this is a cleaner flavor.
Doug (20:33):
A little citrus in there always seems nice.
Janet (20:36):
Cool.
Doug (20:37):
Well, I think we've hit the holiday meal and especially
we talked turkey and now somesides.
I'd like to talk about thesweets or the desserts For
Thanksgiving.
I'm pretty much a pumpkin pieguy.
If you ask me for Christmas oranother Friendsgiving, I don't
know, I'm kind of up in the air.
I feel like it should bespecial and I start thinking
(21:04):
about apple things or spicythings like a spice cake, what
do you all like for holidaydesserts or what are your
specialties?
Alekka (21:08):
So I always gravitate towards more individual desserts
.
So, for example, I show mypeople, my people, I show my
students.
Instead of making five or sixfull-size pies where people
bring them, I make my pies incupcake pans.
Oh my gosh, that's genius.
(21:28):
That is genius.
Doug (21:29):
Yes.
Alekka (21:30):
So you can do like three pecan, three pumpkin, a couple
apples, some cranberry, andeverybody gets their own little
individual little pilot orwhatever you want to call it.
Doug (21:42):
I just had a vision of a pie charcuterie board with all
these little pies why, not yeah,and a lot of people like the
crust, so it sounds like you getmore crust to filling ratio
with all these little guys andyou don't have to commit to a
big piece that's
Alekka (21:54):
right you have a little one maybe go on another one.
Janet (21:56):
maybe have a buddy that's going to have one.
Yeah, Share one with you.
Alekka (21:58):
So you can satisfy everybody you know in like two
cupcake pans.
Janet (22:02):
Love it Genius.
Alekka (22:03):
Another thing I'm gravitating towards and kind of
putting on a menu is poachedpears.
Oh, yeah.
This is pear season.
It looks beautiful if you poachit in some red wine.
Janet (22:16):
Tell them how easy it is to poach a pear.
It is stove top, only rightit's all on the stove top right
yeah
Alekka (22:19):
you have to hollow out.
I use a melon baller to hollowout the bottom of the pear and
then you cut a little foot on it.
Remove the skin.
Yeah, remove the skin.
The trick is, when you put itin your poaching liquid, is to
put a piece of parchment paperon top to keep those.
Keep them down.
Listen to you.
(22:40):
You're my cartoon.
Doug (22:41):
I know what I'm talking about.
This is a fancy chef time, sothe parchment paper keeps them
way down below the surface.
Yeah, so you can.
Alekka (22:49):
You don't want to occasionally turn them around.
You get like an even so.
Janet (22:52):
Then you cook it until I take a paring knife, until it's
the consistency of like potatoesfor potato salad Just go in
Like the knife goes in and outclean and then I reduce that
poaching liquid to a sauce, soit's like one pot dessert, and
then it becomes like a glazekind of, as you let it evaporate
some of that liquid.
Alekka (23:12):
It's sort of like some creme fraiche or some vanilla
ice cream.
Doug (23:16):
Here's what I love about this it doesn't involve the oven
.
Some people don't have thatcapacity and want to do that.
It doesn't sound like highflying, like pie dough rolling.
All of that's eliminated.
Do you have any idea how longyou typically do simmer the
pears?
Janet (23:32):
It depends on the pear, I feel like, if you're using
Asian pears.
They're like an apple or a.
Doug (23:35):
Bosc pear, it's a little bit skinnier, so I would say
what 30 minutes to an hour,depending on how thick it is,
like a simmer simmer you don'twant to boil it because the
outside's going to be mushy.
Janet (23:44):
Yeah, and then the inside's going to be raw almost
and those can be held in therefrigerator and either served
cold or reheated day of.
I mean with that sugar outercoating it.
It's in a preserve.
It's so good yeah.
Alekka (23:57):
And then the leftovers you can cut up and use in a
salad.
Janet (24:01):
Oh, my gosh With like goat cheese and walnuts, yeah.
Catherine (24:04):
So it has multi-task, multi-uses.
Doug (24:06):
I love the poached pear idea.
Alekka, if people don't want touse wine, have you ever done
this in like a brown sugar syrupor something else like
non-alcoholic?
Yeah, Can I do that?
