Christmas Was an Event
A 1" spiced roast-turkey and cranberry pressed cube with sage butter — a holiday run like a production
"Christmas was an event," she recalls. One of four children in a Minnesota house where her mother, the daughter of a military man, enforced discipline with drill-like precision.
Why this bite? Her childhood holidays were run as productions. The whole holiday table, pressed and cut to spec.
The Story
Long before she ran the world's largest event production company, she grew up inside one: holidays weren't casual affairs in that Minnesota house, they were productions with a run of show and an accountability line. This bite is the holiday table compressed into a single perfect square — turkey, cranberry, sage, pressed and cut to spec, because the point of the story is not the menu but the precision.
Read Full Story →Ingredients
- Roast turkey thigh, shredded
- Cranberry-orange compote
- Sage brown butter
- Brioche crumb
- Cracked pepper
Preparation
- 1.Bind shredded turkey with sage brown butter and a little compote.
- 2.Press into a lined tray 1" deep; chill until firm.
- 3.Cut into exact 1" cubes.
- 4.Top each with a bead of cranberry compote and toasted brioche crumb.
More from this collection
People — Janet Dell
The World Builder
Savory blue cheese mousse tower on geometric cracker with charcoal tuile & micro herbs
The Field of Dreams
Sweet corn fritter with smoked cream, chive oil & microgreens
The Temporary City
Layered vegetable terrine in glass cube with precision-cut ingredients & herb gelée
The Fanatic
Mini BBQ pulled pork slider with spicy slaw & stadium mustard on brioche
The Thermostat
A 1" warm-and-cold bite: chilled cucumber-yogurt cube set on a hot smoked-paprika almond crisp
Bring the People Back
A 1" rebuilt bite: pulled short rib re-formed into a cube over root purée, with a single restored leaf