Sasha's Kitchen: Turkey Paillards with Cranberry Piccata Sauce

This dish reminded me of an offbeat Thanksgiving dinner, but its really perfect anytime of year.  I bought thinly sliced turkey paillards from FreshDirect, so I really did not need to pound them.  The flavors for this recipe combined quite nicely together and it was a perfect weekend meal.  It's another recipe from my Sam Talbot cookbook that I have previously written about and have enjoyed.  His shirataki noodle recipes are really my favorite and I plan on trying another one of his shirataki recipes next week.  Even my pug Dakota wanted a taste of this one.  Just a note - I left out the capers from this one.  Feel free to add them in if you prefer.  There's a few foods I won't touch with a ten foot pole and capers are one of them.

Turkey Paillards with Cranberry Piccata Sauce (from Sam Talbot)
Cranberry piccata sauce
1 medium bulb pennel cored and sliced with stalks discarded
3 T olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1/2 bunch of celery, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tsp pennel seeds
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup fresh cranberries (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup hand-torn flat leaf parsley
1 to 2 T stevia extract or agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pink peppercorns
2 T unsalted butter

Turkey paillards
1/2 cup soy milk (I used soy milk rather than whole milk as the recipe called for)
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
6 oz slices turkey breasts (I used about a pound and a half)

To make the sauce, preheat the oven to 450.  Spread the fennel on a baking sheet and drizzle with one tablespoon of the olive oil.  Bake about six minutes until browned on all sides.

In a large skillet, heat the remaining tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onions, celery and fennel seeds and cook until the onions and celery are translucent, about two minutes.  Add the white wine and cook for two minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. This deglazes the pan.  Add the toasted fennel, cranberries sweetener, (I used agave nectar) pink pepper and butter and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from pan and heat and set aside.

To cook the paillards, in a large bowl, whisk together the soy moil and eggs to make a wash.  In a second bowl, combine the almond flour, panko and cheese.  Dip the turkey in the egg mixture and then into the breading mixture.  In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium high heat.  Add the turkey and pan fry until golden brown about two to three minutes on each side.  Then place in the oven at 350 and cook for a bit longer to make sure the turkey is cooked through.

Serve the turkey paillards topped with the cranberry piccata sauce.

Sasha's Kitchen: Turkey Paillards with Cranberry Piccata Sauce

Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Sour summer slaw

Sorry for the absence, folks!
I went off and got married, then unfortunately we had a loss in our family, so I haven't had a lot of time for creative cooking.

I did make a rhubarb pie last week, but it was honestly really, really bad. Not so much that I wouldn't eat it (PIE!) but not good enough for this blog, even to help others learn from my mistakes.

But the summer produce is coming on, and I'm getting excited. I'm going to wait to see what looks awesome and fresh in the next month or two, and start canning again. You'll get the story on that once I get my enormous canning pot out of storage :)

It being summer, it's time for barbecue, slaw and salads, and those last two were on the menu tonight. I had some great fresh fennel -- a whole bulb, feathery top bits (I'm not sure what to do with those) and all, from Idaho's Bounty. I sauteed half the bulb for something else, but the remaining half went into the Cuisinart's shredder attachment, with two small Fuji apples and about a dozen baby carrots (I would have used big carrots, but the babies were getting a little...rooty, so they needed to be used). I didn't have any cabbage, or that would have gone in too.

Mixing that in a bowl and removing the big, improperly shredded pieces, I added about three tablespoons of lime mayonnaise (interestingly, the Hellmann's intended for the Hispanic market has fewer unpronounceable ingredients and preservatives than the American varieties -- thanks, Grocery Outlet!), a tablespoon of lime juice, a tablespoon of grapefruit vinegar, salt, pepper and freshly-ground red pepper flakes. Oh, and a handful of dried cranberries, since I was out of raisins, for that hint of sweet. If I were to make this again, I think I'd use a little less total liquid, but that's just my taste; others might prefer the squishier texture.

I paired it with a simple salad: organic greens from Idaho's Bounty, topped with corn kernels, sliced almonds, a vinaigrette and some grilled Halloumi-style grilled cheese (not pictured). With a glass of red wine for a little mouth weight, delicious!

Amasea's Kitchen in Sun Valley: Sour summer slaw