Last Chance Foods: How Jacques Torres Does Thanksgiving - a podcast by WNYC Studios

Master pastry chefJacques Torreshas a word of advice for anyone making pies for Thanksgiving. He says to keep it simple.

“When you start to put too many [flavors together], you don’t know what you eat anymore,” he said. Instead, pick one main flavor and then use another ingredient or two to complement it.

“If you eat chocolate, add a tiny bit of salt. That salt [is] going to enhance the flavor of the chocolate,” Torres said. “If you put pear, pear and chocolate, or orange and chocolate, marry very well together. But make one of the two the star.”

Torres,who recently stopped by to judge the annual WNYC employee pie contest, also said to be sure to make test pies before the big day. That gives you a chance to get reactions and suggestions from friends and family, and allows for an opportunity to perfect a crust or filling.

Speaking to us from the site of a new Jacques Torres Chocolate factory in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the chocolatier said that he particularly loves the American tradition of holiday cookie swaps. “What a beautiful gift when someone spends time in the kitchen for you, and puts all his love, attention, time into a box of cookies,” he said.

Torres told WNYC’s Amy Eddings that he plans on hosting Thanksgiving. He’ll make a turkey, which he always makes sure to soak in brine the night before. He said that the brine helps keep the turkey moist. Hear what French and American sides he’ll be making in the clip below.

And as for dessert, Torres says he has two plans in mind, one of which is a upside down apple tart. He describes how he makes the dessert, which is also known as a “tarte tatin,” in the clip below.

Here are two recipes for tarte tatin.

Smitten Kitchen: Molly's Apple Tarte Tatin

Los Angeles Times' Recipe: Tarte Tatin (upside-down caramelized apple tart)

If you’re looking to bring dessert to a Thanksgiving feast, try out the recipe for Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies. They have the advantage of being particularly portable.

Chocolate Chip Cookies from Jacques Torres
Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling
Yield: 1 ½ dozen 5-inch cookies.

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 ½ ounces) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups (8 ½ ounces) bread flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups) unsalted butter
• 1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
• Sea salt

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 ½ -ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Note: Disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are at Whole Foods.

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