The Business of Food with Steve Alexander

In the audio clip below, Eric Olesen, president of O&H Danish Bakery in Racine, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander what the fluffy sweet-filled pastry is, how it started, how Racine became the center of the Kringle universe, and how it became a worldwide seller, especially during the holidays. And, if you think Kringle has something to do with Kris, it does not.

In the audio clip below, Stephanie Powell, Chief Sandwich Developer (that’s really her title) for Chicago’s S. Rosen Bread, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander about Harris poll results showing some of the many items — some of them odd — we pile between slices of bread and call it a leftover sandwich. She and her team created some recipes, which you can find here.

These recipes for making mashed potatoes a day or two before Thanksgiving will reduce the stress of the big day. Steve Alexander and his wife, Diane Montiel, have been using a recipe from friend Ann Wright for several years and in Diane’s words, “It’s magic.” Another friend, Nova Lanktree, has a slightly different recipe but both accomplish the same thing: eliminating the potato peeling, the water boiling, and mashing as you try to get the turkey and other side dishes prepared without ruining your hairdo and makeup. All three ladies spoke with Steve about the game-changing recipes. You’re welcome, America!

(Original recipe credit to Mary Yoo.)

5-pound bag of potatoes, peeled, cooked and drained. (I buy 7-8 large Russet potatoes.)

Leave the potatoes in the pot and WHILE STILL HOT, add:

3-oz cream cheese

1 stick butter

WAIT A FEW MINUTES FOR THIS TO MELT, THEN ADD:

1 cup milk (your choice of whole or reduced fat)

1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp white pepper (or black if you don’t have white and don’t want to buy it)

Beat until smooth (I use a hand mixer.)

Transfer to a casserole dish, cover and put in the fridge.

On the serving day, remove from the fridge and get it to room temperature.

Optional: You can put a dab of butter on top and then put the potatoes in the oven at 350 until hot. (I always put it in the oven while the turkey is resting before carving.)

You can also heat it up in the microwave and it’ll taste just as good.

Will keep in the fridge for a week, but I always make it the day before Thanksgiving. Yay! No big pot to wash or potatoes to peel, cook and mash that day. It’s already done! AND, they are delicious! Serves 6 to 8.

(Original recipe credit to Marge Paul’s recipe in the St. Attracta Cicero cookbook, circa 1980s.)

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

3 lbs. baking potatoes

2 tbsp butter or margarine

Sprinkle of paprika

In a bowl, stir together cream cheese, garlic salt, pepper and sour cream until smooth and set aside.

Peel and boil potatoes. Drain.

Using an electric mixer, beat potatoes until they are in fine lumps.

Add the cream cheese mixture and continue beating until smooth.

Spoon into a 2-quart casserole, cover and refrigerate.

On serving day, remove from refrigerator, dot with butter and sprinkle with paprika.

In oven pre-heated to 400 degrees, bake covered for 20-25 minutes. Remove cover and bake until potatoes begin to turn golden.

Enjoy!

What has become a tradition for countless Chicago families had its beginnings in 1996 on Michigan Avenue’s Pioneer Court with only 13 vendors. It was created as a way to further trade between the United States and Germany. The next year, it moved to Daley Plaza where it has flourished every year since, with well over 50 vendors. In the audio clip below, Leila Schmidt, senior manager for marketing for German-American Events, the event organizer for the Christkindl Markets, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander a Wrigleyville location was added five years ago, and Aurora’s began two years ago. Schmidt says the market has become a holiday tradition for thousands of Chicago area families, and every effort is made to replicate the original German markets with the same kinds of food (schnitzel, etc.) and drinks one would find at a European market. The Daley Plaza market is open through December 24th; the Wrigleyville market (next to Wrigley Field), is open daily until December 31st, and the market at Riveredge Park in Aurora is open Thursdays through Sundays until December 24th.

Feel free to take a crack (or quack) at the punchline, but in the audio clip below, WGN’s John Williams will share his Speed Joke. It’s a way to introduce Sean Smith, general manager of Culver Duck Farms, and Drew Frey, who oversees live production at the farms. They not only share their own duck joke, they talk about the history of the farms, which date back to the 1870s on Long Island, New York. And, they endorse the idea of changing out the turkey for one of their ducks, which Sean called, “the steak of the poultry world,” with its flavor that more mimics a steak than it does turkey or chicken. By the way, these are not the Mallard ducks we see flying around the area. These are white ducks, often called “farm ducks,” or, as Sean reminds us, the same type of duck as the legendary Chelveston, the ornery duck best known for pecking the ankles of children on Ray Rayner’s WGN-TV children’s show. More info about the Culver ducks, as well as recipes, at its website.

