The program billed the fare as being so enticing “you won’t even miss the turkey!”
Source: KRWG Public Media
Images: Courtesy KRWG and PBS
KC Counts has been broadcasting to Southern New Mexico and West Texas audiences for over 30 years. She hosts “All Things Considered” weekday afternoons from 4-7 p.m., and you can watch KC on “Fronteras: A Changing America” on television from KRWG Public Media. In “Beyond the Bird”, KC steps out of the studio to engage a host of members from our broader community in a far more intimate way. Along with Doña Ana Community College’s Chef Tom, KC captured an event when culinary students at all levels prepared a holiday menu for the dozens of neighbors.
The locally-produced Thanksgiving program, “Cooking with Chef Tom: Beyond the Bird”, features Chef Tom from Doña Ana Community College, presenting a colorful Christmas tortellini soup, red chile-rubbed lamb chops with candied walnut brussels sprouts, a 5-ingredient coffee chocolate mousse and more. The program was billed the fare as being so enticing “you won’t even miss the turkey!”
Chef Tom Drake, instructor for Culinary Arts at Doña Ana Community College (DACC) was recently nominated as Chef of the Year from the New Mexico Restaurant Association; however, the program highlighted the work of the students and the process of how they progress through the culinary program. For each course served, a student team leader would describe the dish and how it was prepared.
The courses presented includes:
- Christmas Tortellini Soup – serves up to 12
- Holiday Honeycrisp Salad – serves up to 12
- Red Chile Dry Rub for Lamb Chops
- Candied Walnut Brussels Sprout Bites
- Duchess Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Recipes for each of the above courses are available on the KRWG website; however, you’re going to have to watch (or listen to) the program to get the dead simple recipe for a decadent Chocolate Mousse.
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The program aired on November 13, 2025 at 1pm on KRWG-FM (radio) and at 7 pm on KRWG-TV. If you missed it, you can still stream it at the following locations:
Video Episode
Cooking with Chef Tom is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
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