West Baden Springs Hotel sous chef Allison Lindsey has already
filled us in about how it’s pretty simple to make pumpkin
pie from scratch, and check back to the blog tomorrow when Allison will be
sharing a holiday recipe with special family memories attached to it.
Today, Allison’s sharing a few thoughts and tips when it
comes to holiday goodies.
On the value of
homemade:
“I definitely make all of my gifts for Christmas, whether
it’s food-based or something else handmade — I’ve made earrings and bracelets
and quilts and things like that. I think hand-made goods are way, way more
loving and thoughtful than a store-bought thing off the shelf.
On thinking months
ahead about holiday baking:
“Think about Christmas early, because it’s just human nature
that we get so behind. At the tail end of the summer, I stock up things in my
freezer that my mom has collected from people she knows throughout the summer
season: cherries and pears, apples, etc. I try to use everything in its prime
peak season. I’ll save things and pull them from the freezer anytime to, for
instance, make a cherry pie. So it’s summer cherries, but now it’s a Christmas
thing we can eat. When I’m ready to use it, I pull it out and bake it from the
frozen state.”
Freezing doesn’t work for custard-based pies or her grandma’s famous oatmeal coconut pecan pie that Allison makes at the holidays, but it’s perfectly suited for fruit pies:
Freezing doesn’t work for custard-based pies or her grandma’s famous oatmeal coconut pecan pie that Allison makes at the holidays, but it’s perfectly suited for fruit pies:
“You just roll out your pie dough, put it in the pie pan,
add your filling, then you put the lattice work on top and put it in the
freezer to stiffen up your design. And then once it’s stiff, you pull it out of
the freezer and wrap it in plastic wrap. Then freeze until you’re able to use
it.”
“I have cookie dough that I made during the summer in the
freezer, and it’s less work for me during the busy holiday season. Sometimes on
my days off during the summer, I’ll make cookie dough and just roll it into a
log or portion it into scoops and then just individually quick freeze them.
Once they’re frozen enough, pull them out and stick them in a plastic bag. And
if you only need to bake off three cookies, you can bake off three instead of a
whole batch. I can just pull however many different types of cookies I need,
and there’s a holiday cookie tray and I’m good to go.”
On tinkering with
alternatives to butter, flour and other baking staples:
“I recently tried a vegan butter made from coconut and
chickpeas. And it’s so good. There’s different alternatives for everything.
There’s more than just wheat and white flour; there’s more than just cow’s and
goat’s milk. There’s so many different products out there right now — just
expose yourself to them, research them, and you can change the flavor profile
of what you’re baking. Instead of white flour, try a buckwheat flour or an
almond flour, because those are great gluten-free options.”
On seeking baking resources
from unexpected sources:
“If you have the drive and the desire you want to learn and
you want to find something different, there’s so many resources out there for
all of us. I know this sounds silly, but YouTube is full of information. I’m
not ashamed to admit that I’ve been watching Gordon Ramsay on YouTube. His
culture is different than mine, and you can pick up on something new. It’s a
different perspective of looking at things.”
Get more of peek into
Allison’s world of food by on
Instagram, and visit our French Lick Resort blog again tomorrow when
Allison shares her peanut brittle recipe!