Lettuce Talk Turkey

Turkey has its place at the table, and not just during the holiday season. A great substitute in dishes that typically call for ground beef, ground turkey is a lean and tasty source of protein that will surely fill your meat craving, so long as it's done right.

Look for ground turkey breast; if it's not all white meat, it is likely to be made with the skin and dark meat sections of the bird, which raises the saturated fat content considerably. Also, make sure you flavor the meat well with lots of herbs, onions, garlic, spices, etc.--anything that tastes good on your tongue.

Here I use ground turkey to make a fantastic chili:

Saute chopped onions and cubanelle peppers (Italian sweet peppers--feel free to use green bell peppers if that's more your style) until they are soft. Then throw in the garlic and cook for about a minute. Season generously with salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, hot sauce (all this pepper action is absolutely optional. I like my chili spicy), cumin, cinnamon, paprika, oregano, and a little bit of barbeque sauce.

Add the ground turkey breast and cook almost all the way through, breaking apart the chunks into smaller pieces. Now pour in a can of diced tomatoes, a can of beans (rinsed thoroughly), and frozen corn. Stir it all together, put the heat on low, and allow all the flavors to meld. If there is some tomato juice still sitting at the bottom of the pot after everything is done hanging out, mix some cornstarch with a little water, add to the chili, and stir; this will thicken the liquid.

Enjoy this delicious, heart-healthy chili on its own, or with a piece of cornbread.

"Get it off my plate!"

While I do enjoy most of the foods he mentions, and I also agree with the "logic" he describes, this clip from a George Carlin stand-up routine is hilarious and worthy of your time. Enjoy the maddness of Mr. Carlin's brain!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrH3uRryiGw

A Very German Meal

My grandma passed on her recipe for red cabbage to my mother, who just recently shared with me the secret to one of my favorite comfort foods. This side traditionally, in my family, accompanies roast beef and baked macaroni and cheese. But I decided to go a different route, the German route.

First, for the red cabbage (or "rotkohl" in German): thinly slice a head of red cabbage and add to a big pot with olive oil and cook on medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add salt, pepper, and lots of vinegar (my grandma used white, I used red wine as it was all I had in my apartment) to the pot and turn the heat to medium-low, allowing the cabbage to braise in the liquid and get soft; this takes about 30-35 minutes. Taste and add sugar if desired to balance the acidity of the vinegar.

I served this with boiled weisswurst (veal sausage) and a roll. It reminded me of being back in Germany, and warmed my heart with memories of Grandma.

The Easiest Dinner. Ever.

Yeap, that's it--Chicken Milanese. And here's how to do it:

Cut a thick chicken breast in half, horizontally, to yield 2 thin pieces (or you could use chicken cutlets). Bread the chicken with whole wheat bread crumbs. The great part about this meal is, I just put the breasts directly into the breadcrumbs, skipping the traditional flour-egg-breadcrumb assembly line that drives me crazy, gets my fingers full of gunk, and builds up too many dishes.

Once the chicken is breaded, saute in a pan for a few minutes on each side. Serve under a bed of mixed greens and sliced tomatoes. Top with parmeggiano reggiano cheese and drizzle dressing on top. (The dressing was a simple blend of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, dijon mustard, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.)