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KPBS Midday Edition

Thanksgiving cooking tips, secret recipes and more from a local chef on 'Turkey Talk'

Pendry San Diego Chef de Cuisine Brandon Sloan prepares a Chefsgiving feast at Provisional Kitchen in 2019.
Courtesy of Pendry San Diego

After last year’s pandemic locked-down Thanksgiving, this year’s celebration with family and friends gives us much to be thankful for. The KPBS Midday Edition team wants to help you elevate your Thanksgiving meal with its annual Thanksgiving Special: 'Turkey Talk.'

This year, Chef Brandon Sloan, culinary chef at the Pendry San Diego’s Provisional Kitchen joined the show to answer listeners' Thanksgiving preparation-related questions. Chef Brandon talked about cooking prep, the best ways to prep a turkey, some vegan Thanksgiving options, desserts for the holiday, beverages and more. He also shared a few of his favorite recipes— mashed potatoes and a roasted squash with vegan stuffing.

Chef Brandon's Delicious Mashed Potato recipe:

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Ingredients:

  • 5 russet potatoes
  • 2 heads of garlic
  • 1 quart heavy cream
  • 1 pound butter
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • 6 sprigs thyme
  • Salt

Instructions:

  1. Peel the potatoes ahead of time and store them in water
  2. On Thanksgiving morning, boil the potatoes until completely soft
  3. In a separate pot, add the cream, butter, herbs and garlic cloves
  4. Simmer the cream mixture on very low throughout the whole time the potatoes are cooking
  5. Once the potatoes are soft, drain out the water
  6. Remove the herbs from the cream mixture and turn off the heat
  7. Using a potato ricer, rice the potatoes directly into the cream mixture, and whisk until completely smooth
  8. Season with salt to taste

Chef Brandon's Roasted Squash with Vegan Stuffing recipe (feeds four people):

Ingredients:

  • 1 butternut squash, halved and seeds removed
  • 1/4 loaf of dried sourdough cubed
  • ½ cup small diced onion
  • ½ cup small diced celery
  • ½ cup small diced carrots
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon picked thyme
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon sage
  • ½ cup dried cranberry
  • ½ cup chopped pecans
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 stick vegan butter
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions:

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  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Melt vegan butter and mix all ingredients together in a bowl
  3. Stuff squash with stuffing. You can remove more of the inside of the squash with a spoon to fit more of the stuffing on the inside.
  4. Close squash and place on a sheet tray
  5. Drizzle olive oil and salt over squash and roast in the oven for 45 minutes, depending on size of the squash
  6. Check if squash is cooked all the way through with a fork

The KPBS Midday Edition team thanks former 'Turkey Talk' guest, Chef Bernard Guillas for joining the show in previous years and sharing his expertise with listeners over the years. Chef Bernard retired from The Marine Room earlier this year.