katherine chef cooks: KC152009

Yesterday for lunch I made turkey salad with fresh celery grown in my garden, chopped walnuts, and fresh black cherries. I dressed the salad with light mayonnaise and a splash of açaí and pomegranate red wine vinegar. I used a canned white turkey, making sure to crush up the chunks using a wooden spoon before adding the other ingredients. I used just the stalks of the celery, freezing the rest to use in soups and stocks later. I chopped the walnuts coarsely with my sharp chef’s knife. I cut the cherries in half and removed the pits and then coarsely chopped them. I used the darkest cherries in the bunch because they have the most flavor and their pits are easiest to remove.

For the dressing I added about a cup of mayonnaise and a slash of vinegar, stirring until everything was incorporated. I then added salt and pepper to taste. I like to use coarse sea salt for salads because of its texture. Sea salt doesn’t blend into the background; every crystal bursts with flavor and then melts on the tongue bringing out the rest of the flavors in the salad as it mellows.

I served the turkey salad on whole wheat toast with a slice of aged Swiss cheese. For another turkey salad idea, follow this link.

For dinner last night I made chicken breast stuffed with swiss cheese topped with tarragon sauce and served with roasted Yukon gold potatoes and pan fried zucchini from the garden.

I pounded the chicken out flat and placed a small piece of swiss cheese in the center. I then rolled the chicken breast and secured it with toothpicks. I seasoned it with salt and pepper. I seared the chicken in a very hot cast iron skillet for about two minutes on each side. Turning off the heat, I added about a cup and a half of beef broth and tossed in a whole spring of fresh tarragon and oregano. I also added a couple of young leek sprouts coarsely chopped. The leeks in my garden are still quite small but the scent and flavor are still very strong. It gave the sauce a lovely garlic and onion flavor. I put the skillet in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Once the chicken was out of the oven I let it rest while I cooked down the sauce remaining in the skillet by about half. After the sauce had reduced I added a bit of flour and butter to thicken the sauce and give it a nice shine.

For the zucchini I first cut it into medallions and coated with flour. I then dipped it in egg and coated them in Italian style bread crumbs. I pan fried the zucchini in a then layer of canola oil on medium high heat until golden brown, flipping over once with a fork. I heated the oil too much and the first few medallions I put in burned within a mater of seconds. I had to turn off the heat and wait for the oil to cool down before continuing.