Chef prepares feast display

Need some inspiration for Thanksgiving dinner this year? Look no further than the Davis Farmers Market’s traditional Thanksgiving feast display, which will be showcased at Saturday’s market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market takes place in Central Park, Third and C streets in downtown Davis.

Executive Chef Andy Burtis of the UC Davis Dining Services created this year’s feast menu — using recipes from “The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook” — to provide inspiration and ideas for your own farm-fresh Thanksgiving feast. The cookbook was written by Georgeanne Brennan, an award-winning cookbook author and Winters resident, and Ann Evans, former Davis mayor and food activist.

UC Davis Dining Services will provide samples of three of the recipes for market shoppers to taste near the oak tree deck. Cookbook authors Brennan and Evans will sign copies of their book from 10 to 11 a.m.

Burtis will prepare grilled persimmon crostini with farmer cheese; devils on horseback; shiitake mushroom soup shots; roasted beet salad with fresh cheese, toasted pistachios and pistachio oil; oven-roasted brussels sprouts with thyme butter; Musquée de Provence with new crop walnuts; fall fruit chutney; and persimmon flan.

Samples of the crostini, devils on horseback and roasted beet salad will be offered.

Burtis has been with UCD Dining Services for 20 years. He hails from Tucson, Ariz., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from the University of Arizona. He continued his training at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena.

He has been named Chef of the Year by the California Capitol Chefs’ Association and has earned gold, silver and bronze medals, as well as two Swiss Bells, in culinary competitions for his creations in the categories of colds foods, hot foods and pastries.

Burtis’ expertise and training have been extended to hundreds of students throughout the nation through teaching roles at Arizona Catering, Arizona Community Colleges and UCD. As executive chef, he has overseen prestigious occasions with dignitaries and community leaders throughout the state and has served hundreds of thousands of meals over his career.

Free copies of the feast display recipes from “The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook” will be available to market shoppers on Saturday and again Saturday, Nov. 17, and at the pre-Thanksgiving Day market on Wednesday, Nov. 21, from noon to 6 p.m.