Turkey Sausage Patties

With me following the Atkins diet since the start of 2012, I've tried to come up with a breakfast protein to accompany eggs. Bacon is fine but I'd love to have something with less fat.

Solution: homemade turkey sausage patties using ground turkey and a few spices.  I fry them in a non-stick pan or on the George Foreman grill.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 pounds ground turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

PREPARATION

• In a large bowl place the ground turkey and then all the spices on top.

• Mix with your hands until well blended. You can use a food processor as well.

• Heat a frying pan or non-stick grill or griddle.

• Form the turkey mixture into patties and brown on both sides to 165 degrees or no longer pink in the center.  About 10 minutes.

Makes about 10 patties

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Christmas 2011 Baking

I will be doing some baking for the Christmas holidays starting this weekend . . . for those of you who are in need of recipes, including "Reindeer Balls", here you go:

Better Butter Cookies

Cornmeal Current Biscotti

Gingerbread Cookies

Lime Meltaways

No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossoms (with Hershey's Kisses)

Reindeer Balls

Royal Icing

Sugar Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies

Welsh Tea Cakes

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Easter Dinner 2011

Well, it happens every four years or so, and so too in 2011: Orthodox Easter as celebrated by my Greek in-laws coincides with "regular Easter" as we call it.  Both are April 24, 2011.

Here is a look at what's cooking and what I'll be serving today:

• red Easter eggs - we play the game tsougrisma before dinner starts
• feta cheese
• olives
• bread
• Oven Roasted Tomatoes
• Greek Oven-Roasted Potatoes
• Marinated Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb
• grilled mushroom caps
• green beans
• cherry pie
• homemade greek yogurt
• strawberry shortcake
• coffee
• tea
• ouzo

Christos Anesti! Happy Easter to everyone!

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Oven Roasted Tomatoes

I love this recipe because a) it can help get rid of excess fresh tomatoes especially towards the end of the summer and b) the end result is versatile. By that I mean you can serve it as a side dish, or mash up the cooked tomatoes and serve it as an appetizer spread with a good rustic bread and a glass of red wine. Also, I've pureed the cooked tomatoes as the base for soup.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb small to medium tomatoes - usually tomatoes on the vine
10 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Cut the tops off all the tomatoes and placed them in an ovenproof baking dish (not metal - glass or ceramic) that has been lightly sprayed or wiped with olive oil.

• Sprinkle tops of tomatoes with garlic, then salt and pepper.

• Next, drizzle olive oil over tops of tomatoes and then sprinkle with bread crumbs.

• Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately as side dish or cool and use for other purposes such as appetizer or soup base.

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Frittata

This recipe is my version of Mom's recipe for frittata which she enjoyed making for Sunday breakfast when we had a full house.  Those who remember this dish also remember all the goodies from Katz's bakery as well!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb sausage, crumbled - either breakfast or Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large russet baking potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 green or red pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded cheese - mozzarella, cheddar, romano
Additional ingredients (see below)
1/2 cup water
12 large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

• Crack eggs into a large bowl, add 1/2 cup water and whisk until eggs are broken down, about 1 minute. Set aside.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large (12 inch) deep dish pizza pan or a 13x9x2 baking pan with spray cooking oil. Set aside.

• In frying pan on medium high heat, add olive oil, onions, peppers and sausage.

• Add potatoes and stir. Cook about 10 minutes over medium heat just until potatoes start to soften. Remove from heat and place in pizza pan or baking pan.

• Sprinkle cheese over cooked filling and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Pour egg mixture over contents of pan.

• Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a skewer or steak knife in frittata - there should be no liquid. Cook longer if required.

Additional ingredients: you can get very creative with this dish and instead of making it for breakfast, make a dinner frittata by using adding any of these ingredients in different combinations:

• black olives
• artichoke hearts
• roasted red peppers
• feta cheese
• ham
• tuna
• chicken (cooked)

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Cranberry Sauce with Orange

This recipe is my interpretation of Quick and Easy Cranberry Sauce over at About.com: Southern Cooking which is my go to place for down home recipes.

INGREDIENTS

2 packages of fresh cranberries, (12 ounces each)
2 tsp freshly grated orange rind
2 oranges
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

PREPARATION

• Rinse cranberries and pick over for leaves and stems. Set aside.

• Grate orange rind before cutting and juicing oranges. Add enough water to juice to make 2 cups total.

• Place orange juice/water mixture in large dutch oven. Add sugars and bring to boil so that sugars are dissolved.

• Add cranberries, orange rind, cinnamon and ginger.  

• Let mixture return to boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook, covered, for 12 minutes until berries have popped.

• Cool and then place in dish and refrigerate overnight.

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Thanksgiving 2010

Well I've been tagged once again with making Thanksgiving Dinner this year.  It started out as a small intimate meal for give but since my sister-in-law broke her foot last week, I'll be cooking here in Chicago and transporting the meal up to Des Plaines to be reheated and served for eight.

Here's a preview of what I'll be serving:

• Organic greens with tomatoes, cucumbers and vinaigrette dressing
• Spanikopita (Greek spinach puffs made with phyllo dough)
• Turkey breast, ordered from Gepperth's
• Ham from Costco
• Greek Oven-Roasted Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Cornbread Stuffing
• Yeast Rolls
• Pumpkin Pie from Costco
• Cherry Pie from Baker's Square
• Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 
• Greg Norman Limestone Coast Cabernet Merlot

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

© 2010, copyright Thomas MacEntee

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