Summer Grilling Time - Grilled Turkey Breast with Herb Butter

It is the time of year when you feel like getting outside and firing up the grill. This recipe for grilled turkey breast with herb butter is something a little different than your normal steaks or burgers. It is easy to do, really tasty and pretty healthy. The original recipe, when I saw it, called for a whole turkey with instructions on how to debone it and lay it out flat on the grill. The two of us don't need a whole turkey and you can buy a turkey breast already boned at most meat markets, so that is the way I elected to go. For a small group buy 1/2 a breast and halve the ingredients for the herb butter. For a larger group buy the whole breast and make a whole recipe of the herb butter sauce. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:   

1 Skin-on boned turkey breast
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Coarse ground black pepper  

1 Cup(2 sticks)butter
1/2 Cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 Cup chopped green onion tops
2 TBSP chopped fresh sage leaves
2 TBSP chopped fresh thyme
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
1 tsps garlic salt
1 tsps celery salt
1 tsps black pepper
1/4 tsps tabasco(optional)

Preparation:

Heat grill to 450-500 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat on the stove. Stir in all of the chopped herbs,lemon juice, mustard, garlic and celery salts, pepper and the tobasco. Mix well and keep warm until needed. Rub the turkey breast on both sides with a light coat of olive oil and season with the Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Lay the turkey breast, skin side down on the hot grill and baste with the herb butter. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the skin starts to turn golden brown and begins to crisp. Transfer the turkey to a disposable aluminum pan, skin side up and return to the grill in the pan. Baste with the herb butter. Reduce grill temperature to 350 degrees. Cook for approximately 45 min. to one hour, basting occasionally with the remaining herb butter. The turkey is done when an instant read thermometer measures 160-165 degrees. Remove from grill, cover with foil and let rest for ten minutes prior to serving. Carve into slices and enjoy. 

Cannellini alla Seuese

Here is another vegetable idea, that is a little different. You can do this recipe with or without the chopped pancetta. Add it for great taste or leave it out for the vegetarian in your crowd. This is another of the recipes that I got from Mario Carrate some 25 years ago. Mario was a retired food broker from New York city, who loved to eat and cook. He taught Italian cooking classes at the local junior college in Connecticut. His father had run a restaurant on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. A couple of the most fun days of my life were spent touring Arthur Avenue with Mario. He spoke Italian with all of the food merchants and helped us to buy the best and freshest ingredients for all of our Italian dishes. It was almost like being in Italy, with an Italian guide. Give it a try for a fresh idea for a side dish.  

Ingredients:

2 - 16 Ounce cans cannellini beans
4 Cloves garlic
Handful of fresh sage leaves (8-10 leaves)
1 LB plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped (see hint below)
1/4 LB pancetta, chopped fine (optional)
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Pour beans into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside. Peel and slice garlic. Chop sage coarsely. Chop pancetta if using. Warm olive oil in a large sauce pan over low heat. Add pancetta, if using, and cook until almost brown. Add garlic and sage and cook until garlic is tender and translucent. Add chopped tomatoes and cook over medium heat for about ten minutes. Add the beans and flavor with salt and pepper. Simmer for about five minutes, until beans are heated through and serve. This dish is often served in Tuscany as a side with pork. 

Hint:

If you don't have a tomato/fruit peeler, get one before trying to peel tomatoes. They are much like a standard vegetable peeler but with a sharper, serrated blade. They will peel a ripe peach or tomato in nothing flat. Here is a picture of mine. 

If you can't find one of these peelers, another method for peeling tomatoes is to plunge them into boiling water for just a couple of seconds. Remove from the water and the skin should lift off easily. 

Peas with Spring Onion and Mint and Honey Roasted Carrots

Spring is here and fresh local vegetables will soon be available. I received an email today from Pendleton Farms, near Lawrence, that they hope to begin picking asparagus this week. The fresh asparagus from Pendleton is some of the best asparagus I have ever had. Hopefully we will find time this week to make a trip and get some of the first crop. When it is picked the day you buy it, you can just eat it raw and it is great, but I like to toss it with a little olive oil and some salt and roast it for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Squeeze the juice of a half a fresh lemon over the top before serving. It will be crisp tender and delicious.

