Holiday Recipe Inspiration with Chef Jake
Chef Jake cooking in our aussie minimalist studio kitchen.
When I’m hosting our annual holiday party, or any party really, the first person I call is Jacob Schroeder (who we also lovingly refer to as “Chef Jake”). He’s an amazing local chef, and a personal friend, and always brings fantastic and creative eats to every event.
I reached out to Jake this past month to ask him about how he cooks for the holidays. He gave not only some great answers, but also a couple of recipes that you can take and use for your own meals! One of which he actually made for us at the studio (in the studio)!
Sarah: What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
Jake: For Thanksgiving our family doesn't do much other than the usual traditional massive meal with family. Christmas is a little bit more lively. The Des Moines Christkindlmarket usually falls around my birthday, so we like to attend that with friends and partake in the merriment...mulled wine and live Polka music? How can one not have fun?! The market is particularly close to my heart because I lived in Hamburg, Germany during Christmas season and loved how culturally significant Christmas time is there - EVERYONE is super into it.
My immediate family’s oldest tradition is having a fondue feast on Christmas eve in our brand new matching pajamas. For the past couple years, my girlfriend and I have gone bonkers making Christmas cookies, and that's something I look forward to as well.
Sarah: Which holiday dishes are non-negotiables? What must be on the menu?
Jake: Cranberries! Thinking about this question made me realize how much I love them AND how new forms of them have entered my life as I get older. It’s a running joke in our family that the Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce has been one of my favorite things since I was a little kid. One year my grandmother made the version that's just fresh cranberries chopped finely with orange, ginger and sugar and we’ve made it since.
The most recent addition is a ginger ale-cranberry jell-o salad that my girlfriend’s mom makes. It's topped with whipped cream and toasted pecans, I could have either of those at every meal and still love it. I make a mean batch of buttermilk mashed potatoes with turkey gravy thanks to my many years in the service industry and my mom’s stuffing can't be beat.
Sarah: Do you do any experimenting with holiday recipes? What has been a favorite experiment?
Jake: My mom is a pretty hardcore traditionalist when it comes to the Thanksgiving meal so I've taken it upon myself to just elevate the classics while trying to sneak in a new dish every year. I've done a boneless turkey "ballotine" roast for probably 10 years. I do the green bean casserole but completely from scratch, blanching fresh green beans, making the mushroom cream and crispy onions… that sort of thing.
Some of the more well received "new" dishes I've done were a red wine poached pear tart with almond pastry cream, sweet potato bread pudding, and whatever take on brussels sprouts I do that year.
Sarah: What are some of your favorite tools or kitchen accessories to have for holiday entertaining?
Jake: Oh man, life is SWEET when there are two ovens and P-LENTY of countertop space. We do a self-serve ‘buffet’ type of meal, so I like to slice the turkey on a big butcher block board and just serve it on that same board. I’ve also gotta say that a multi-channel (or several) probe thermometers also takes a lot of the guess work out of the final cook/reheating of dishes.
Sarah: Would you be willing to share a favorite food or cocktail recipe with us?
Jake: Certainly!
Raw Cranberry Relish
12 ounces Fresh Cranberry
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
2 Tablespoons Minced Ginger
The zest and juice of 2 oranges
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
*Combine all ingredients in a food Processor to chop until the desired consistency is achieved
Buttermilk Mashed potatoes
note: The ratio I like to use is for every 10 pounds of potatoes, use 1 pound of butter and one quart of dairy (such as buttermilk or cream), that scales up and down as necessary
note: 1/4 cup of salt might seem like a lot, but the idea is to season the potatoes in the water they cook in and not add a lot of salt once they are drained....very much like how we aggressively season pasta water
5# Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, cut in half, and sliced into 1/2inch thick "half moons"
1/4 cup salt
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2# butter, cut into 1/2 inch "pats", ideally tempered
1 pint buttermilk
In a spacious pot, cover the potatoes by 2 inches with water, add the salt and smashed clove of garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir a few times so the potatoes in the bottom of the pot don't cook before the ones on top.
Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until the potatoes are just cooked through ( I have no idea on a time window because I make these when everything else is finishing cooking so I don't leave the stove). Bonus points if you skim the impurities that rise to the top of the water, try to not over cook the potatoes.
Dump the potatoes into a colander and allow to drain for 5 - 10 minutes, you want as much steam to evaporate as possible.
Pick your mashing method: I use a food mill, but a ricer or hand masher work great too.
Mash the potatoes back into the pot they were cooked in, add the butter and buttermilk, and use a heavy spoon or whisk to mix everything evenly (you may need to do this over medium low heat if the potatoes cooled off too much).
Check and adjust your seasoning if necessary. A little nutmeg and white pepper don't hurt here but aren't critical.
I’m not sure about you, but I’m off to buy some cranberries now! If you’re in the Des Moines area and would like to learn more about Jake and his catering, you can find him at Crafted Food Services.