Washington, D.C. – – Italy meets Sonoma, Calif., in Sondra Bernstein’s Bucatini with Sweet Turkey Sausage, making her National Turkey Federation’s (NTF) final “Turkey Trendsetter” of 2009.  Bernstein is the proprietor of ESTATE in California’s wine country.  NTF’s “Turkey Trendsetter” feature on EatTurkey.com showcases chefs who have incorporated turkey dishes on their menus in creative and unique ways.  

Handcrafted sweet turkey sausage is the star of ESTATE’s bucatini pasta dish.  The bucatini pasta and sweet turkey sausage is accompanied with garlic, broccoli rabe and red pepper flakes.

“Turkey works well with the ethnic flavors in the recipe,” said Bernstein.  “Turkey also has a reasonable food cost and has the added bonus of a health profile, making this dish a guest favorite.”

Bernstein has found the sweet turkey sausage works on pizzas with Fontina cheese, olive oil and spinach.  Bernstein also owns two other restaurants in Sonoma, Calif., the girl & the fig and the fig café & winebar.  She also serves traditional turkey on Thanksgiving weekend at the girl & the fig, as well as a daily omelet that features turkey sausage.  The most popular option on Bernstein’s box lunch menu in the catering department is a turkey sandwich with apricot fig chutney.

“Bernstein’s ability to incorporate turkey onto each one of her menus and in various day parts highlights what a perfect canvas turkey can be and why we chose her as an innovator in the culinary community,” said Sherrie Rosenblatt, NTF’s vice president of marketing and communications.

ESTATE is housed in a historic property close to the Sonoma square.  The food is rustic with a twist of Sonoma.  The girl & the fig opened in 1997 and is described by Bernstein as “country food with a French passion.”  Her third restaurant, the fig café & winebar is similar to the girl & the fig but scaled back, requiring no reservations and no wine corkage.

“The restaurants may vary in food and concept but the one thing they share is soul and passion,” said Bernstein.  “Turkey is the perfect protein for all of my establishments because its versatility is easy to incorporate into my seasonally-changing menus.”

The entire interview with Sondra Bernstein and her Bucatini with Sweet Turkey Sausage recipe is available at EatTurkey.com.