notes from my food diary

This year I’m cooking turkey for Thanksgiving day. My hubby doesn’t like turkey that much, so instead of roasting a big bird, I did stuffed turkey breast with apricot and date. I found this recipe just last week from Fine Cooking magazine, October/November 2006 edition. And since there’ll be only three of us enjoying Thanksgiving feast, it’s the perfect cooking solution.

The stuffing has the sweet flavor from dried apricot & date but also it had crunchiness from toasted hazelnuts. I was glad I still had the sage plant from my garden, because fresh sage really accentuates the overall flavor of the dish. The glaze from Marsala reduction was a clever idea and made the preparation of the dish even faster. The thick bacon was used to keep the turkey moist and added a little fat to otherwise a dry white meat, here I used pancetta instead of thick bacon for a change.

For the side dishes, I made Cranberry & Pecan Sourdough Stuffing and Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar & Kale. A variety of classic dishes with a little twist. I love it when the dishes are simple yet wholesome.

Here are the recipes:

Dried Apricot & Date Stuffed Turkey Breast with Marsala Glaze
Serves 4, or 2 with leftovers

For the stuffing:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup pitted & coarsely chopped dried dates
1/4 cup coarsetly chopped dried apricots
3 tablespoons toasted and copped hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the turkey breast:
1 boneless, skinless or skin-on turkey breast half (1 3/4 to 2 pounds)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices thick-sliced bacon (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups sweet Marsala wine

Make the stuffing: Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Put the date and apricots in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the hazelnuts, parsley, sage, and reserved onions and pulse a few more time until everything is minced and well combined. Transfer to a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare the turkey breast: Heat the oven to 350 degree F. Put the turkey breast on a cutting board and, holding your knife parallel to the work surface, slice open the turkey breast horizontally, working from the thicker side of the lobe to the thinner side and not cutting all the way through. Open the tureky breast like a book and season generously with salt and pepper.

Spread the stuffing evenly over half the opened turkey breast, leaving a little border around the outer edges. Fold the other half of the turkey breast over the stuffing, enclosing the stuffing as much as possible. Lay the bacon lengthwise on top of the turkey breast and tie the breast crosswise with kitchen string in four to five places to hold it all together.

Season the turkey on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven proof skillet over medium-high heat. Beginning with the bacon side down, sear the turkey breast on both sides until nicely browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer the skillet to the oven (the turkey should be bacon side up) and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip the turkey breast, return to the oven, and roast until an instan-read thermometer inserted into the center of the breast reads 165 degree F, 20 to 30 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the oven, transfer the turkey to a large plate and let it rest, loosely covered with foil, for about 10 minutes.

While the turkey is resting, make the Marsala glaze: Pour off the fat from skillet and discard any lumps of stuffing that may have fallen out of the turkey and burned. Put the skillet over medium-high heat, pour the Marsala in the skillet, and bring it to a boil, stirring with a wooden spatula to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add to the pan any juices that have collected around the turkey while resting on the plate. Continue boiling until the Marsala is reduced to 1/4 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the strings from the turkey. Slice the turkey crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and arrange the slices on a serving platter. Pour the Marsala glaze into a small bowl and pass with the turkey.

Cranberry & Pecan Sourdough Stuffing
Serves 4 to 6

4 to 6 cups 3/4-inch diced or torn sourdough bread
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/3 cup toasted pecans
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup low-salt turkey or chicken broth
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Tear or cut the bread into 3/4-inch pieces until you have 4 to 6 cups. If workng a day ahead, lay the pieces out on a rack and leave them uncovered on the counter to dry overnight. Otherwise, spread the bread out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 275 degree F oven, stirring very 10 minutes or so, until it is crisp and mostly dry; it will continue to dry a bit as it cools. Depending on how moist the bread is to begin with, oven drying takes 10 to 30 minutes.

Cook the chopped celery and onions with a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until soft. Let it cool for a while. In a large bowl, toss the bread with cranberries and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add in the broth, melted butter and finally the beaten egg. Heat the oven to 375 degree F. Lightly grease a 8-inch baking dish with oil or cooking spray. Spread the stuffing in the dish, cover tightly with foil, and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the top is lightly browned and crisp, another 20 to 30 minutes.

Source: Fine Cooking magazine, October/November 2006

Mashed Potatoes with Cheddar & Kale
Makes 5 cups

2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 2” chunks
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
5 cups kale, stemmed, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 cups sharp Cheddar, grated
1 cup milk, warmed

Simmer potatoes in water in a large pot for 15-20 minutes, or until tender when pierced; drain.

Return pot to medium-high heat. Melt butter, then stir in the kale, salt and pepper. Cook until kale is wilted, 2-3 minutes.

Off heat, add drained potatoes, cheese, and milk; crush with a potato masher until combined but still lumpy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source: Cuisine at Home, October 2006