Celebrity chef reveals why bigger Thanksgiving turkeys aren’t always better
Turkey-carving tips for your Thanksgiving feast
Paul Kelly grew up on a turkey farm and continues his family legacy of raising top of the line poultry. He's also the World's Fastest Turkey Carver! Kelly joined LiveNOW from FOX with tips on how to select and prepare the best turkey for your family's Thanksgiving feast.
Sandra Lee is busy these days. With a holiday slate that includes three new specials on QVC and two new shows, not to mention her recent selection to the White House Historical Association's national council, it's a wonder she still has time to cook.
Fox News Digital spoke with Lee during a break in her schedule to hear about her favorite fall foods, what she's cooking this Thanksgiving and where she's spending the holidays.
The 58-year-old California native is back in her home state, where she's been recording episodes of "Blue Ribbon Baking Championship," a new Netflix show.
A former blue-ribbon winner herself at the LA County Fair, Lee said she crafted the concept for the series and pitched it to the Food Network (it turned her down). But she didn't give up on the idea and took it to Netflix — which debuted the eight-episode series earlier this year.
Lee also launched "Dinner Budget Showdown," which she co-hosts, on the Roku Channel. The reality show challenges contestants to come up with innovative budget-friendly cooking techniques that test their culinary skills.
Also, Lee's "Aunt Sandy Claus" collection will be featured during three one-hour shows she's hosting on QVC in November.
After that, she'll be spending Thanksgiving in New York with her best friend Alexandra Stanton. And what will she be making?
A person carves a Thanksgiving turkey
"I'm doing whatever Alex tells me to do," Lee said to Fox News Digital.
Whatever it is, it'll likely include one of Lee's favorite side dishes.
"You have to have a great mashed potato, right?" she said.
Lee uses sour cream instead of milk or buttermilk to make her mashed potatoes, "which makes it thicker," she said.
"I like it a little bit lumpy."
But the mashed potatoes aren't complete without the gravy, Lee pointed out.
"I love gravy," she said, saying her family refers to her as the "gravy queen."
"Not the gravy train," she added with a laugh. "The gravy queen. I guess I'm both in my family."
Lee revealed how she makes her gravy.
"I like to do a flour and an oil roux, and I make it nice and dark," she said. "And I use the giblets from the turkey. Boil it in water. Simmer it for a long, long, long, long time – like a day – and then let it kind of sit, so you get a really beautiful flavor in your stock that you make."
Lee said she also uses the drippings from the turkey. She prepares a cornbread stuffing with celery, green onions, Campbell's chicken with rice soup, butter and poultry seasoning.