Alekka (24:16):
There are some really good Open Road here has some
really good non-alcoholic winesyou can use.
Doug (24:22):
Yes.
Alekka (24:22):
My advice on desserts for Thanksgiving.
I know a lot of people want toreally impress your guests.
Really, don't try to dosomething brand new, no Right?
Doug (24:34):
I think that's a good rule for anybody.
Yeah, you want to practicefirst anyway.
Janet (24:39):
When you're entertaining guests, you're stressed already.
You want the house to be nice.
You want everything to cometogether.
Don't try something new thatyou've never made before.
Alekka (24:45):
It's likely not going to turn out perfectly the first
time and you can buy pre-madepie dough Mm-hmm.
Doug (24:52):
You can buy the dessert.
Alekka (24:55):
I'm starting to make my pie doughs now for the holidays,
because you can freeze unsaltedbutter for three months, going
back to like my buying stuff forthe holidays.
You can buy your butter now andkeep it in the freezer, oh,
okay.
So going back to the sharedkitchen space, I'm going to be
doing a class there a couple ofdays before Thanksgiving, called
(25:17):
I Forgot to Make a Pie.
Good name.
Doug (25:21):
I like this.
Alekka (25:21):
So you either bring in a pie pan or I'll provide one and
we make pies and I'll show youhow to make homemade pie dough.
Doug (25:28):
So this is like a pie emergency.
Yes, if I don't know how to doit, I forgot to do it.
I promised I'd do it and neverdid it.
You're going to help me do it.
Janet (25:35):
Yes, cool.
Doug (25:37):
I love these ideas of mini pies or the poached pears, and
I could see those working on anytype of holiday meal, not just
Thanksgiving, Janet.
What about you when it comes todessert?
Any tricks, tips?
You could do it, girl.
Janet (25:51):
I look at Alekka for this .
Doug (25:52):
I was going to say didn't you say, this isn't always your
forte.
Janet (26:01):
It's not my although I am interested and will attempt,
I'm more of a savory cook, notso much a pastry chef.
I think it has similartechniques and you know things
that you have to keep an eye onbut, she shines in that world
Alekka of Alekka of this, yeah.
I mean, I can't even hold acandle to what she can make in
terms of baked goods.
So I just I can't even hold acandle to what she can make in
terms of baked goods.
So I just, I go to the expertsfor that and I don't want to.
So you would buy your desserts.
(26:22):
Yeah, I know Probably from you.
Alekka (26:27):
People just invite me, knowing that I'm bringing
dessert, perfect Good thing toknow.
Doug (26:32):
I think we've talked through the whole holiday meal,
but why don't we just sort ofopen it up?
Are there any other tips ortechniques that we didn't land
on that we should tell folks?
I tell people to make ice Ice.
Yes, days ahead, days ahead.
Do it now.
Well, maybe not.
Alekka (26:52):
It's a little early maybe, but you think about what
I've learned in catering.
Maybe you too.
Janet is to cut the alcohol orwhatever you're drinking in half
and double the amount of food,because people always seem to
run out of food and they haveway too much to drink.
That's what I found.
And then the rule forappetizers is everybody eats two
and a half.
Janet (27:11):
Yep Two and a half.
Alekka (27:12):
Three options, little bites, little bites for
calculating the amount of foodyou're going to cook.
Janet (27:18):
And the more appetizers you have, less than that,
because they're not going tohave one of each.
Exactly, if you have 30 people,you're not going to have 30
tartlets.
Alekka (27:25):
Right.
Janet (27:26):
Maybe.
Yeah, kind of spread it around.
I like these tips.
I have one for you.
Go for it.
So if you are low on oven spaceand you want to keep things
that are hot, you want to keepthem warm, you take a cooler,
regular cooler that you wouldusually put, you know, pop and
water and beer in.
Okay, get really hot tap waterand pour it in the bottom of the
cooler, close the lid for fiveminutes, use the little spigot
(27:48):
on the bottom, remove that.
You now have a warmer.
The entire cooler stays warm.
So you can put those food itemsthat are already hot, take them
out of your oven, put them rightin the cooler.
