I'm at a crucial time with my remaining turkey...use it or freeze it. Since I spent last night cleaning out my freezer, using it won out. I've enjoyed chicken tetrazzini so I wanted to try it with turkey. I would have added a half cup of peas if I would have found some in my clean freezer...no go but there is 5 bottles of flavored vodka. One must have their freezer space priorities. And this recipe was an opportunity to use some of the pasta I bought from Eataly.
Turkey Tetrazzini
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or turkey)
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, separated
1 tbsp parsley
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups turkey
8 oz fusilli, cooked al dente
In a medium saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour until a paste forms. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Allow to cook and thicken while you cook your pasta. When the sauce has thickened, stir in 1 cup of Parmesan cheese, parsley, red pepper flakes and turkey. Place drained pasta in a greased baking dish. Pour the turkey mixture over the pasta and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Bake at 350° for a half hour.
I've been craving chocolate since yesterday and thought about a batch of chocolate chip cookies or trying something different. The wind is still cold so making a new biscotti recipe to have with a cup of green tea sounded like a nice alternative to turning the furnace back on and curing my chocolate craving. I always use dark cocoa just because it's my preference and I like the dark chocolate color and flavor but using regular will work just as well. It was very tempting just to dig into this before I sliced for the second baking.
Brownie Toffee Biscotti
Combine in a large bowl:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup double dutch dark cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
In a small bowl combine:
3 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter, slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla
Gradually add butter mixture into flour mixture until combined. The dough will be crumbly. Turn out onto a lightly flour surface and knead. Add in 1/2 cup of milk chocolate toffee bits and roll into a 12" log x 3" wide. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for a half hour at 325°. Cool for 15 minutes. Slice at an angle into 1/2" slices. Place back on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes on each side at 300°. Store in an air tight container.
Dreams of doing anything outdoors this holiday weekend are only going to happen if you dress warmly. My deck cushions remain in the garage just waiting for warmer weather. Along with the cushions, the grill awaits. I had originally planned on cooking this turkey breast on the grill but cold winds made using the crock pot an excellent back up plan.
Turkey Spice Rub
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper, fresh ground
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp sage
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dark brown sugar
Mix all the spices and sugar in a small bowl. Rinse off turkey breast (or turkey) and pat dry. Pat spice rub onto the turkey and bake until the internal temperature reaches 165°.
I'm back. I had gotten sick a week ago and it's taken a little while to get my appetite and energy back. And what better way to return than with on of my favorite fruits - peaches.
Peach Pizza
1 - 8" pizza crust
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups peaches, sliced
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp cold butter
In a small bowl, combine softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Spread over pizza crust evenly. Place peach slices over the cream cheese mixture. In another bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter pieces with a fork. When crumbly, spread over peaches. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°.
It's almost summer and I'm lining up what I'll be reading. Please share if you have any suggestions on what I can add to my list ~ I love to read and look at cookbooks.
I bought this book in the used section of amazon.com and I'm really happy that I did. A quick glance through and I was impressed. I might buy more cookbooks from Jonathan Waxman.
This is another that I bought at the same time from a charity that was raising funds and it looks like an interesting read of what goes on behind the scenes in restaurants. And Eric Ripert is always well spoken so it should be good.
An impulse buy, I picked up Alex Guarnaschelli's cookbook. I did crack it open and I'm not feeling as many warm and fuzzy feelings as I did from Jonathan Waxman but I'll find lawn chair time and read more.
Now for fiction. I love cooking and mysteries so the combination is almost always a win for me. I say almost always because there are a lot of series out there. I've read some and enjoyed them and others are only a good time killer.
This is the second book I've bought in the series by Lucy Burdette and I thought the first was well written so this went into my Kindle.
I don't have this yet but it is pre-ordered in hard cover. I am a loyal Diane Mott Davidson fan and want a real book. Her stories are always fun to read and I love her recipes. It's going to be a long wait until August but it will be worth it.
We are getting occasional days that it actually seems like Spring here in the valley. Rare but they do exist and since I've got strawberry plants out, it's time for the grill to make an appearance. I had some skin on chicken breasts just waiting to hit the grill so they called for a new sauce.
Honey Glazed Chicken
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup Heinz 57 sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp Frank's Hot sauce
Combine all in a small saucepan and let simmer until you're ready to use. I basted the chicken 3 times on the grill and kept a little for dipping.
Nothing like a rainy day to bring out the need for comfort food. Mashed potatoes has always been in the top 10 of my comfort food and even though I had milk in my refrigerator, I decided to go entirely with sour cream this time.
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
5 medium sized red potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes and cooked until tender - leave the skins on
3/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
Mash the potato cubes. Fold in sour cream and spices.
