What Local Culinary Mavens Are Dishing Up This Season

Jacob Boehm | Chef & Owner, Snap Pea Creative Dining

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Pretending like I’m gonna keep it simple, and then impulsively going big at the last minute.

Something you’re excited to put on the table this year? 

A simple little gem salad. Thanksgiving dinner is always full of heavy, mushy, brown foods (delicious nonetheless), but this salad provides the relief we all need. Little gems from Ten Mothers Farm—denser and crunchier than anyone thought possible for lettuce—are simply tossed with a bright lemon dressing to make the perfect foil to the rest of the menu.

Best way to prepare turkey and/or stuffing?

In whatever way makes the best story for you to tell at the table. Does the butter under the turkey skin actually make a difference? Who knows, but it sure makes for good conversation.

Best way to use leftovers?

As leftovers. Or, if you must, as Thanksgiving “shepherd’s pie”: turkey, veggies, and gravy down below, mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes up top.

Something you’re thankful for this year?

The local farmers who are growing all the food we take for granted. Whatever is happening in the world—meteorologically, sociopolitically, or otherwise—they are out there planting in the sweltering heat of summer, harvesting the morning after the election, loading out for the farmers market at 5:00 a.m. in freezing temperatures in a down bodysuit all so that we can have tasty, nutritious food on our table. Never question how much they are charging.

James Eason | Executive Chef, Irregardless

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

Starting on Thanksgiving, my family immediately starts watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. We have done that every year since I was probably about 10 years old. That movie is playing every day in my house until Christmas. And I’ve got to say, it is something I really do look forward to because I love that movie so much. 

Best way to prepare turkey and/or stuffing?

My favorite way to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey is brined, rubbed, and then fried in peanut oil. The brine adds a salinity throughout the meat, which helps maintain a level of juiciness. The rub is going to create a really crispy bird when you fry it. Frying not only reduces the cooking time and gets the turkey out of the kitchen, but fried turkey is just unmatched in terms of flavor, juiciness, and crispy skin. Last year, I made a sweet tea-brined turkey with a Cajun rub and then fried it in peanut oil, and it was so good.

Best way to use leftovers?

Standing in front of your refrigerator, eating them cold.

Something you’re thankful for this year?

I’m a new father. My son is 13 months old—I’m really thankful for Henry and my wonderful partner, Chloe. 

Andrea Reusing | Chef & Owner, Lantern

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

Wednesday night is for oysters. We love Core Sounders. They are easy to teach the kids to shuck for raw and are also perfect roasted.

Best way to prepare turkey and/or stuffing?

This is the only way to prep a whole turkey: Unwrap it as soon as you get it, wipe it clean, and salt it like crazy everywhere. This could be right before you cook it or up to or three days ahead. Twelve hours before cooking starts, bring the bird to full room temp. Two hours before cooking, place plastic bags full of ice on the breasts as the rest of the bird gets even warmer. Dry it off, salt again, and don’t stuff it. Roast at 350 degrees, basting with butter until done. Rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Paula de Pano | Founder and Owner, Rocks + Acid Wine Shop

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

Thanksgiving was not something I grew up with in the Philippines. I joke that we have Lent, then typhoon season, then Christmas for the following four months. Working in hospitality meant that I’d either be somming on restaurant floors or expediting in kitchens the day of.

I’ve watched countless families celebrate this very American tradition year after year—some joyfully dysfunctional to a few holding on to every strand of sanity while being around each other. Yet despite all of the stress, they leave the premises grateful … even if it’s only because they survived the meal. 

Best way to prepare turkey and/or stuffing?

I get why a whole roasted turkey would make a lovely centerpiece, but have you ever tried spatchcocking instead? Optics and under/overcooked poultry have devoted fans, but I’d rather have optics and perfectly cooked dark and white meat with crisp skin to boot. And don’t get me started on folks who choose deep-frying a giant bird …. Two other bonuses when you spatchcock: quicker cook time and those pan juices are the basis for an amazing gravy. 

Something you’re thankful for this year?

We all hear it these days through social media—how gratitude can be a powerful thing to combat the anxiety uncertainty brings. Each year that I “celebrate” Thanksgiving, I think about change and, despite how difficult and stressful life can be, we still push through. I am thankful for time itself, because no matter what, we move along and grow from the challenges hurled toward us throughout the year. 

