Morning Edition

French Chef Puts Spin On Thanksgiving Dinner

By Steve Inskeep

Published November 25, 2009 5:00 AM

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Chef Dominique Crenn was raised in Versailles, France. She now makes an incredible Thanksgiving dinner, but when she first came to the U.S., the entire holiday threw her off.

She sat down with NPR's Steve Inskeep to discuss how she cooks for Thanksgiving.

"I was a little bit lost when I came here," she told Inskeep. "I had no idea what Thanksgiving was about."

In France, turkey is eaten at Christmas. So the American phenomenon of Thanksgiving turkey and dressing mystified her.

"Oh, a month before Christmas, we're gonna eat Turkey?"

But now, she's hooked. Crenn has been celebrating Thanksgiving for about 20 years. "This is a pretty cool holiday," she said.

She makes her turkey-day feast with flair. She described how she cooks the bird:

"Do a roulade with the breast. Open up the breast, stuff it, roll it, then tie it."

Crenn stuffs the turkey with mushroom, truffle or foie gras. Then she wraps it in bacon. Next, she cures the legs, then confits them with duck fat.

"I like slow cooking," she said. Her turkeys are cooked between 160 and 200 degrees. "I don't do it at high temperatures. ... You kill the animal once; you don't want to kill it twice."

For sides, Crenn serves up roasted chestnuts and Brussels sprout leaves, picked and sauteed.

As for dessert: "I will maybe do something a little bit different than a pumpkin pie."

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View audio transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

We are looking at the mix of old and new traditions among carnivores during this Thanksgiving week. MORNING EDITION spoke with three chefs who were born overseas or raised by immigrant parents. They are all helping to shape American cuisine. So we wanted to know what will be on their tables.

Today we hear from Dominique Crenn. She is the chef at the restaurant Luce in San Francisco. And she came to the U.S. from France 20 years ago.

Ms. DOMINIQUE CRENN (Chef): I was a little bit lost when I came here. I had no idea what was Thanksgiving about. I'm like, oh, a month before Christmas we're going to eat some turkey? Because that's what we do in France - we eat turkey for Christmas.

Ms. CRENN: And then, you know, of course you're part of the country and you try to integrate yourself and you just realize that this is a pretty cool holiday and I think it seems this is one of the days where people just love to hang out with each other. So yeah, I've been celebrating that for almost 20 years now.

INSKEEP: So you do the turkey then?

Ms. CRENN: Yes. My way.

INSKEEP: Your way. What's your way?

Ms. CRENN: A bit different, you know? What I do with it, I just do a roulade with the breast.

INSKEEP: What's roulade?

Ms. CRENN: It's roll. Basically you kind of open up the breast, you take the skin out and you stuff the breast with something and then you roll it and you tie it. You know, I stuff it with saut� wild mushroom, truffle, sometimes foie gras, sometimes chestnut. Then what I do with it, I wrap it with a smoked pancetta, whatever, a nice smoked bacon that I can find. And the leg, what I do with the leg, I cure them and then I confit them in duck fat.

INSKEEP: So you do that and then you cook it in the traditional way? Or...

Ms. CRENN: Yeah. I like slow cooking. You know, I don't do it at high temperatures. You see, I do it like 160, 200 degree.

INSKEEP: Is that - I think it's a little lower than...

Ms. CRENN: No, it just take a little bit longer, but it just, it's nice. You got to trust me on that.

INSKEEP: I will be glad to trust you. I'm sure you know, though, that it's more common in an American kitchen to see a temperature of 350 or even 400.

Ms. CRENN: Yeah. I know, I know. But like I say, you know, you kill the animal once, you don't want to kill it twice. So I find that my way works for me.

INSKEEP: Now, what are some of the things that you put beside the turkey?

Ms. CRENN: Roasted chestnuts and Brussels sprout, also that we do a lot.

INSKEEP: Brussels sprouts?

Ms. CRENN: Yeah. What you have to do, don't roast it altogether. What you do, you take the leaves. You pick the leaves and you saut� the leaves very lightly and you eat it like that. And I met a lot of people that do not like Brussels sprouts because there's some bitterness I guess to it. But I show them how to eat it that way, and it seems that it's just delicious.

INSKEEP: What's for dessert?

Ms. CRENN: Hmm. Well, I will maybe do something a little bit different than just a pumpkin pie. I will do a take on it. I will do maybe a brioche - a pumpkin brioche, and I will make a pain perdu with it...

INSKEEP: What is that?

Ms. CRENN: Well, it's a - you know the French toast?

INSKEEP: Mm-hmm.

Ms. CRENN: So basically you make a pumpkin brioche and you soak in whatever you want, buttermilk with a lot of spice, and then you sear it and you cook it and it's very moist on the inside and it's crispy on the outside, and then you serve that with maybe a sage ice cream and something like that, and it's just delicious.

INSKEEP: That must be a hit because it reminds people of pumpkin pie without being pumpkin pie.

Ms. CRENN: Exactly. It's a take on, you know.

INSKEEP: Well, Dominique Crenn, enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Ms. CRENN: Thank you. You too.

(Soundbite of music)

INSKEEP: She's a chef at Luce in San Francisco.

Tomorrow we'll talk with the man who was the special guest chef for President Obama's state dinner last night. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Source: NPR