By Marie Elium
If friends and family are sticking close to home (their home) this holiday season, Cleveland Chef Eric Wells has good news. It is possible to create a small, elegant meal worthy of this food-centric time of year, even if just a few people are gathered around your table. He does it all the time.
When he’s not conducting cooking classes or donating his time for community events, Wells is a popular private chef who makes fancy meals for clients in their homes, often for just a few people. Wells’ specialty is intimate, six-course dinners for two.
Married and the father of four grown children, Wells’ Thanksgiving and Christmas meals this year are going to be a lot like many of ours… relatively small with just immediate family. He also has a lot of the same issues many of us do when we’re preparing a special holiday dinner: negotiating who eats what. One of his kids is vegan, another doesn’t eat pork and a third doesn’t eat pork or beef. As for Wells, he’s allergic to shellfish.
What’s On the Menu?
Don’t let a smaller-than-usual gathering dampen your enthusiasm for holiday meal planning. A holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas is an opportunity to shine, regardless of how many gather around the table.
Wells likes to stick with tradition for Thanksgiving dinner. Downsize with a bone-in turkey breast instead of the usual 18-pound bird.Other traditional foods can be downsized accordingly to offset the too-many-leftovers blues.
For Christmas, a small beef tenderloin, or pork tenderloin (he suggests a panko breadcrumb/Dijon mustard crust to keep it moist), are fancy enough for the holiday, again, without creating too many leftovers.
“I think Thanksgiving is a time to stay traditional; Christmas to try something new,” he says. “I’m big on presentation, I’m big on gorgeous table settings because that’s the first thing you see. Make sure the table looks amazing,” Wells says.
This is the time to pull out your best china, make place cards and include a list of courses at each plate. “I love to use chargers; they’re inexpensive, (and) little figurines, trees,” he adds.
The key to hosting any holiday dinner is to make a plan and follow it by preparing as much food as possible ahead of time. For example, two or three weeks in advance, decide what you’re making and which items can be made early. Desserts are a good place to start; pie fillings and many other types of desserts freeze well and can be put together well before the holiday.
Vegetables can be peeled and chopped and put in storage bags. The same goes for preparing salad dressings; simplify day-of cooking by getting as much mixing and chopping and other chores done early in the week.
While prep work is a good shortcut, one that Chef Wells is not a fan of is cooking a turkey in a bag. “It’s got too much steam,” Wells says. “A properly cooked turkey should be brined for 24 hours.” A simple brine of salt, sugar, water and herbs ensures a moist turkey. An instant-read meat thermometer eliminates guesswork if you’re anxious about trying to cook a turkey sans baking bag.
Whatever route you take — traditional, daring, bag or no bag — creating a holiday meal that’s special is especially important right now, Wells says.
“With the year that we’ve had, I think there is no better time for people to concentrate on their family, food and fellowship.”
Eat to Live; Cook to Give
Cleveland native Chef Eric Wells is a proponent of locally-sourced foods, a supporter of community food education and a mainstay at Northeast Ohio’s many charity events. He is the culinary instructor at CornUcopia Place on Kinsman Road. The community facility is the home to nutrition education classes and other food-centric activities in an area that has been described as a “food desert” on the city’s near-east side.
Wells started his Skye LaRae’s Culinary Services in 2004. He was the first African American graduate of The International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute in Chesterland.
He has used his chef skills to help raise money for the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland, Our Lady of the Wayside, the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland, and many other charitable groups.
“My parents taught me the importance of giving back,” Wells says. “When I was young, they were both involved in the community; my mother as a PTA leader and my father as the president and business manager of one of the largest unions in Northeast Ohio. They emphasized the importance of using my God-given gifts to bless and help others.”
Marie Elium intends to use her husband’s blow torch to caramelize creème bruûlée for Christmas dessert. It will either be the best idea or the worst idea she’s ever had.