Now what I would do is maybe Iwould put a box, or something
like that, on the bottom,because you don't want to maybe
melt anything if it's too, toohot.
Doug (28:06):
And if you fill it up with stuff, it's really going to
maintain that temperature.
Janet (28:08):
It is the residual heat from all the items in there will
kind of act like a thermos butit's a huge space and out of the
oven.
Doug (28:15):
That's brilliant.
I don't have a second oven.
I am going to do that someday.
Alekka (28:20):
Oh, here's my tip Don't use blue yarn to truss your
turkey.
I ran out of butcher twine oneyear, no way.
Janet (28:29):
And guess what happened?
There were like blue marks allover it oh you poor things.
Doug (28:34):
You only do that once.
Kitchen twine all the way yeah.
Alekka (28:37):
Oh my gosh.
Doug (28:39):
Is there anything else that you guys would like to
share with the listeners that wedidn't hit today?
Janet (28:43):
I have an amazing breakfast for if you have guests
at your house and you want tofeed an army and you don't want
to be slaving over the stove.
Doug (28:49):
Well, you're leading me to my next question.
I was wondering if you guys hada recipe to share.
So I love this, because we'realways thinking about the meal
but we're not thinking aboutpeople that might be coming in
from out of town and stayingover.
So this is a breakfast dish.
Janet (29:03):
So what I call it is a breakfast bake and it leaves it
very open to what ingredientsyou want to add to it.
So the basis of it is bread,eggs, either heavy cream and
milk, whatever meat you want orno meat, whatever veggies you
want or no veggies, and thenwhatever cheese you want.
So I've done cubed up eitherfocaccia or sourdough or I mean
(29:24):
something that might be goingbad.
You can use this.
You put it in a nine by 13 pan.
Just use enough to fill thebottom with the bread.
You use literally six eggs,that's all you need, and then
add your heavy cream or yourmilk, and I usually will do
either ham or breakfast sausageor, if I have some bacon
leftover, I'll sprinkle that on,put some cheese on top and then
(29:46):
you just put it in the oven,375 for about, I would say, half
an hour to 40 minutes.
You just want to make sure thatthe center of it, the eggs, are
set and then you can just setit out.
People take a little slice whenthey want to and it's hands-off
.
It's wonderful.
Doug (29:59):
Oh, here's what I like about this too.
If they came in for a differentmeal and you had leftover bread
, or you had a leftover veggiethat would work, or ham, here's
a way to get rid of that stuffand reinvent it into something
completely new.
Janet (30:10):
Exactly.
We call it cross-utilization,don't we In the kitchen.
Alekka (30:20):
No, I'm such a nerd.
I'm sorry it's using aningredient in a lot of different
ways.
I'm speaking your language.
Doug (30:24):
Janet, I have one Go for it Alekka.
Alekka (30:25):
Mine's kind of like a savory monkey bread.
Oh, I like that Because youknow people I do.
I buy sometimes those biscuitsin the can and make a monkey
bread, but this one.
Doug (30:38):
Really quick.
Alekka.
If folks aren't familiar withmonkey bread, in our group we
called it bubble bread, and thisis just sticking little dough
balls all together, usually in abundt pan right.
Alekka (30:47):
Yes, okay, so mine is a savory version using your
Thanksgiving leftovers.
Janet (30:52):
Oh, I like that.
Alekka (30:53):
So you're going to take the biscuit and then I put it in
again, some if you have anyleftover salad dressing, or just
like olive oil, some herbs.
That would be the first layerand on top of that you would do
cut up little turkey and thenmore of the biscuits, and then a
layer of cranberry, more of thebiscuit.
(31:14):
So you're like layering thebiscuits with your Thanksgiving
leftovers, and again you're justusing the biscuit dough that
you pop open out of the biscuit.
So you're like layering thebiscuits with your Thanksgiving
leftovers.
Doug (31:18):
And again you're just using the biscuit dough that you
pop open out of the tube andyou cut those biscuits into like
what fours?
Or something, and are youdipping them in butter as well,
or are they just good on theirown?
Alekka (31:29):
You want to dip them in some type of butter, especially
to get it out of the pan too.
Doug (31:35):
That sounds delicious and people are just snacking at it.
