It has been quite a year and yet, 2020 continues to roll on. In the midst of a lot of uncertainty, there have been things that remind us how life was prior to living in the pandemic that has taken place across the globe. This holiday season will be a bit different than what we have experienced with us socially distanced and not partaking in holiday parties and events that we have been used to in the past. We caught up with Chef David Rose to hear some tips on how we can tackle this year's season.
ATHLEISURE MAG: We enjoyed seeing you as a finalist on Season 13's Food Network Star, being a Food Network personality and a number of shows. How do you define your cooking style?
CHEF DAVID ROSE: My cooking style is kind of a mix of a couple of different things. First off, my family is Jamaican and I am from the tri-state area so there is a huge cultural melting pot. I would say that I cut my teeth in terms of cooking in the South. So you see a lot of Southern influences and twists on my recipes. But I was also classically trained in the French arts at Le Cordon Bleu where I graduated summa cum laude back in 2006 – very proud of that one right there! I would say that my cooking style is elevated Southern with a Caribbean French Twist and a bit of international influences. So I'm sort of a man of mystery and a chef of mystery! I like to keep people on their toes and to keep them guessing.
AM: The Athleisure team throughout quarantine has enjoyed a number of the dishes from Omaha Steaks so we know that they are more than just steak and chicken as they have sides and desserts. As the Executive Chef for Omaha Steaks, what is the synergy between you and the brand and what can we expect to see between you and them in this partnership?
CHEF DR: Definitely. I am a huge smoking and grilling fan and fanatic! I have about 4 or 5 grills so I think that smoking and grilling unleashes the natural amazingness and flavors that you can find over at Omaha Steaks. From one of my favorites, the Tomahawk Ribeye that nice luscious bone eye and then there is the file as well as the strips and the T-bone. You also can’t go wrong with a lobster tail as well. I’m pretty sure when offered a surf and turf, nobody ever ever said no! A lot of those things go really well together. As far as being Jamaican, you know we eat everything. Whether it be chicken, it’s beef, turkey – whatever. We love everything and you can find so many assortments of proteins from ready to eat sides and ready to eat desserts. It’s all on the web-site and I’m excited to be able to bring my Southern influence and Caribbean influence to an incredible company known for their meat and protein portfolio in order to exude and explore and to showcase my style of cooking with Omaha Steaks.
AM:We’re in holiday mode and obviously celebrations look a little different this year with virtual get-togethers and gatherings. What tips do you have especially for veteran hosts that will be putting on dinners that are slightly scaled back then what they’re used to.
CHEF DR: I think that 2020 is a year that nobody has experienced and I’m pretty confident in saying that. According to a new Harris Poll, more than half of Americans are planning to celebrate with 5or less people and 1/3 of Americans are opting or are considering Zoomsgivingwhich is through the joy of Zoom whichI’m pretty sure that everyone has become acclimated with during quarantine. You can celebrate that experience of cooking and eating even if you’re not able to do it in person but can through the magic of Zoom or other virtual platforms.
The holidays can be very anxious especially if it is the first time that you have ever cooked a turkey. We have a 10lb pre-bast-ed turkey that gets shipped to your door-step. What I recommend is that the #1mistake that most rookies make when they are tackling a turkey is not allow-ing enough adequate time for the turkey to thaw. You always want to allow for at least 3 days for that turkey to thaw. If it’s a 10lb one, you want to give it the full 3 days and if you want the crispy skin that we all love and is indicative of a turkey, you want to uncover it in a roasting rack for an additional 24hours. By doing that, it’s going to dry the skin out and give you that golden brown crispy turkey skin every single time. As far as doing all of that. We also suggest making your turkey a day ahead of time. It allows you to have a stress free, anxiety reduced day on Thanksgiving. When you do that, you want to take the turkey out, remove the breast, the thighs, the legs and the wings. The key thing is to allow the turkey to rest and come to room temperature. What you do then is put it inside of the fridge. When you remove the turkey from the fridge on Thanksgiving day, you just need to reheat it and then you’re just focusing on the sides, the appetizers and my personal favorite – the desserts. Another way to shave some time from the prep is to buy some mix and match sides from the site as there are a lot of options. We also have a great partnership with Wine.com where we have some packages that can be purchased.
I always say, that being ready, being prepared and keeping your freezer stocked with a plethora of goodness means that you’re always going to be the hero at any Thanksgiving or Zoomsgiving table.
AM: What are your go to mains and sides that you enjoy having around?
CHEF DR: One of my favorite things is a Prime Rib Roast. I think that this reigns supreme at any holiday dinner table. I just love to eat that bone when I’m done. I’m a gnawer Athleisure, I’m a gnawer. If you have dogs, the dogs will appreciate that as well. The great thing about a Prime Rib Roast is that I can be shared with families, it’s great for leftovers – you can make a prime rib sand-wich the following day. To me, nothing screams celebrations, nothing screams holidays more than an amazing Prime RibRoast. We have an amazing selection of those as well.
AM: What are some recipes that we should keep in mind as well as we are navigating this holiday season?
CHEF DR: What I would recommend is that you want to go and brine the turkey to add additional flavor. These pre-basted turkeys are already pre-brined. They have their brown sugar, their honey and so it’s not just about the flavor but the color so it has that golden brown deliciousness. Now some of my personal flavor recipes is that I love doing compound butters. They're great for steaks, they’re great for roasts and I recommend if you want to get that juicy lush turkey breast, is make that. A compound butter is a fancy way to essentially say a butter with herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage and garlic. To get that re-ally juicy and luscious turkey breast, you take that compound butter and you slide it under the skin and slather it all over the breast. Now what that does is that when that turkey slowly cooks and we know that that fat of the butter is where the flavor comes in – it just makes it taste amazing with great texture 10 out of 10 times.
AM: Like you said earlier, 2020 no one can say that we have ever seen anything like this! How do you plan on ringing in the New Year?
CHEF DR: I think everyone is looking for-ward to ringing in 2021 and what I’m planning on doing is having a nice Prime RibRoast, maybe a filet or Ribeye on the grill– one of these amazing food packages where you can’t forget about your libations! For me, a nice glass of bourbon and just enjoying one of my favorite pairings– steak and bourbon. You can’t go wrong with that.
PHOTOS COURTESY | OMAHA STEAKS
Hear Chef David Rose on our show, Athleisure Kitchen - which is a part of Athleisure Studio, our multimedia companion podcast network! Subscribe to be notified when the episode drops. Listen on iHeart-Radio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, AmazonMusic, Google Podcasts or wherever you enjoy your podcasts.
Read the Nov Issue #59 of Athleisure Mag and see Smoking and Grilling with Chef David Rose in mag.
