>> ♪ hey, ah, hey, ah, hey, ah, hey, ah... ♪ >> welcome back to "california country." >> ♪ yahh ahh ahh

>> the holidays are definitely time to talk turkey. this bird has been a staple on american dinner tables since the days of the pilgrims. in fact, ben franklin oved them so much, he wanted turkey and not the bald eagle to be the official united states bird. turkeys have a long history in the golden state. for more than 50 years, the diestel family has ranched in the peaceful foothills of tuolumne county. tim diestel has a hands-on approach to make sure his birds are at the peak of health. this is country living at its finest, a free-range setting, meaning the flocks have a chance to spread their wings and explore their surroundings. >> this is definitely home of the happy turkey. there--there*s no question. i--i don't think you could have a better, nicer setting for--for a turkey than this ranch right here.

>> part of diestel's flocks include birds of a different feather, an older variety popular when he was a boy. tim is working to bring the breed back and has 8,000 heirloom turkeys this year alone. heirloom turkeys are catching on in the culinary world as a growing number of diners are willing to pay more to gobble up this slice of americana. >> so there's definitely an interest in preserving these old birds, and it's kind of fun, and we like it because they're so pretty, and they make the ranch. it's really exciting. uh, it's something different than just a white turkey, and so this kind of brings me back to my childhood, because when i was real young, th-this was the kind of turkey or the look that we had on the farm then. >> it goes way back, 'cause i started raisin'--didn't start raisin'--my uncle used to raise turkeys, and this was the bronze turkey, and i used to work there when i was goin' to high school and whatnot. that's what really got me started in the turkey business. so, yeah,

they're just--they're kind of part of us. [laughs] >> the care put into these birds pays dividends. diestel turkey is known for consistently high-quality meat with a true turkey flavor. the meat is a big hit with rob banworth of banny's cafe in nearby sonora, who, like many, has figured out there's more to turkey than roasting it whole for the whole holidays, which is good news for the diestels, who plan to maintain their long ranching tradition. >> and so it is exciting when chefs take interest in using turkey in dishes that are nontraditional, nonholiday meals. it's to show that the application of turkey tenderloins, ground turkey, turkey sausage can take the place of, um, other proteins and be very tasty in dishes. >> welcome to disney's grand california. i'm andrew sutton. i'm the executive chef for the napa rose restaurant, and i'm gonna help make the holidays a little bit more easy. nothing's more intimidating than a turkey,

believe or not, even though it's just laying here on this bench. but this is a beautiful american bronze turkey. but sometimes they can be intimidating. how many minutes do you put it in the oven for? how long do you cook it? can i get the dinner on the table in time? well, i got the secret for you. this is gonna work out really slick. this is my, uh, 6-minute turkey. you can have this thing on the table in 6 minutes with a little preparation. what i've done is put a little--i have a precooked turkey breast that i've sliced into nice large eaks. i've oiled them lightly and put a little secret rub on that you can get through the website and through the magazine. and i have a little bit of a--a stew which we've made up. now, you're watchin', uh, the ballgame, and you're havin' a great time, and you're not sure when everybody wants to sit down, so this is the best way to time it out. have a nice hot grill, and we're gonna go ahead and mark the turkey right on the grill, and that's gonna be what warms it up and just makes it so tasty. the spice rub gets a nice little

char to it and adds kind of a nice rustic kind of california elemeft to the dish which makes it really, really yummy. we're gonna mark these off. they take about 2 minutes a side, maybe 3 minutes a side, and then we're gonna go ahead and serve it with this nice little stew. in the stew, i've got a little bit of some sweet potatoes, chanterelles, corn. i'm gonna add a little bit of green beans right at the last moment. so it's kind of all-inclusive, easy to serve, but incredibly flavorful. aw, beautiful. look at those grill marks. aw, jeez. perfect diamonds. so now we have this beautifully grilled turkey. it's moist on the inside. it's supertender. it's warm. it's hot. it's kind of cut in little steaks so you don't have to worry about the carving, and it works out great. you ju need to buy a beautifully roasted, uh, turkey that you can prebuy at a lot of--of the, uh, more gourmet grocery stores. i'm gonna put down a little bit of a holiday stew. again, sweet potatoes, chanterelles, corn,

the works. and what we're gonna do is lay the turkey right up on top. i like to kind of shingle it so they--people can, uh, easy grab. really enjoy something i think is very special for the holidays. and i love to garnish it with just a little cranberry relish. this is a cranberry salsa. it's cold. it's ground, done with a little bit of orange and jalapeno. and tuck it in there. and then i'll garnish it with a little bit of chopped sage, uh, fried sage. and what's nice about this, again, most of this can be set up in advance, so then all you need to do is warm and grill and serve, and i think you have a wonderful holiday made easy with a beautiful 6-minute turkey. from andrew sutton, this is napa rose.

