Edge Express: Level Up Your Holiday Dishes

This Culinary Connection CE article appeared in the December 2024 issue of Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Express. To view a PDF of this article click HERE.

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Level Up Your Holiday Dishes

By: David Voelz, CEC, CWPC, CCA, WCEC, CDM, CFPP, FMP, FSWC

IF YOUR OPERATIONS ARE ANYTHING LIKE THE ONES I’VE WORKED IN OVER THE YEARS, we make that first big push into the holiday season with Thanksgiving. We go all out with the traditional favorites —from the turkey and ham, all the way through to the sides that no one can live without. But then we start looking forward to our Christmas holiday meals and yes, the menu looks just about the same. Maybe all you can think of is to switch the pie from pumpkin to sweet potato, but the rest of the menu is eerily like our Thanksgiving offerings.

With just a little more imagination and a different perspective, we can breathe new life into these menu items and lift them up for the December holidays.

LET’S TALK TURKEY

We always start with turkey. It’s such a fan favorite because it’s a staple item and expected by our customers. One thing I particularly can’t stand about turkey is how long it takes to cook and the oven space it takes up. It puts our kitchens behind, trying to rotate the rest of the foods through to make our deadlines. A simple option here is to spatchcock the turkey.

The spatchcock method traditionally involves the steps I will describe, but with a brick on top. Let’s leave the brick out of our mise en place and just concentrate on the method. Ensure that your bird is completely thawed and pat it dry. Having it dry makes it much easier to work with and leaves you with a better chance of leaving your prep duties without having to use a bandage and a finger cot!

The object is to remove the backbone while leaving the rest of the turkey intact. Depending on the size of your bird, you can approach this in two different ways. If you have a bird of smaller size, sit it up on its posterior and run your chef knife down each side of the backbone, removing it completely. If your bird is on the larger side, place the backbone side down on your cutting board. Make your cuts on either side of the backbone from each end of the turkey, ensuring that you’ve overlapped your cuts enough to remove the backbone in one piece.

After it is removed, press down gently on the breastbone of the bird so that it splays out into one horizontal surface. I like to put some mirepoix around the turkey, rub it with a little oil, and sprinkle seasonings on it—and maybe top it with a few sprigs of thyme. Speaking of “thyme,” you will save yourself about half the cooking time of the intact bird and conserve a lot of oven space.

If you are looking to get away from turkey altogether, expand your poultry horizons a bit. Turkey typically lends itself to a buffet presentation, whether it is carved at a station or put on a buffet line. For some more individual presentations, think about smaller poultry choices. Consider quail, Cornish hen, poulet rouge, or possibly duck. These still keep you in the same family as turkey, but give you the opportunity to present your guests with an upscale protein.

HAM AND OTHER OPTIONS

Ham is the other stalwart protein found on our winter menus and buffets. Given the time and labor constraints of our modern kitchens, it is not likely that we will be cooking hams from a raw state. Ham in and of itself is pretty much a one-note protein. The opportunity to impress our guests here comes in the form of glazes. Yes, it is easiest for our staff to open the pack of brown sugar-maple glaze included and get it done, but we likely did that at Thanksgiving. Ham takes most flavors well. Think about citrus profiles, use some berries, or use a flavored honey to bring a different flavor profile to a tired holiday dish.

An honorable mention should go to pork loin. Like ham, it takes on flavors well. You can brine it or apply a rub and let it sit for half a day. Remember, dry brine is not a method. A brine is always wet and a rub is dry. If you are feeling adventurous, butterfly the loin, stuff it with something delicious (I once used fruit cake!), then roll it and tie it. A wonderful sauce added after slicing will leave your guests appreciating your efforts to bring them an elevated entrée.

LET’S DISH

This brings us to the side dishes. Depending on your geographic location and culture, there’s an endless list of options. Most of our holiday side dishes are homestyle dishes. Since I am from the southeastern United States, many of these dishes fall into what are often everyday offerings for this region. As such, we are constantly looking for ways to differentiate them from the same tired dishes we see all year, and an abundance for the winter holidays.

Here are examples of how to take some side dishes and add pizzazz.

