NTF: What is Catahoula? Describe Catahoula Restaurant & Saloon. JAN: I've always wanted to cook on brick ovens and wood fires because it's a low-tech, old American kind of cooking. I never did it before I came to Catahoula. I designed the ovens myself and taught myself how to cook on them. This type of love for cooking came from a warm memory of cooking together with my family. Catahoula is also a memory for me of my roots in Louisiana. The Catahoula is the Louisiana state dog, as well as the name of a Louisiana town and a local parish. It's a cross between a red wolf and a Spanish war dog. It's an incredible herding dog. I had a couple as a youngster and I wanted to name my restaurant after something that reminded me of the South -- of good times. It brings with it a lot of hidden history and that's why we call it Catahoula. NTF: How does turkey fit into the scheme of your operation? JAN: Because of the brick ovens and turkey being such a fabulous bird to roast, Catahoula is the perfect place to serve turkey. We brine it; smoke it; and cook it slowly in the brick oven. When the turkey comes out of the oven it spawns this incredible aroma that everybody enjoys. NTF: How do you currently menu turkey at the restaurant? JAN: There are presently two items with turkey on the menu. One of them is the Turkey and Crab Gumbo that we made here today. The other is a Jalapeno Fettuccine with Sour Cherries. For this recipe, we lightly brine the turkey and smoke it in the brick oven before cutting it into pieces and searing it off. This method gives the turkey a beautiful, amber red color and a fantastic texture. Combining the flavors of the smoked turkey with zesty jalapenos brings out a sweetness in the sour cherries, creating a fantastic taste. NTF: Where did you learn about the gumbo that we made today? JAN: Gumbo is something I learned while cooking in K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen with chef Paul Prudhomme. I actually made two different kinds of gumbo there every single day for about three-and-a-half years. That's really the best way to learn to cook gumbo, to make it time and time and time again. Gumbo has so many nuances, that you can only learn them inside and out by doing it over and over again. NTF: Do you do a lot of traveling? If you do travel, do you look for new cuisine ideas? JAN: I do travel. Actually, this year, I'm going to do quite a lot of traveling. I'm going to go to different parts of the world that I've never been to such as Thailand, Tokyo, Australia and S. Africa, a place I've always wanted to go. I'm also going to cook at Vin Expo in Bordeau this year in June. So actually, that's a lot more traveling than I usually do. Last year I was in China and Beijing, and although the ideas that come from these countries do not directly apply to what we do here, you walk away with significant ideas. It's great to get out and see what other people do and how they do it. Traveling plays an important role in keeping your food alive with new ideas. Traveling is fabulous. NTF: What are some of the characteristics that differentiate turkey from other proteins you serve, such as percent of food cost, versatility, preparation tips, etc.? JAN: Turkey has great value. One of the things you look for when you're putting together a menu is to have, what I call, a low-rejection factor. Turkey is one of those things that everyone has a fond feeling about because it's associated with Thanksgiving - a day that we spend around family, enjoying a meal together. Another great thing about turkey is that it has a lot of different applications and can be used year-round. You can take the breast meat and cut it thin or you can put the legs in a gumbo in a long cut, like what we did here. We menu turkey in everything from pasta, to gumbo, to just plain smoking turkey in our brick ovens. Turkey is versatile, low-cost and tasty.