>> welcome back to "california country." >> ♪ thy should hate you, the cold out is... ♪ >> how you doin'? my name's dave. i'm the manager of the ocean beach farmers market,

voted the number one market in san diego. it's more like a party than a market. >> ♪ i thought i knew where i was goin' till i heard your laughter flowin', came upon the wisdom in your eyes ♪ >> it's just more of a-- it's like a hangout. >> ♪ hass avocados for you, for you, for you ♪ >> i live around the corner. i'm here for the food and the music and the atmosphere every--every week. >> it's amazing that everything grows here year-round. >> ♪ you know joleen, she's the hopedragon from "the neverending story" ♪ >> many of them are really good friends, yeah, people that i know for 2, 3, 4 years that we've been in th-this market. we go to other, 12, 13 markets every week. many of these people go to different places looking for our flowers. >> i make it very apparent to 'em that i'm the farmer. i'm the one harvesting it and cleaning it, and i'm not here to compete with anyone. >> it's a nice, nice place where people are friendly. they have time to get to know

one another, and it's a social place, you know, where you can hang out and--and be together for a while, and people like that. >> these people that we see i will say once a week, sometimes, uh, every other week. and they--they'll normally come back every time. >> that's the most important thing for me is to see the people's response, to see people come back healthier and happier every week because you're providing something that tastes good and feels good. >> thanks for comin' to the o.b. farmers market. i had a great time. i hope you did, too, and i hope to see you all soon.

>> that concludes today's tour of the best of california country. join us next time for more undiscovered treasures from the most fascinating state in the country. [captioning made possible by california farm bureau federation] [captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--]

>> just a few steps away from union square is a quiet corner stone of san francisco's our community to the meridian gallery has a 20-year history of supporting visual arts. experimental music concert, and also readings. >> give us this day our daily bread at least three times a day.

and lead us not into temptation to often on weekdays. [laughter] >> meridians' stands apart from the commercial galleries around union square, and it is because of their core mission, to increase social, philosophical, and spiritual change my isolated individuals and communities. >> it gives a statement, the idea that a significant art of any kind, in any discipline, creates change. >> it is philosophy that attracted david linger to mount a show at meridian. >> you want to feel like your work this summer that it can do some good. i felt like at meridian, it could do some good. we did not even talk about price until the day before the show. of course, meridian needs to support itself and support the community. but that was not the first consideration, so that made me very happy.

>> his work is printed porcelain. he transfers images onto and spoils the surface a fragile shes of clay. each one, only one-tenth of an inch thick. >> it took about two years to get it down. i would say i lose 30% of the pieces that i made. something happens to them. they cracked, the break during the process. it is very complex. they fall apart. but it is worth it to me. there are photographs i took 1 hours 99 the former soviet union. these are blown up to a gigantic images. they lose resolution. i do not mind that, because my images are about the images, but they're also about the idea, which is why there is text all over the entire surface. >> marie in moved into the mansion on powell street just five years ago. its galleries are housed in one of the very rare single family residences around union square. for the 100th anniversary of the

mansion, meridian hosted a series of special events, including a world premiere reading by lawrence ferlinghetti. >> the birth of an american corporate fascism, the next to last free states radio, the next-to-last independent newspaper raising hell, the next-to-last independent bookstore with a mind of its own, the next to last leftie looking for obama nirvana. [laughter] the first day of the wall street occupation set forth upon this continent a new revolutionary nation. [applause] >> in addition to its own programming as -- of artist talks, meridian has been a

downtown host for san francisco states well-known port trees center. recent luminaries have included david meltzer, steve dixon, and jack hirsch man. >> you can black as out of the press, blog and arrest us, tear gas, mace, and shoot us, as we know very well, you will, but this time we're not turning back. we know you are finished. desperate, near the end. hysterical in your flabbergastlyness. amen. >> after the readings, the crowd headed to a reception upstairs by wandering through the other gallery rooms in the historic home. the third floor is not usually reserved for just parties, however. it is the stage for live performances. ♪

under the guidance of musical curators, these three, meridian has maintained a strong commitment to new music, compositions that are innovative, experimental, and sometimes challenging. sound art is an artistic and event that usually receives short shrift from most galleries because san francisco is musicians have responded by showing strong support for the programming. ♪ looking into meridian's future, she says she wants to keep doing the same thing that she has been doing since 1989. to enlighten and disturbed. >> i really believe that all

the arts have a serious function and that it helps us find out who we are in a much wider sense than we were before we experienced that work of art. ♪ >> the question when i started 11 years ago when i started doing resolution work is can anything be presented on a really low resolution device where it is potentially a digital image? can anything be presented that way? or will it feel cold and electronic?

