Holiday Sips & Bites with Chef Jernard Wells of New Soul Kitchen

By Naomi Bonman / December 20, 2020 / CULTURE / 0 Comments

With the pandemic and Holiday season this past year, many have been in the kitchen a lot more, so any type of cooking content is ‘king’ right now. Last week, Purposely Awakened had the privilege of being on a live cooking session via Zoom with Chef Jernard Wells. Chef Wells is the host of New Soul Kitchen which airs on CLEO TV on Saturdays at 9 p.m. Season two starts on Saturday, January 9, 2021.

“This is the time of year when we’re always looking for those festive dishes and I know it’s a unique one because of course we are in a pandemic, a lot of people are still staying in place and not really going out as much as they normally would,” Wells explained.

“I created several quick fix dishes that you can whip up for yourself or a special someone in your life or if you are having a small gathering you can create something like this and it will meet the needs for everyone.”

Each week New Soul Kitchen brings down-home recipes with a healthy twist. Chef Jenard welcomes a special culinary guest each episode who specialize in Vegan, Soul, Ghanaian, and Latin fare.

During the Holiday Sips & Bites Zoom special, Chef Wells did four recipes: a main appetizer, a dessert, and two alcoholic beverages. Each recipe was quick and easy and very inexpensive to where you only need but a few ingredients, which most probably already have in their kitchens.

The menu of the evening consisted of Thai Chili and Gochujang Meatballs, Vanilla and Carmel Bread Pudding, Apple Cider Moscow Mule, and Cranberry Maple Tequila. Let’s get into the recipes shall we.

Thai Chili and Gochujang Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients: Ground Turkey, bread crumbs, green onions, Chef Jernard’s BBQ seasoning, All Purpose seasoning, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, and 1/4 cup Gochujang sauce

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Add pound turkey to serving bowl.
3. Lightly slice green onions and add to bowl.
4. Add a tablespoon of All Purpose seasoning.
5. Add tablespoon of BBQ seasoning.
6. Add bread crumbs.
7. Mix the mixture together with your hands.
8. Ball turkey up into 1-inch balls.
9. Spray pan with non-sticking oil and place meatballs on pan.
10. Place meatballs in oven for 25-20 minutes while you make the sauce.
11. To make sauce, mix Thai Chili sauce and Gochujang sauce in a bowl and stir.
12. Once meatballs come from oven, pour the sauce over them.

“One of the things with New Soul Kitchen, Season 2 is that I really want to inspire people to not be afraid to step out and create meals,” Wells explains. “With us being closed in it has really driven people to step in the kitchen and cook more. But the thing is it can be repetitive with you cooking the same meals over and over. So how do you change that?”

Wells continues, “You can reset you pallet by introducing herbs hat you typically wouldn’t put in those dishes for a different experience.”

Apple Cider Moscow Mule

1. Put two scoops of ice in mixer cup
2. Add 1/2 cup of apple cider
3. Add 1.5 oz of Whiskey (cinnamon Whiskey is preferred by any will do)
4. Blend together and shake well
5. Pour mixture in a glass
6. Add some Ginger Beer on top for sparkling flavor
7. Add a dash of cinnamon sugar on top

Wells has a unique cooking style called Southern Modified Style of cooking where it’s modifying yesterday’s recipes for today’s lifestyle.

“There’s no right or wrong way to cooking great food,” Wells states. “The key is to cook it how you love it because it is bringing people into your world.”

Vanilla and Caramel Bread Pudding

1. Grab some Brioche bread and dice it into pieces.
2. Place in plastic bowl.
3. Add Heavy Cream
4. Add Cinnamon and nutmeg
5. Add walnuts
6. Mix it together lightly ensuring that the bread is still holding the mixture together.
7. Add vanilla extract
8. Add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.
9. Add to tin pan and place pan in oven for 15 minutes while you make the syrup.

Caramel Syrup

1. Grab skillet
2. Add condensed milk to skillet
3. Add brown sugar and vanilla extract
4. Stir and place on low heat over the stove to breakdown brown sugar.

Before we get into the last recipes, below is a snippet of Chef Jernard’s journey into culinary and cooking.

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Cranberry Tequila

1. Add a scoop of ice to mixer cup
2. Add 3 oz of Cranberry juice
3. Add 1.5 oz of Tequila
4. Add a squirt of lime juice
5. Add a teaspoon of real maple syrup
6. Shake and mix
7. Pour into glass and enjoy.

Some may be loving these recipes but do not drink, below are a couple holiday Mocktails that people can try out.

Virgin Screwdriver

1. Add Lemonade, fresh lime, and a sparkling seltzer (such as a seltzer water, etc.) together and mix and shake.
2. Add to glass.
3. Top off with mint leaves.

Virgin Sangria

1. Grab some cranberry juice
2. Add sparkling cider and apple juice to cranberry juice and mix.
3. Add pears, apples, and oranges to juice.
4. Pour in glass and enjoy.

For those that prefer a hot drink for the winter time, try the recipe below:

Egg Nog Smore

1. Pour Egg Nog in a coffee cup
2. Add Baileys or Sweet Comfort Whiskey
3. Add 2 tablespoons of coco
4. Heat in microwave
5. Add a graham cracker, marshmallow and Hershey’s to the top of cup ad lightly burn it.

Five Must Have Spices Recommended by Chef Jernard

1. Smoked Paprika
2. Himalaya Sea Salt
3. Adobo Seasoning
4. Granulated Sugar

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