The Art of Perfect Gingerbread with Dr. Kiersten Riedler

Announcer (00:00):
You're listening to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast with Monique Ramsey.

Monique Ramsey (00:05):
The holidays are right around the corner, which means we'll all be starting our baking very soon. So I decided to bring our facial plastic surgeon, Dr. Kiersten Riedler on to tell us about how she makes gingerbread cookies as perfect as her plastic surgery results. Welcome back to the podcast, Dr. Riedler.

Dr. Riedler (00:25):
Thank you for having me.

Monique Ramsey (00:27):
Alright, so let's start with the important stuff. How do you make the perfect gingerbread cookie?

Dr. Riedler (00:33):
Well, of course you have to have the right recipe. And then there are some tips and tricks I've kind of learned over the years, like rolling it evenly, the thickness matters, bake time, but it all starts with the best recipe.

Monique Ramsey (00:49):
So where did you get your recipe? I have to say I have a good gingerbread recipe. It's very good, but yours is way better. So what is that? Where did that come from?

Dr. Riedler (00:59):
It came from America's test Kitchen, actually, which is one of my favorite sources for recipes. And then I've modified it maybe a little bit over the years.

Monique Ramsey (01:11):
I have my stepmom, she is loves to cook and she always makes a recipe her own. I think that's such an interesting thing when cooks are like, I just have to tweak this or that to make it more perfect. So what is that secret for rolling? What's the thickness that you've, how did you determine, and I'm sure it's very precise because your plastic surgery is so perfect and such a perfectionist.

Dr. Riedler (01:39):
Thank you. I like the thickness of a quarter inch for gingerbread. I feel like that's just the perfect thickness to get a chewy soft cookie that doesn't spread too much.

Monique Ramsey (01:52):
Okay. So is your kitchen during the holidays very precise and detail oriented like your OR?

Dr. Riedler (02:00):
I mean, I try to stay somewhat organized, but I mean, it's impossible. And there's luster dust and sprinkles everywhere and flowers, so it does get a little messy.

Monique Ramsey (02:12):
When you're talking about a quarter inch, are you measuring that the same way you're planning a rhinoplasty? Are you planning those cookies to be exactly?

Dr. Riedler (02:21):
Well, I don't have cas in my kitchen, but I mean, I do have a ruler to be honest, just to check. But I mean, I've done it so many times at this point, I pretty much couldn't eyeball it.

Monique Ramsey (02:34):
Yeah, I'm sure. And is there a secret ingredient that makes your gingerbread cookies stand out every year?

Dr. Riedler (02:42):
I dunno if there's a secret ingredient, but definitely having fresh spices and baking soda is important.

Monique Ramsey (02:51):
Oh, fresh spices.

Dr. Riedler (02:53):
Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (02:54):
Yeah. Some of us use certain things only one time a year.

Dr. Riedler (02:57):
I know. Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (02:58):
So that makes a difference?

Dr. Riedler (02:59):
Yeah, I think it does for sure.

Monique Ramsey (03:01):
Okay. Well I guess if you're going to go to all the trouble of baking cookies, you might as well do it at the best level.

Dr. Riedler (03:07):
Exactly.

Monique Ramsey (03:08):
Now I feel like baking and facial plastic surgery actually have a lot in common, so it doesn't surprise me that you're so, such a great baker and your cookies are gorgeous. We're going to put some links in the show notes. They're professional if she wanted to have a second career, not that she has any time. So there's involved in both aspects of what you're doing. There's precision and balance and proportion. Do you see any similarities between how you might decorate a cookie and how you approach a patient's results?

Dr. Riedler (03:43):
Somewhat, yeah, because it's like you have a plan and you envision the final result and you kind of have in your mind or written down how the steps you're going to take to get to that end result. So in a way, it is similar.

Monique Ramsey (04:00):
And I think too, in baking, you have to just have the right ratios of everything, flour, sugar, spice. So in surgery, I'm assuming there's also this perfect balance between artistry and precision. And so how do you think about your, let's say it's a rhinoplasty, and how are you planning ahead in your head for that procedure before you start?

Dr. Riedler (04:29):
For rhinoplasty, I always actually, for most surgeries, I go through the surgery in my mind a few times before I actually do the surgery to prepare for it. And I actually, I didn't really think about it, but I guess I do that for baking too. Even just this week, it's kind of early, but I was thinking about, okay, what ingredients do I need? Which cookies am I going to make this year? So it's like the preparation and planning and knowing what your end goal is, is in a way that's kind of similar in both scenarios.

Monique Ramsey (05:06):
And so kind of running the race before you start the race?

Dr. Riedler (05:10):
Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (05:10):
Is it like an athlete who would envision and you see all the steps?

Dr. Riedler (05:17):
Yeah, exactly.

Monique Ramsey (05:18):
Interesting. Okay. So which is harder getting the perfect symmetry in a gingerbread man or in a facelift?

Dr. Riedler (05:25):
Probably facelift.

Monique Ramsey (05:27):
Oh, look who's here. Okay, for the people in the audience? Noelle, who's named after Christmas. I'm Christmas baby. I'm Monique Noelle, and she's Noelle. And so she's joining the podcast. Okay, sweetie. See you say bye. You say bye. She gonna get me all white. I know. God, it's so funny because you're a cat person, you get it?

Dr. Riedler (05:56):
Oh yeah.

Monique Ramsey (05:58):
Can we record the podcast from home? Oh yeah, sure. Except for the cats.

Dr. Riedler (06:02):
Exactly. That's what I said. I was like, I don't know if I can do it from home because my cats always like to participate.