• Let’s get the controversial one out of the way: stuffing. Or is it dressing? I’ll let you argue amongst yourselves which name is correct, but we’ll look at some ways to bring new life to it. Many times, we end up with stuffing/dressing that reeks of sage. There are other savory herbs we can add like a little rosemary, thyme, or tarragon. This side would also benefit from the addition of cranberries, walnuts, or pecans.
• Macaroni and cheese is likely one side dish that people don’t want to be altered too much. However, a wide variety of cheeses with different flavors can be added. I like Romano cheese for a velvety mouth feel and a little saltiness. Another option is smoked Gouda. This gives a plain dish a new and curated taste. Many people are actually cooking their macaroni and cheese on a smoker to give it that smoky hint. Using smoked Gouda gives a similar effect without extra equipment. If you feel daring, try incorporating pimento cheese for a little spice.
• I once heard a chef pontificate over what dish was truly an American food. Our country is a brilliant melting pot of ingredients and recipes from all over the world. However, this chef landed on one dish that he considered truly American: green bean casserole. Resist the recipe on the back of the fried onion bag and reach down into your bag of tricks. Instead of canned mushroom soup as a base, make a rich volute and add an assortment of wild mushrooms.
• Consider using a shallow dish to cook in and use haricot vert instead of a standard green bean. Instead of the bagged fried onions, how about adding fried leeks?
• Sweet potatoes or yams is one that my wife and I go back and forth on. She likes this dish to be a dessert instead of a savory side. Her favorite recipe is loaded with butter and brown sugar and topped with marshmallows. I’ll risk some marital strife and suggest that there are ways to make this a proper side instead of a dish of “gush.” What about peeling them and slicing them about a half inch in width? Toss them with a bit of oil, some salt and pepper, then finish with fresh herbs. Shingle them in a hotel pan and pull it out before they start to lose their integrity. If you have a good feel for the moisture content, you can be brave enough to attempt an au gratin style dish with nutmeg notes.
• Mashed potatoes are a necessary dish, but one that is so often just as plain as plain can be. There are some very simple ways to elevate this ordinary side to make it something your guests will find enticing. Starting at the lowest level, use heavy cream and butter instead of milk and margarine. Both these ingredients give a richer element to the dish. Consider adding sour cream or crème fraiche and cutting back on the milk or heavy cream. This gives the potatoes a creamier, more luxurious mouthfeel. I’m a big fan of Boursin cheese. I’ll add this at the end of my process to provide an extra dimension of flavor and creaminess.
• Cranberry sauce is one that will take some effort, but will certainly be noticed by your guests as a dish you put effort into. No doubt you will have some traditionalists that will be looking for the lines from the can, but with cranberries being so abundant during the holiday season, why not let them shine? Find a good base recipe and begin to experiment. You can add in some blanched citrus zest to give your recipe a good tartness. Another option could be to finish it with orange liqueur. This keeps you in the citrus zone, but with a completely different and more upscale delivery. Herbs are an option here as well to ensure that we are keeping to the savory profile of the dish, and not allowing it to become another dessert. A little bit of mint will be a pleasant note for your guests to discover.
• Remember your guests who celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or other seasonal holidays. If you’re unfamiliar with the unique dishes associated with these celebrations, do some research and delight your guests with both traditional and creative fare.

DELECTABLE DESSERTS

As previously mentioned, our dessert offerings can be boring and repetitive during the winter holidays. May I suggest that we just forget the rules altogether? Due to seasonality, the only things we shouldn’t be serving are berry desserts. Or are some berry desserts OK? Fruit pies are welcome at the table. Apple is likely first, due to them being in season. However, there are fillings that can be used for pies and cobblers that we can punch up by changing their presentation. Consider moving away from the traditional slice of pie or whole pies on the buffet and instead offer individual tartlets or cobblers. Premade tart shells are easy to find and procure with a little forethought. Likewise, cobblers made in ramekins with a doughy topping or crumbly streusel give the guest a different feel. This is also a great portion control and cost control method. No opportunity here for inconsistent sizes in slicing or a pie breaking down and not being 100 percent usable.

An ingredient on the table that is often overlooked in favor of the classics is anything chocolate. A chocolate chess pie, warmed with a scoop of upscale ice cream, will send a message to your guests that they are being treated in a special way. Though a lighter dessert, a chocolate silk pie is appropriate year-round. I actually favor this pie because though rich, it is a lighter dessert option. Often people will overeat and then “tap out” when dessert time comes, even though they would have liked to partake. The airy texture of chocolate silk pie will satisfy our customers’ sweet tooth without stuffing them to the limit.

The last dessert I’ll mention is one we serve throughout the year but is often neglected during the holiday season on our buffets. Cookies are treated during the season as something special and reserved for tea parties or small gatherings. Consider ginger snap cookies instead of the more durable ginger snaps, or some cookies with pecans or walnuts to keep in line with holiday favorites. These will also be appreciated as smaller portions of dessert to let our guests indulge their fondness for sweets without going overboard.

THINK BEYOND THE ORDINARY

Though it ends sadly, one of my favorite movies is Robin Williams’ ‘Dead Poets Society.’ My most-liked scene is where he stands on his desk letting his students know that it is beneficial to change their point of view in order to see the world, and its possibilities, from a different perspective. The same can be applied to our holiday offerings. It is easy to get complacent or bogged down in the same old rudimentary options. By taking a step back and looking at our dishes from a different perspective, we can begin to see innovative ways to elevate these dishes and bring new life to them. Not just to break our own monotony, but to please our guests in exciting and unexpected ways.

About the Author

David Voelz, CEC, CWPC, CCA, WCEC, CDM, CFPP, FMP, FSWC

David Voelz is the Senior Dining Director for Glenaire CCRC in Cary, N.C., managed by Compass Community Living, a Morrison Company. He is a Past Chair of the American Culinary Federation’s National Certification Commission, and a Charter Member of the ACF Sandhills Chef’s Association.