Turkey Day Tonight

Cooked Meatballs

Decadent Pan Sauce


Voila!

Thanksgiving is my favortie holiday. It not only marks the beginning of the Christmas season but it's also a day filled with wonderful food that I generally don't eat the rest of the year. I once again found myself with an abundance of ground turkey as it was on sale. In an effort to keep it interesting in the kitchen, I decided to make turkey pasta with all the great flavors of Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 pound ground turkey breast
1 medium Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 small Spanish onion, diced
1 T Herbs de Provence
1 egg
1 package cremini mushrooms
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp ground thyme
2 T unsalted butter
2 to 3 T all purpose flour
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I so cannot pronounce that word)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 chopped, flat leaf parsley (for garnish)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling/cooking
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Bring water for pasta to a boil and set aside but keep warm.

Place ground turkey in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add celery, onion, apple, herbs de provence, lemon juice, bread crumbs and egg and mix until combined. Don't over mix or you'll have dry meatballs. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form meat mixture into meatballs using your hands and place on parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and cook in a 425 degree, preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. You want them firm and browned.

Add salt to the pasta water and drop the pasta. Cook according to package directions and drain when done.

In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium/high heat. Add mushrooms and thyme and cook until tender. Season with salt & pepper. Move mushrooms to the side of the pan creating a small circle in the middle. Add butter into center and whisk in flour to melted butter. Cook for about 1 minute and slowly whisk in stock until there are no lumps. Add the Wocestershire sauce. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens.

Toss the pasta with sauce & cheese. Serve with meatballs on top and fresh parsley.

Bon Appetit!

Is My Blog Burning?

No, its just the BBQ.

One of my favorite, go-to summer recipes is my White BBQ Chicken. This dish is not for those who can't take the heat but it does require you to get out of the kitchen!

Ingredients:

Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Sauce:
1/2 cup light mayo
1/3 cup vinegar
1 T fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Zest of one lemon and 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

Method:

Combine salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, chile powder and cayenne pepper. Trim chicken of visible fat, place on a clean, dry surface and pat dry. Rub all sides of the chicken breast with the spice mixture, cover with plasitc wrap and place in the refrigerator. Let the rub sit on the chicken for at least 4 hours. I usually put the rub on the night before I plan on serving it.

Preheat grill on high. Place chicken on grill and turn temperature down to medium and cook approximately 4 minutes per side (this varies depending on the grill and size of the chicken breast).

While the chicken cooks prepare the sauce. Whisk together the mayo, white vinegar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice and sauce. Finish the chicken on the grill by brushing both sides with the sauce. Remove chicken from grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Place on platter and drizzle with white bbq sauce.

Happy Grilling!

Pefectly Portioned Pizza

I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I have a husband that not only listens when I ramble but also remembers what I say. Eat your heart out ladies! So, I mention to Brent that I need marinated artichoke hearts for a new recipe I had written and planned to try out in a few weeks. My mention of needing artichokes did not fall on deaf ears. The very next day, I had a jar of marinated artichokes so big (thank you Costco) I could have cooked my way through The California Artichoke Cookbook.

Due to my bounty of artichokes despite making a new artichoke chicken recipe and many, many Greek salads, I figured I had better come up with another use for them. I HATE waste! I looked around the kitchen and spotted garlic, mushrooms and basil. I also had some lemon aioli chicken I had grilled the night before to toss on a salad. Hmmm... Then I saw the Flat Out wraps. Aha, I will make pizza! The pizza turned out delish and will definitely be making another debut in my kitchen. The recipe is as follows (to the best of my memory, I was just winging it):

Ingredients

2 light Italian Herb Flatout wraps

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

8 oz sliced cremini mushrooms

1 cup Italian blend cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 T unsalted butter

3 T flour

1/2 C half-n-half

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, diced

6 oz shredded chicken

2 cups marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place wraps on a baking sheet and ligthly brush with extra virgin olive oil. Place in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until crisp.

Heat 2T olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions, garlic, artichokes and mushrooms for 10 minutes or until tender. Move all ingredients in the pan to the outside creating an open circle in the middle. Place butter in the center and stir until it melts, whisk in flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly add in half-n-half, keep whisking. Mix all ingredients in the pan together. Stir in salt and pepper. The mixture will thicken as it sits. Note - you can add chicken stock if the sauce becomes too thick.

Place 1/2 sauce mixture on each Flatout wrap. Top with shredded chicken and cheese. Place back in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is lightly-browned and bubbly. Sprinkle with julienned basil. Serve with wine.

These could also be made just as easily on the grill!

Bon Appetit!