Monique Ramsey (06:07):
Yeah, your cats are like, well, and normally these two, they'll be asleep somewhere. I gave them a snack before I thought, okay, this will themselves, bed

Dr. Riedler (06:14):
Was supposed to be nap time.

Monique Ramsey (06:14):
Okay, so back to gingerbread. So do you think your attention to detail translates into your baking style?

Dr. Riedler (06:26):
Yeah, definitely. I mean, that's one thing I love about facial plastic surgery is I like the precision in the fine details. And same thing with gingerbread cookies. It's just fun for me to create something or design something that takes a lot of fine detailed work and precision, but also some creativity to get to the end result.

Monique Ramsey (06:54):
Do you draw? Are you an artist in that way too?

Dr. Riedler (06:57):
I really don't. No.

Monique Ramsey (06:59):
Oh, because some surgeons will draw stuff out. And so I was thinking about the cookie you gave me last year was this little old Mrs. Santa Claus, Mrs Claus. And I mean, do you kind of sketch out like, okay, I'm going to do this many little dots here? Or is it kind of in your head, you make one and then you make all the rest to look the same?

Dr. Riedler (07:19):
Yeah, I kind of have in my mind what it's going to look like. And then based on that, sometimes I'll draw with a little food marker, like a borderer or something of where something needs to, the different colors need to be depending. Usually I don't need to do that. But for Mrs. Claus, she's a little bit, she's a special one. She's a little bit.

Monique Ramsey (07:42):
Like I can't eat her. She's so cute. But she was delicious. She was a sugar cookie. So right now we're talking gingerbread, but do your friends and family, how much stress is involved with the expectations? Your friends and family?

Dr. Riedler (08:02):
No, there's no stress. I mean, it's all fun, but I mean something that I always look forward to and my friends and family always look forward to.

Monique Ramsey (08:13):
Oh, for sure. It's like it brings instant joy.

Dr. Riedler (08:16):
Yeah, exactly. So it's not stressful, but something that everybody gets excited for the holidays and everything.

Monique Ramsey (08:24):
That's good. Now, do you have a go-to holiday playlist or do you watch the cheesy hallmark movies? What do you do when you're baking? What's going on around you besides the cats sleeping or walking by?

Dr. Riedler (08:38):
I grew up listening to the Time Life Treasure of Christmas albums, like CDs. And so I usually play that because it's kind of nostalgic and kind of classic Christmas songs. And there are a lot of 'em, so they don't get repeated very. So I'll do that a lot of the time. And then sometimes I'll turn on the yule log channel. I dunno if you know.

Monique Ramsey (09:02):
Oh yeah.

Dr. Riedler (09:02):
Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (09:04):
That's fun. Have you seen the ones where it's cats? Oh, I have kitten kittens playing with ornaments and stuff. It's so funny.

Dr. Riedler (09:11):
I think I found that one last year. I was pretty excited.

Monique Ramsey (09:14):
I know. So alright, this is a good question. If your surgical results were a cookie, what kind would they be? Crisp and classic or soft and a little spice?

Dr. Riedler (09:26):
I'd say soft with a little spice because

Monique Ramsey (09:31):
And why?

Dr. Riedler (09:32):
Well, because to be crisp and classic, I don't know. I feel like that's how people think of gingerbread, but nobody likes that kind of gingerbread. And maybe the same thing with facial plastic surgery. It's kind of harsh and done is not really what most patients want and what I try to deliver. So I think soft with a little spice is more like soft, natural, beautiful results.

Monique Ramsey (10:03):
Well, we are going to put in the show notes some information about if you're thinking about having any facial plastic surgery, which really is, she does everything from really from the clavicle up. So if you want to think about if it's a breast lift, it's not going to be Dr. Riedler, but if it's your ears, your nose, a face, eyes, brow, fat transfer to the face, I think you'll see, we'll put it in the show notes, links to her gallery. You'll just see how natural her results are. And I think that your point about it's not done or overdone, you just, some things seem extreme and yeah, you want a noticeable difference to rewind the clock, but you don't want to be screaming like, Hey everybody, look what I had.

Dr. Riedler (10:56):
You want to look better without people knowing why.

Monique Ramsey (10:58):
Yeah, yeah. And we'll also put a link to, will you allow us to put the gingerbread recipe online?

Dr. Riedler (11:04):
Sure. Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (11:05):
Okay. We'll put a link to that. I know you gave it to me last year, so I know I have it. And then we'll also put a link to some of her Christmas cookies from years past that she's brought in. We have some pictures of that. And Gretchel actually shot you doing your baking last year. It's so cute. So we have a video, so we'll add that in there. Well, thank you Dr. Riedler for this fun little pre-holiday session.

Dr. Riedler (11:29):
Of course. Thank you.

Monique Ramsey (11:30):
And also, one more link for our producers to put in the show notes is we have a holiday playlist and we started compiling it last year. I had all the doctors, all the staff put in their holiday favorite music, and I put it on yesterday while I was working and we were adding some more things to it. So I'll put a link in the show notes to listen to our Spotify playlist if you want to get in the holiday spirit.

Dr. Riedler (11:57):
I'll listen to that this year during my baking.

Monique Ramsey (12:00):
Yeah, there you go. There you go. And I do have a lot of the classics. I kind of grew up with some of the same Bing Crosby and there's just some really great traditional favorites. And then we've got some new stuff in there too. So it kind of makes it fun. Well, thanks for joining us.

Dr. Riedler (12:16):
Thank you.

Monique Ramsey (12:16):
Thanks everybody for watching and listening, and we'll see you on the next one. Bye bye.

Announcer (12:25):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the Ximed Building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. To learn more, go to ljcsc.com or follow the team on Instagram @ljcsc. The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis, T-H-E-A-X-I-S.io.