Turkey Cutlets in a Lemon Sauce

I just discovered these very thinly cut turkey cutlets and I had to try and make something with them! I kept it simple with just a bit of lemon and cream!

You can make this recipe with chicken breast, thinly sliced, or with pork! Any white meat in fact!!

Turkey Cutlets in a Lemon Sauce

Serves 6


12 thinly sliced turkey cutlets
1 lemon, for juice and skin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1 1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
olive oil



Preheat the oven to 175F.

Dredge the cutlets in flour, shaking off the excess.
Peel the rind off the lemon and place in a bowl.
Saute the shallots in a skillet with one tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic. When translucent and golden, about 5-7 minutes, transfer to lemon bowl.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, on medium high heat.
Cook the cutlets 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a sheet pan and place in the oven to keep warm.
Deglaze the juices with about 1/2 cup white wine. Transfer the sauce to the lemon bowl.
Repeat until all the turkey is cooked.

Return the sauce from the bowl to the skillet and add any remaining white wine. Reduce for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add the cream, salt and pepper.

Serve with a lemon wedge.

Wild rice, creamed spinach or asparagus make a nice side dish for the turkey!

Crab Appetizer with Grapefruit and Avocado

Our friends came for dinner last weekend and I decided to try something new for appetizer! After checking a few of my cookbooks, I settled on a crab appetizer, served in a glass, with avocado and grapefruit. The finished dish was topped with a "gelée". I served these in Martini glasses and the result was very nice. The flavors do go very well together. And if you do not have crab, you can substitute shrimp or smoked salmon for it!

Crab Appetizer with Grapefruit and Avocado

Serves 6




3 grapefruits
3 avocados
2 limes (zest and juice)
14 oz fresh lump crab meat
3 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves lengthwise
2 Tbsp freshly chopped chive
3 sheets gelatin (about 3/4 Tbsp granulated)




Prepare the ingredients
Peel the grapefruits and cut into pieces. Reserve the juice and set aside.
Grate the zest of one lime and set aside.
Add the juice of one lime to the grapefruit juice.
Place the sheets of gelatin in cold water. Reserve.
Peel the avocados and mash with a fork. Add the juice of half a lime and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Check the crab meat for hard pieces and set aside.
Drain the grapefruit pieces and heat about 1/3 cup of the juice. Add the gelatin and mix until dissolved.

Assemble the appetizer:
Divide the crab meat among 6 Martini glasses. Top the crab with the avocado, then the grapefruit. Sprinkle with the chive and lime zest; top with on half cherry tomato, open face up. Pour the gelatin/grapefruit-lime juice on top and refrigerate for a few hours.

Serve cold with a dollop of Creme Fraiche.

Veal Keftas with a Paprika Sauce

And another storm is strolling in, although it will mainly be raiin tomorrow! But today we got the nice surprise of an "early release" from school!!! So here I am, a fire in the fireplace, updating my blog.

When February comes along, I really have to search to make dinners...We have already had chili, roasts, soups...I am now really searching for something different! And simple enough to make during the week! This Kefta recipe is exactly what I had hoped for!

Veal Keftas with a Paprika Sauce

Serves 6


Keftas:
3 Lb ground veal
3 shallots, chopped finely
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely
3 Tbs sweet Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp olive oil
Wooden skewers, about 5 or 6 inches long


Sauce:
2 cups white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp sweet Paprika
Salt and pepper to taste


In a large bowl, mix together the veal, chopped shallots, chopped parsley, paprika, salt and pepper.
Mix well with your hands.
Shape the ground meat into logs and place around the skewers. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 275F.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan, on medium low heat. When the oil is hot, add 3 or 4 skewers and cook about 5 minutes per side. Keep the heat relatively low or the meat will stick to the pan and will get though.
Once cooked, transfer to a sheet pan and in the oven to keep warm.
While the pan is still hot, pour about 1/2 cup of the white wine and scrape the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl.
Repeat until all the keftas are cooked.

Transfer the sauce back to the pan and add the paprika. Reduce for about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add the cream; season with salt and pepper and serve with rice.

Eclairs au Chocolat

Today was going to be "International Lunch" at school. Of course, since I am French... I volunteered the famous French pastry...Chocolate Eclairs!
They are a delicate puff pasties filled with a flavored Creme Patissiere (or pastry cream), and decorated with a thin and glossy glaze.
In this case, the creme patissiere is flavored with melted chocolate, and the glaze is Fondant and chocolate.
As I was making these last night, I had to fight the entire family!!! They had never had my home made eclairs and could not wait...!

Eclairs au Chocolat

Makes about 60 Eclairs



1 recipe Pate a Choux
1 recipe "creme patissiere au chocolat", or chocolate pastry cream


Glaze:
7 oz Fondant **
1 Tbsp water
1.4 oz cocoa powder



Preheat the oven to 400F.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
With a pastry bag fitted with a tip #806 (size 6), pipe strips of dough that are about 3 inches long and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes. They must be golden and puffy.
Remove from the oven and set aside.
Repeat until all the dough is used. If you have too many puffs, freeze the extra ones and use at a later time. Just defrost and "refresh" in the oven for 3 minutes.

When the puffs have cooled, slice the tops off and set aside.

With a clean pastry bag, and the same tip (I use this tip for just about anything!), pipe the pastry cream into the bottoms of the puffs, filling them over the top.
Replace the tops on the puffs.

Now prepare the glaze:
Heat the fondant with the water on low heat. Add the chocolate and mix well.
Spread evenly on the top of the puffs.

Refrigerate and serve your eclairs!


** You may replace the fondant by confectioner sugar.