Ma What's For Dinner?

This is a version of a recipe that I saw on America’s Test Kitchen.

I switched out chicken (or veal) cutlets for turkey cutlets instead, hey turkey cutlets were on sale at the store…can’t pass up a bargain!

I doctored up the sauce a bit as you all know I can’t follow a recipe to save my life what with my recipe OCD and all.

I like this dish because the kids can help with the prep and it’s a great light and easy meal.

Perfect for the end of summer.

Give this a whirl…you’ll be glad you did.

Serves: 4  Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 1/2 pounds turkey cutlets

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 T garlic powder

1/2 t ground black pepper

16 sage leaves, divided (8 minced, 8 whole)

8 slices thin prosciutto

3 T olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 large shallot, chopped fine

2 t lemon juice

3 T butter

1 T chopped parsley

Pat cutlets dry with paper towels. In a large bowl combine flour, garlic powder and pepper.  Dredge turkey cutlets in flour mixture, shaking off any excess. Lay cutlets flat and sprinkle evenly with minced sage. Place 1 prosciutto slice on top of each cutlet.   (These are great steps for the kids to help with, just be sure they wash their hands after handling the raw poultry!)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add whole sage leaves and cook for about 15 to 20 seconds. Using slotted spoon, remove sage to paper towel-lined plate and set aside for garnish later. Add half of cutlets to pan, prosciutto-side down, and cook until light golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on other side until light golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate and keep warm under some aluminum foil. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

Pour off excess fat from skillet, reserving about 1 Tablespoon. Add you shallots and cook until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes.  Add in you wine to deglaze your pan being sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom.  Simmer until reduced to about 1/3 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Turn heat to low and whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Off heat, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Pour over turkey and top with fried sage leaves and extra parsley.

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This is a take off on a salad that I once saw Rachael Ray make and thought, that is the strangest looking salad I’ve ever heard of, but I made hers and loved it!  I ate it every day for a month.  Then I started to give it a bit of a makeover and ended up with this little delight.  My kids eat around the mushrooms but gobble up the rest of it…

1 bunch washed baby arugula

8 oz package of baby bella mushrooms sliced

3 stalks celery sliced thin

10 basil leaves julienned

handful of italian parsley chopped

parmesan cheese

1 lemon

1 T olive oil

S&P

In a large bowl toss in your arugula, mushrooms, celery, basil, and parsley.  Grate long slices of parmesan cheese on top.  Sprinkle with S&P.  Squeeze the juice of one half of your lemon on top of your salad.  Toss gently.  Season again with S&P if necessary.  Sprinkle with olive oil and toss again.  Serve it up with some crusty bread or alongside your dinner.  SOOOOO GOOD!!!

*Disclaimer I put ranch dressing on the boys version of this.  They just love their ranch!  But if they’re eating salad, who cares?  A lot of you out there have said that you can’t get your kids to eat salad.  My youngest two boys have always loved salad, Keegan, the oldest, not so much.  You know how I got him to eat it????  It’s so easy!!!  You’re not going to believe it!!!  CROUTONS!!!  That’s all it took, croutons!!!  Now the kid eats salad?!?  Go figure.

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Last week I was feeling a bit blah.  I couldn’t think of anything new to make, so I went blog surfing and I hit my good friend Julie’s blog over at Mommie Cooks and she had recently made some schnitzel.  Hmmm, schnitzel?  Ok, even the word is funny.  Say it with me…schnitzel…draw it out like…shniiiiiit-seeellll.  What?  I’ve never really made schnitzel, in fact, I wasn’t 100 percent sure what it was made out of.  All I could think of was that hot dog place, which as far as I can tell has absolutely nothing to do with schnitzel whatsoever.  Anyway, I read up and made the stuff, turns out it’s really really good.  The hubs was moved, moved I tell ya…You gotta try it.  See what I found out below there…

Little bit of history for you this fine Monday morn.  What the shiznet is a schnitzel?  Well, it is quite simply a breaded veal cutlet, or any pounded thin cut of meat.  Yup, that’s right, all the Italians out there are talking at the computer with their hands screaming, hey we invented cutlets, but au contraire mon frere, or in this case mein bruder, as the Germans whipped these bad boys up centuries ago.  Check out what Miriam-Webster says about zee schnitzel…