Christopher McLaurin | Owner, Lutra Cafe and Bakery

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

I’m a big fan of the Turkey Trot. Distance and pace don’t really matter, but I’ve always found that a quick run with a few friends before getting into the kitchen for a long day helps. This way I’m fully awake (and well caffeinated) early enough to get through a long prep list. We host Thanksgiving and I love all of the sides, so it can be a full day of cooking.

Something you’re excited to put on the table this year? 

This will be the third year in a row making marshmallows from scratch with one of my niblings. What we don’t eat immediately tops the sweet potato casserole. Everyone should try their hand at marshmallows. They don’t take much, and I’m always amazed that a few ingredients, which don’t taste like anything, become such a classic treat!

Best way to prepare turkey and/or stuffing?

I normally brine and roast a turkey breast. It’s nice to have on the table but a whole turkey takes up too much valuable oven space! Dressing is one of my favorites, and I generally make a cornbread version with chunky bacon, lots of black pepper, and Parmesan. All of that mixed with the cornbread cubes and a custard make a bread pudding of sorts.

Best way to use leftovers?

I love a big leftover sandwich piled high with dressing, cranberry relish, and gravy. Some turkey is nice but not necessary. 

Something you’re thankful for this year?

I look forward to gathering with family both biological and found and celebrating each other. The incredible support from those close to me for the launch of Lutra has been so meaningful.

Sam Jones | Owner and Chef, Sam Jones BBQ

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

Growing up, we always ate on Thanksgiving Day at my grandma and granddaddy Jones’. Then it was customary, matter of fact, to have an afternoon squirrel hunt. Whether we killed anything or not, we walked around with .22 rifles because my granddaddy did not raise us to squirrel hunt with a shotgun.

Something you’re excited to put on the table this year? 

Since my grandparents have passed, my mom took on the tradition. She has a big old spread. My mom cooks extremely too much food. The best is her biscuit pudding and chocolate gravy. 

Best way to prepare turkey and/or stuffing?

Don’t overcook the turkey. You can cook a turkey whether you bake it, smoke it, whatever—but just don’t cook it to death. I mean, it’s not a cremation service.

Best way to use leftovers?

Ham or turkey—if it’s cooked properly to start with, you can put it in the refrigerator, get you out two pieces of loaf bread, slice it with a piece of cheese and some mayonnaise, and you got a sandwich tomorrow.

Something you’re thankful for this year?

Both my parents are still alive and my two children are healthy.

Helena Cragg | Founder and Market Manager, North Durham Farmers’ Market 

Favorite Thanksgiving tradition? 

Though I hail from New York originally, my favorite Thanksgiving traditions are deeply rooted in Southern food traditions from my mom’s family in South Carolina (where she was one of 10 children).

While no Thanksgiving meal in my family would be complete without deviled eggs, turkey and stuffing, ham, mac and cheese, cornbread, and so much more … the star of the show for me was always the greens and the sweet potato pie. As a small child during the huge family gatherings for the holidays, I was usually relegated to the kids’ table. 

But the production that was involved in preparing such large family meals meant that holiday meals were when my mother or my grandmother invited me into “their” kitchen to help out washing and cutting greens and sweet potatoes to move them on to the next step of meal prep, and that invitation always made me feel like I was really a big girl now. Those sweet moments in their kitchen gave me my very first lessons in cooking, so will always hold such fond memories that continue to serve me well in my adulthood.

Something you’re excited to put on the table this year? 

I am excited that this year will be my first where the vast majority of our meal will be sourced from our North Durham Farmers’ Market community. Even sweeter is incorporating my cherished Thanksgiving meal traditions with local and healthy ingredients and preparation all from our market family.

From Chef Netta putting her spin on a batch of collard greens from the Black Tiger Farming Collective with a taste of lean pork from Rooted Tree, to incorporating sweet peppers from Kindred Micro Farms and finishing up dinner with a homemade sweet potato pie made with pie-crust dough from Lutra Bakery and sweet potatoes from Toad Hill Farm, it has been a blast to evolve and create new food traditions this year.

I look forward to more and more of Durham’s community learning about and incorporating the amazing offerings of our small local farmers and food entrepreneurs and creating new traditions!

Jacob Boehm photo by Tim Lytvinenko; James Eason photo by Juli Leonard; Andrea Reusing photo by Jeremy M. Lange, Paula de Pano photo by Brett Villena, Helena Cragg photo by Kumolo Studios. To comment on this story, email [email protected].