Alekka (31:37):
Yes, or you can cut it like a slice of pie or cake to
see all those layers.
What do you call this?
Monkey bread?
I'm just going to make it upright now Thanksgiving monkey
bread.
Doug (31:49):
Oh, there you go, there you go, we're inviting the
monkey to Thanksgiving.
Well, thank you both so much.
I think you've given ourlisteners great advice, some new
things that I've never heard ofbefore.
I cannot wait to use my cooleras a warmer.
Alekka (32:05):
I know that was brilliant, Janet.
Janet (32:08):
I wish I remember where I saw that.
It was years ago.
I like to give people creditwhere credit's due, but I can't
remember where I saw it.
Alekka (32:12):
But yeah, it works well really well, yeah, because we
were usually running to ourneighbor's house like, do you
have space in your oven?
Doug (32:18):
Oh my goodness, this is why you are Chef Life Hacks.
Alekka (32:20):
I know.
Doug (32:22):
And with that let's go ahead and do a little bit of a
plug.
Sign off.
We'll start with you, janet,can you give everyone where they
can find you and follow you, ifthey aren't following you
already?
Janet (32:32):
Sure, so mainly I'm on Instagram and TikTok, a little
bit on Facebook, but on everyplatform it's Chef Life Hacks
and there are dots in between.
But if you just put Chef LifeHacks, it'll work well too.
I don't have a website at thispoint.
I actually dove into that andrealized I can kind of pass
along some cost savings to myclients if I don't have a
website at this point, but it isin the future.
(32:53):
So that is my main point ofcontact.
If you would just find me onone of those social media
platforms, if you want me to doany cooking classes or catering
with you or provide meals foryou for the week, just let me
know.
Doug (33:04):
Wonderful.
So, Alekka, let's turn to youas well.
If folks want to find andfollow you, and if they want to
find out more about that newkitchen space, where can they
find you?
Alekka (33:20):
So the information for the kitchen space is Hilltop
Shared Kitchen at gmail.
com.
All right, If you want to findme, I am Chef Alekka PGH on the
gram the Instagram the Instagramon my website is Chef Alekka.
com.
Doug (33:33):
All right.
Alekka (33:34):
And I will be either shopping or cooking or calling
Janet for help for the nextthree months.
I know.
Doug (33:42):
You guys get busy.
Alekka (33:43):
Or teaching.
Doug (33:44):
Aw Well, thank you both so much for coming back on the
show and sharing all of yourknowledge we appreciate it so
much.
Janet (33:50):
You're awesome.
Thank you for having us, mypleasure.
Doug (33:52):
All right, thanks, ladies.
If you want to revisit the fulldeep dive interviews with both
Janet and Alekka, you can checkout Janet on episode eight and
Alekka on episode 17.
Up next, wondering what bottlegoes with your next big meal, we
sit down with wine expertCatherine Montest of Your Fairy
(34:13):
Wine Mother to get a littleguidance from her.
Catherine, we're getting intothe holiday season and
Thanksgiving is coming up.
I have to be honest, my family,we don't do a lot of wine with
dinner, but I'm sure a lot ofpeople do, and so I'm wondering
what wines are you pulling outof the cupboard or out of the
chill chest for Thanksgiving.
Catherine (34:34):
Thanks for asking, Doug.
Pittsburgh is a turkey town forThanksgiving.
Thanks for asking Doug.
Pittsburgh is a turkey town forThanksgiving.
Yes, and the number one wine topair with turkey is Pinot Noir.
Yeah for red wine, Pinot Noirwith turkey.
It's a total no-brainer.
The wine has nice, brightacidity and it's really
versatile on the table.
It makes it a great choice, notjust with the turkey, but for
(34:58):
all of those side dishes that welove so much at Thanksgiving
time.
Doug (35:02):
I do want to just interject here.
We're talking Pinot Noir is ared wine, Correct.
Turkey is poultry.
And sometimes in the past we'vesometimes heard that old rule
that like reds go with meats butwhites go with lighter meats.
Are we just throwing that outthe window nowadays?
Yes, Okay.
Catherine (35:19):
Those are guidelines and not necessarily rules.