Main Entry: schnit·zel

Pronunciation: \ˈshnit-səl\

Etymology: German, literally, shaving, chip, diminutive of Schnitz slice, from Middle High German snitz; akin to Old High German snīdan to cut, Old English snīthan, and perhaps to Czech snět bough

See, how cute is that?  It means little slice.  And it is a little slice, it’s a little slice of heaven!  I made ours out of some pork chops that were on sale and threw them over a big salad.  Totally cost effective and delicious all at the same time.  The hubs ate 4!  Here’s how you make them.

Fitzpatrick’s Fo’ Shizzel my Pork Schnitzel

8 thin sliced pork chops pounded thin

2/3 cup flour

1 t garlic powder

S&P

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

4 T olive oil divided

2 T butter, divided

2 sprigs of thyme, divided

2 cloves garlic whole, divided

1 lemon cut into wedges

Set out three bowls to make your breading stations.  In the first bowl combine your flour, garlic powder, and S&P.  In the second bowl, combine your eggs and milk, the panko bread crumbs in the third.  Start my dredging your cutlets in the flour.  Shake off any excess then dunk them into the second bowl of eggs and milk.  Finish off by putting them into the third bowl with the bread crumbs.  Place them on a baking sheet or cutting board and let them sit for about 10 minutes.

In a large skillet put 2 T of oil and 1 T of butter over medium high heat along with your 1 garlic clove and thyme sprig.  Once the oil has heated up remove the garlic and thyme and add in 2 cutlets.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes keeping an eye on them.  Flip them when they are golden brown, cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt.  Set under some tin foil to keep warm.  Repeat with 2 more cutlets.  Toss out your oil and butter and start fresh heating remaining 2 T of oil and 1 T butter and garlic and butter.  Repeat process for the remaining cutlets.  Squeeze some lemon over all the cutlets and serve immediately with additional lemon.  SOOOOO good!

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This is a quick, delicious and nutritious side dish for you. Cooks up in minutes and will get you rave reveiws!

Serves: 6  Prep Time: 0 minutes  Cook time: 12 minutes

1 bunch asparagus, cleaned and trimmed

1 T olive oil

S&P

1 T parmesan cheese

1 T basil chiffonade

1 T toasted pine nuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss asparagus into a roasting pan.  Sprinkle with olive oil and S&P.  Mix well with your fingers to coat each asparagus stalk well.  Cook for 10 minutes on 400 degrees.   Remove from oven and sprinkle on cheese, basil and pine nuts.  Toss well and serve immediately.

So good…

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Serves 2  Prep Time: 5 minutes  Cook time: 20 minutes

2 rib eye steaks (or NY Strip or even fillet!)

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 T olive oil

3 T butter, unsalted

1 sprig fresh rosemary (or if you forget the fresh herbs at the store because your 1 year old was screaming and you had to get out dried will do in a pinch)

2 sprigs fresh thyme (uh, ditto)

S&P

I threw a little truffle salt on mine too.  YUM!!!

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a cast iron skillet heat your olive oil over medium high heat.  (NOTEWORTHY NUGGET – when heating a cast iron skillet (or any skillet for that matter) over high heat, don’t walk away to help your kids figure out the Spongebob Squarepants Wii game for 10 minutes.  This will surely set off the smoke alarm and wake up the baby…I’m just saying.)

Season both sides of your steaks with S&P and truffle salt if it’s laying around.

When the cast iron skillet is good and hot (and it’s the 2nd time you’ve done this since the first time the Shelton Volunteer Fire Department almost had to come and desmoke your downstairs) lay your steaks in to sizzle.

After about 3-4 minutes the first side should be nice and brown.  Flip ‘em over and add your butter, garlic, and herbs to the pan.  While the butter melts douse the top of the steaks with the melty garlicky herby butter and then toss them into the oven for 10 minutes.

Serve with Oven Roasted Potatoes and a nice salad.  Light a fire, cozy up and enjoy a date night!!!

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