During the summer we had the pleasure of working with Matt Basile of Fidel Gastro’s. We got to see first-hand how he jumps from Priscilla (his beloved food truck) to Lisa Marie (his beloved restaurant), while filming Rebel Without A Kitchen on Travel + Escape in between. It got us thinking, what would the holidays look like for a guy like him? So, we asked!
The Original Lisa Marie Family
Not too far off from his day-to-day life, being surrounded by food and people is what Matt looks forward to the most once the holidays come around. Some of his favourite dishes he’ll bring to the table are lemon butter roasted turkey breast, slow roasted beef tenderloin and grilled large shrimps in tomato gravy. We sure would love to have a seat at his Thanksgiving or Christmas table!
Since turkey is usually the main event at any holiday meal, we asked Matt to give us some advice on how to make it with a hint of Olé!
“Make sure you season the turkey well before it goes in the oven and that you’re basting the turkey every 45 minutes to an hour after the first hour of cooking.”
A Fidel Gastro’s Yorkshire Valley Farms Organic Turkey
After sitting down from a day of cooking, with a glass of wine in-hand, Matt will set all his worries aside and focus on what’s right in front of him; family, friends and food.
His most memorable holiday moment was the first time he hosted Christmas for his family, just a few years ago. Matt says,
“I did all the food planning, the Chris Kringle and even the sorry looking Christmas tree. It felt good to give back.”
Fidel Gastro’s Matt Basile & Kyla Zanardi
wearefromthefarm 