Peas with Spring Onion and Mint

Peas are another of the first vegetables of spring. Here is a great way to prepare tender young peas. This recipe comes from Chef Daniel Patterson, a James Beard award nominated chef from San Francisco. 

Ingredients:

1 TBSP butter
1 Cup thinly sliced spring onions or shallots
2 Cups fresh peas
1 TBSP chopped fresh mint
Zest of 1/2 a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large skillet melt the butter over low heat. Add the onions and 1/4 tsps. salt. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the peas and 1 TBSP water. Cover and continue cooking until the peas are just tender, about three to four minutes. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the mint and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You will love it !!

Honey Roasted Carrots 

Baby carrots (sometimes labeled as French carrots) are another springtime treat. They should be about 6" long, quite skinny and still have the green tops on them. Roasted this way, they get a caramelized outer layer and a sweet taste. If you can't find baby carrots, peel larger carrots and halve them lengthwise before roasting.

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. baby carrots with tops

2 tsps. olive oil

3 TBSP butter

1/2 tsps. Kosher salt

1/4 tsps. freshly ground black pepper

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 TBSP bourbon

1 TBSP chicken broth or water

1/2 tsps. chopped fresh thyme

Preparation:

Place a small roasting pan in the oven. Preheat oven and the pan to 500 degrees. Cut tops from the carrots, leaving about one inch of greenery on each carrot. Stir together olive oil and 1 TBSP butter in preheated pan. Add carrots, salt and pepper. Toss to coat and roast 10 minutes. While carrots are roasting, melt remaining 2 TBSP butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and saute one minute. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon, honey and broth. Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook 5 minutes or until mixture is syrupy. Drizzle syrup over carrots and toss to coat. Roast carrots another 5 to 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the fresh thyme. Enjoy !!

  

Mac and Cheese with Diced Ham

In my last post I talked about sauces. Here is an idea for how to use one of those recipes to create a comfort food favorite. I started with a Bechamel(white sauce), tripled the recipe, added grated cheese, some additional spices and some diced ham and ended up with a delicious mac and cheese.  Here is the recipe. You can eliminate the ham to make this vegetarian.

Ingredients: (yield 8-10 servings)

6 TBSP butter 
6 TBSP all purpose flour
3 Cups milk
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg
1/2 of a medium onion, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsps paprika
3 Cups grated cheese ( I used a mix of Swiss and Sharp Cheddar)
12 - 14 Oz. diced ham
2 Cups(8Oz.) Elbow macaroni
1/2 Cup coarse ground bread crumbs
2 TBSP butter
Dry Parsley

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a deep 21/2 quart baking dish.

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour until well blended and smooth, about one and a half minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in the milk. Return the pan to the heat and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Continue cooking and whisking until the sauce is smooth and thickened, about one to two minutes. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg to taste. Stir in the minced onion, paprika and bay leaf and cook on very low heat for about 15 minutes. Don't allow to come to a simmer.  Remove the sauce from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Stir in 2/3 of the cheese. Reserve the rest of the cheese. Check the seasoning again.  

While the sauce is simmering, cook elbow macaroni per package directions. Drain and remove to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sauce and the ham. Pour half of the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese. Top with the rest of the macaroni and then the rest of the cheese. 

Melt 2 TBSP butter in a small skillet and stir in the bread crumbs. Cook until butter is absorbed by the bread crumbs. Top the casserole dish with the bread crumbs and sprinkle with some dried parsley for color.

Bake for 30-40 minutes. Bread crumb topping should brown and the casserole should be hot and bubbly. If you are not sure if the macaroni is heated through, check it with an instant read thermometer. It should be at least 140 degrees in the middle of the dish. This is comfort food to the max. Enjoy !!