Grilled Turkey Sandwiches

Currently, my back deck is not only adorned with squirrels trying to hack into my bird feeder, but cluttered with pots of herbs, tomato and pepper plants, and lettuce planted in every last container I could find.  I recently bought a book called Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces, which tells you how to grow virtually anything via container gardening.  A sales associate at Crate & Barrel recommended this book when I was in buying filters for my compost pail.  It is a great book!  And, so far, so good - I have a mini-garden growing right outside my door.

Normally, the only thing I can come up with to do with all of my basil is pesto, pesto, and more pesto.  But last night, I was in the mood for something new...

I had a thought in mind, but the rain that has been pervading the area was going to keep me from grilling out back.  Enter the trusty grill pan! 

These were no ordinary sandwiches....

Grilled Turkey Sandwiches

• 1 turkey breast, cut into 4 or 5 thin cutlets (about 1/4" thick)
• Salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• 4 ciabatta rolls, sliced lengthwise
• 1 tomato, sliced into thin slices
• 1 large ball of fresh mozzarella
• 1 large handful of basil leaves

Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.  Brush inside half of rolls with olive oil.  Grill both sides for about 30 seconds, until toasted.

Season each side of turkey cutlets with salt and pepper, then brush with olive oil.  Grill each side for about 1-2 minutes per side, until cooked through and internal temperature reaches 180 degrees.

Layer 1/2 of each roll with tomato slices, mozzarella, turkey, a layer of basil, then top with second half of roll.

Serve with a salad for a substantial meal.  Enjoy!

Tangy Turkey with Angel Hair

When not in the holiday season, I often forget about turkey.  Turkey, the wonderfully lean, tasty fowl.  It's hard to think of turkey served any way other than topped with gravy and a side of stuffing, but my tangy turkey is a really delicious change of pace.

I have been making this recipe for years, a favorite weeknight dinner.  It's really best to use fresh parsley as a garnish to complete the clean, fresh flavors.  Unfortunately, I did not have any on hand so I opted for dried.

Tangy Turkey with Angel Hair

• 2 turkey breast tenderloins, about 1 & 1/2 lbs. total weight
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced, divided
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 T capers
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 freshly ground pepper
• 8 ounces of angel hair pasta
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

 Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a shallow baking dish, mix half of the lemon juice and half of the zest with the oil, capers, mustard, salt and pepper.  Add turkey, turning to coat well.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add turkey (no need to add any additional oil).  Cook, turning until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side.

Return to baking dish, turn to coat again, and bake until cooked through, about 25 minutes or internal temperature is 150 degrees. 

In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta to package directions.  Drain and place in serving bowl.

Remove turkey to cutting board and let stand, loosely covered with foil, for 8 minutes. To the pan juices left in the dish, add remaining lemon zest & juice, scraping up the bits on the bottom.

Pour pan juices over pasta and toss.  Slice turkey into 1/2" slices and place on top of pasta.  Garnish with the chopped parsley.

 
 

Turkey for a smaller crowd...

If you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for a smaller crowd, or your crew doesn't really eat dark meat anyway, try these options!





Turkey Breast

• 1 turkey breast, bone in (about 5-7 lbs.)
• 1/2 stick of butter, melted
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 or 2 T herbs d' Provence
• Salt & pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Season both sides of turkey breast with salt and pepper. Place breast side up in roasting pan. Baste with the olive oil and melted butter, then sprinkle with herbs d' Provence.

Place in oven, uncovered, for 1/2 an hour. Baste with juices that have dripped into the pan and return to oven. Check and baste every 1/2 hour until a meat thermometer registers at 180 degrees.

Total cooking time varies with each piece of meat, so that is why the thermometer is crucial. For 10 bucks, you never have to guess again.

Let the turkey rest, loosely tented with foil, for 20 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

For another variation, you can try Turkey London Broil.

Turkey London Broil

• Turkey London broil, about 1 & 1/2 lbs
• Salt & pepper

Marinade

• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1 cup of canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
• 2 tsp. orange marmalade
• 1 & 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Sprinkle both sides of turkey with salt & pepper. Place in a resealable plastic bag and add marinade ingredients. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Place turkey and marinade in a baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers at 180 degrees.

Enjoy!

Weeknight Meal - Asian Turkey Tenderloin

Looking for something easy, yet delicious to make for a weeknight meal? Try this extremely simple (there are only 2 ingredients!) & healthy turkey tenderloin with a side of green beans and cherry tomatoes...


Asian Turkey Tenderloin

• 1 turkey tenderloin
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Place tenderloin in dish and coat all sides with hoisin sauce using a brush.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing into 1/4" slices.

Serve with jasmine rice and Asian green beans with cherry tomatoes (recipe below).


Asian Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

• 1/2 lb green beans
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 T peanut oil
• 1 T sesame oil
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T sesame seeds

Heat peanut oil in saute pan over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook for 4 minutes, constantly tossing lightly.

Add cherry tomatoes and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes.

Stirs in sesame oil and soy sauce. Remove from heat and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Enjoy!

Turkey Burgers and New Potato Salad

Still on my healthy/eating locally kick, I tried something new for dinner last night - turkey burgers.

I often sneak turkey in the place of beef in things like chili and sloppy joe's, but I have never tried making, or eating for that matter, turkey burgers. This recipe does not try and fool you into thinking it is a regular beef burger, but in my opinion, it's flavor actually surpasses that of the usual red meat treat.

I don't feel that the burgers photographed well, but believe me - they were absolutely delicious. I used locally grown zucchini for the burgers. I also used locally grown new potatoes for the potato salad - which was another WINNER in my book.

Since I was only cooking for 2, I made 5 patties and froze 3 for later. I also halved the recipe for potato salad. Please try these recipes. They were absolutely delicious... and I am sure my pants fit better today!



Turkey Burgers

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 large zucchini
• 1 large carrot
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 tsp dried thyme
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 T olive oil
  
• 5 whole wheat (or regular) hamburger buns
• 5 leaves of lettuce
• 5 T mayonnaise
• 2-3 tsp lemon juice

With a food processor fitted with a grating blade, grate carrot and zucchini (if you do not have a food processor, you may use a box grater).

In a large bowl, combine carrot, zucchini, turkey, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, and egg. Form into 5 patties.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties about 5 minutes per side, until no trace of pink remains in the center.

Meanwhile, lightly toast hamburger buns in toaster oven or under broiler.

Combine mayonnaise and lemon juice. Spread on tops of buns. Add turkey patty and top with a leaf of lettuce and bun top.



New Potato Salad

• 1 1/2 lbs. small red new potatoes, sliced 1/4 " thick
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
  
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped herbs (I used tarragon, chives, and parsley)
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

Set a steamer basket in a large pot with a fitted lid. Fill with enough water to come just below basket. Bring to boil.

Place potatoes in basket, reduce heat to simmer. Cover pot and steams 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, place lemon zest and juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.

Remove potatoes from heat and add to bowl. Top with herbs and carefully stir to combine.

You will make these recipes over and over, they are so good!