>> the imagery will change. there will be four different sets. it is a two dimensional image. it is stretched out into three dimensions. the device is part of the experience. you cannot experience the image without the device as being part of what you are seeing. whereas with the tv you end up ignoring it. i make gallery work more self and budget and public art work where i have to drop this of indulgence and think about how people will respond. and one of the things i was interested in the work and also

a little fearful of, it is not until you get to the first and second floor were the work is recognizable as an image. it is an exploration and perception is what it is. what are you seeing when you look at this image? one of the things that happens with really low resolution images like this one is you never get the details, so it is always kind of pulling you in kind of thing. you can keep watching it. i think this work is kind of experience in a more analytical way. in other words, we look at an image and there is an alice going on.

-- and there is an analysis going on. >> hello. welcome to "culturewire." we are here today with bay area artist jody chanel, and we are here to see the plaza where your piece has just been installed. >> i have been doing large-scale paintings in the galleries and museums, and the idea that in the future, i could do something that would hang out a little bit longer than the duration of the installation the kind of appeal to me. i quickly found out about the san francisco arts commission school and realized there was a pre-qualified school you had to apply to, so i applied to the.

>> how long did it take you to develop this work for the plaza? >> this was a fast track project. design development was about a month. >> let's look at the beautiful mural. i have never seen a mural created on asphalt. >> the heat of the asphalt, a new layer of asphalt. then, these wire rope templates that were fabricated for the line work get laid down and literally stamped into the asphalt, and then everything was hand-painted. >> maybe you could talk about some of the symbolism, maybe starting in the middle and working out. >> [inaudible] the flower of industry. >> it is like a compass.

there's an arrow pointing north. >> within the great bear consolation, there are two pointed stars here. they typically lead one to the northstar, otherwise known as polaris. so i thought it has a layer of theme. >> let's talk about some of the other elements in the peace. we are walking along, and there is a weather vane. there's a sweet little bird hanging on the side. what kind of bird is that? >> [inaudible] the smallest of the gulf species, and it lives around the bay area. >> you want to talk about the types of flour patterns that you send? >> [inaudible] around 1926 or so by the dahlia

society. >> what is this bird here? >> that is the california quail. >> coming up here, we had a little blustery theme. what is this area here? >> this is supposed to be the side view, the expense of the golden gate bridge. >> there it is. >> there are really beautiful elements of architecture still around, i would say that it gives that feeling over to the work. >> what are your hopes for it? >> that in a way it just becomes part of the area. i think it is starting to have that feeling. people utilize it. they sit and, and have their lunch and play on -- they sit and, and have their lunch and play on that -- they sit and

come and have their lunch and play on it. just for it to be part of the neighborhood. that is my hope. >> is such a beautiful addition to our public art in san francisco. thank you for joining us. it was nice to meet you. and thank you for telling us about your beautiful mural. thanks for watching "culturewire." >> sanrio famous for the designs for hello kitty. i thought i would try to make it as cute as possible. that way people might want to read the stories. then people might be open to learn about the deities and the culture.

♪ they reached out to make about five or six years ago because of the book published. they appreciated that my work was clearly driven from my research and investigation. after i contributed my artwork, the museum was really beside themselves. they really took to it. the museum reached out to me to see if i would be interested in my own space inside the museum. i tell them that would be a dream come true. it is the classical, beautiful indian mythology through the lens of modern design and illustration and storytelling. they're all of these great sketch as i did for the maharajah exhibition. i get a lot of feedback on my artwork and books.

they complement. they say how original the work is. i am the first person to say that this is so derived from all of this great artwork and storytelling of the past. the research i put into all of my books and work is a product of how we do things that a-- at pixar. sometimes you will see him depicted monkey-like or as superman. i wanted to honor his monkey coloring. i decided to paint him white with a darker face. it is nice to breathe new life into it in a way that is reverent and honors the past but also lets them breathe and have also lets them breathe and have fun.