Sure, Verzênay offers the usual Thanksgiving staples like pumpkin, apple and French silk pies, as well as their buttery brioche dinner rolls, but how about mixing things up this year with a Thanksgiving Quiche? In the audio clip below, Pâtissiere and owner Arshiya Farheen tells WGN’s Steve Alexander she offers savory options, such as the spinach/kale quiche (what Steve calls the “Dave Eanet Special”) and the potato/leek. Another non-traditional favorite is Verzaney’s unique Savory Veggie Pie (all-butter crust, Butternut squash, spinach, caramelized onions, Ricotta cheese, eggs, and sage). Farheen got her start with a booth at the Green City Market and became so popular she decided to open a brick and mortar store during COVID. She says it was rough going, but thanks to her loyal fanbase, Verzênay survived and is thriving.

Spoiler alert: If you have the Christmas Cookie Challenge in your DVR and don’t want to know who won the Food Network bake-off, stop reading. Priscilla Sarmiento-Gupana, an Aurora pediatrician, was among the contestants, and in the audio clip below — which contains no spoilers — she tells WGN’s Steve Alexander about her love of cookie artistry, and how she took refuge in the craft after the loss of her baby. People soon began to notice how talented she and her sister Angela were in their designs, and the demand for their cookies led to them selling their cookies. But Priscilla tells Steve that became too much, and took the fun out of their hobby. They still bake for charities and special occasions (a Ted Lasso wrap party, for one), but most people will have to settle for the photos the sisters post on their IG account: @sarmiesistersweets. OK, the spoiler: Priscilla came in second, runner-up to Challenge champion Arlene Chua.

When informed that lawmakers in his home state of Wisconsin are attempting to make the brandy old fashioned the official state cocktail, Orion told WGN’s Steve Alexander, “I’ll be darned! I’ll have to start drinking more.” In the audio clip below, Orion talks about his longtime affection for the cocktail that is uniquely Wisconsin, thanks to an accident. Pat Brophy, Director of Spirit Sales at Binny’s Beverage Depot, adds to the conversation and says the state was overwhelmed by cheap brandy because of a clerical error in the 1940s. Brophy also talks about how the rest of the world views the use of brandy instead of whisky in the cocktail.

With Erica Bethe Levin’s first child, she was afraid to wander from the norm. Her son was fed the texture-less, flavorless food from the big brand food makers that most other kids got. He grew into a very picky eater. But child number two (We aren’t as neurotic about second children, are we?) was fed whatever the adults were eating — she loved coconut curry — and grew into a more adventurous eater. In the audio clip below, Levin tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that studies show there’s a “flavor window” for kids between the ages of four and 18 months of age that will influence their food choices forever. But the stores weren’t selling “adventurous” food for kids. So, Levin started GloBowl, a different kind of food giving babies big flavors, safe textures and common allergens when they’re starting solids. Meals in a jar — don’t get her started on plastic pouch food which she says can stifle oral motor muscle development — are chef-curated to give babies the chance to experience the flavors of the world, such as Veggie Tikka Masala, Pad Thai for Toddlers, and a Spicy Bean Bowl and a Mediterranean meal.

When Liam Donnelly discovered people would pay him to pick up their compostable table scraps, he started a route with hundreds of residential and business accounts. He’d pick up their full compost pails and leave a fresh one. He was 15, so he used his bicycle pulling a Radio Flyer wagon at first, then a larger trailer. Donnelly continued the business while attending Loyola University, growing WasteNot Compost into the only zero-emissions compost company in the country, using an all-electric fleet of trucks and warehouse forklifts. It was also named the best composting service in the United States for four years running (per TreeHugger.com). In the audio clip below, Donnelly tells WGN’s Steve Alexander how the process works and how its five-gallon buckets are showing up in more and more areas across the Chicago area. With food waste the number one contributor to methane in landfills, Donnelly says WasteNot is committed to using composting to benefit the planet.