And even if they were rules,rules are made to be broken.
Of course, the Pinot Noir I'mreally partial to right now is
from Ponzi Vineyards and thenose on it has a really nice
warm raspberry jam, a littletouch of chili pepper and maybe
(35:40):
even some notes of gun smoke andred clay.
It's just the mouth feeling isas long it has dark tannins,
cola, maybe a touch of whitepepper, and you might even get a
whiff of a little anise flavorin the finish on the wine.
Doug (35:55):
All of these things are reminding me of sort of perfect
autumnal notes for any meal thatwe're having in the chillier
months.
Catherine (36:04):
Absolutely yeah.
Pinot Noir is super versatileand it's a great pairing with
turkey.
And good thing, the PonziVineyard Pinot Noir.
It's available at over ahundred of the fine wine and
good spirit stores here inPennsylvania.
Okay, so easily accessible,widely available here in PA.
Doug (36:21):
So, Catherine, if we're getting a little past the
Thanksgiving season and nowpeople are thinking about
Christmas and that sort of endof year.
I know a lot of families doFeast of the Seven Fishes.
Is there something you like topull out for that?
Catherine (36:34):
Great question, Doug.
Champagne.
Doug (36:37):
Wow, you know what, Catherine?
You grab champagne more oftenthan I ever thought you would.
Catherine (36:43):
Well, there's a good reason for that, Doug.
Champagne is absolutely themost versatile wine for pairing
with food bar none.
I did not know that.
It's very well documented andit has never disappointed me,
except for pairing it with redmeat.
They're not friends, okay, sodon't put them at the table
(37:03):
together.
No, champagne and red meat notfriends.
Doug (37:06):
But most of our poultry and some seafood.
So if we're doing Feast ofSeven Fishes, champagne would
maybe be a good option.
Catherine (37:12):
Champagne is going to take you all the way from your
clams and oysters and scallopsright through to your lobster,
crab and flounder and sole.
Janet (37:22):
I love this.
Catherine (37:24):
And because it's a special occasion, just please
splurge and get champagne Likethe real French defined
champagne Real French champagne.
But I've got a little caveat.
French champagne, but I've gota little caveat.
What I want you to do there,instead of looking for those big
, bold brand names thateverybody's aware of and who, by
(37:44):
the way, spend a lot of theirincome on advertising so that
their names are top of mind foryou, avoid those guys.
Look for smaller champagnehouses.
You may not have heard of thembefore, you may not see them
advertised.
You probably won't see themadvertised.
Doug (38:02):
I don't think I know what a small champagne house is.
Catherine (38:05):
Well, it doesn't have one of the big names on it.
Doug (38:08):
Can you just give me really quickly like two or three
of the big names, Because Idon't know those either.
Catherine (38:13):
Well, Moet Chandon, oh yes, Clicquot, Bollinger,
these are all the big guys.
Doug (38:19):
Those are big, big guys there.
Okay, so we don't have to go inthat direction, not at all.
Go for like a smaller operation.
Catherine (38:25):
A smaller operation and the reason that I'm
recommending a smaller operationis to college champagne.
It has to be grown in thechampagne region in France.
Right, we've talked about thisbefore.
It's got to be specific grapes.
The winemaking method has to beexactly the winemaking method
authorized by Champagne.
(38:46):
France has got a lot of rulesaround putting Champagne on the
label, so you can be assuredthat if it's made its way all
the way to our shelves here,it's really good quality If it
still has that word champagne onit, exactly.
And you can get some pretty goodchoices for right around $50.
Doug (39:06):
So your recommendation look for the bottles that have
the word champagne, but alsolook for the price range that
works for you with that labelchampagne.
Catherine (39:14):
Absolutely Okay.
Doug (39:16):
Catherine, thanks so much my pleasure.
Doug.
You can find out more aboutCatherine on her website, www.
yourfairywinemother.
com.
That's our holiday show.
We want to thank all of ourguests and contributors, and to
Kevin Solecki of CarnegieAccordion Company for providing
the music to our show.
(39:36):
Happy holidays, everyone.
We'll be back in a couple ofweeks with another fresh episode
.
Stay tuned.
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