Roast Turkey Breast With Fig Olive Tapenade Food

FIG AND OLIVE TAPENADE

Steps:

• Combine figs and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, and liquid has reduced. Remove from heat, and stir in the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, thyme, and cayenne. Add olives and garlic, and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to allow flavors to blend.
• Unwrap cream cheese block, and place on a serving platter. Spoon tapenade over cheese, and sprinkle with walnuts. Serve with slices of French bread or crackers.

ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH FIG-OLIVE TAPENADE

Steps:

• Place the figs in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain and coarsely chop. In a food processor, combine the figs, olives, lemon juice, garlic and anchovies. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil, and process until the mixture becomes a paste.
• If the breast is tied up, untie it and pat dry; season with salt and pepper. If your turkey breast has not already been pounded, pound it until 3/4-inch-thick to increase the surface area. Coat it with half the paste (reserve the remaining paste for serving). Roll up the turkey and secure it with kitchen twine. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 24 hours, covered, in the refrigerator.
• When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast, turning once halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the turkey reads 160 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 hour (it will continue to cook as it cools). Let stand 10 minutes before untying and slicing. Serve with remaining tapenade and mayonnaise on the side.

ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH GRAVY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Rub the turkey all over with the butter, including the cavity of the breast. Season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter the vegetables on the bottom of a roasting pan just large enough to hold the turkey. Set the turkey breast-side up in the pan. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 160 degrees F, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil for 30 minutes. (The breast temperature will continue to rise to 170 degrees F as it rests.)
• Pour any pan drippings into a fat separator or small bowl. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the fat; discard the rest or the fat. Add the pan juices to the broth. Add the reserved fat to the roasting pan and place on a burner over medium-high heat. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the broth and continue to stir. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Strain the gravy, discarding the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Carve the breast and serve with the gravy.

HERB-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
• In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.
• Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.

ROAST TURKEY BREAST WITH FIG-OLIVE TAPENADE

Steps:

• 1. Place the figs in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain and coarsely chop. In a food processor, combine the figs, olives, lemon juice, garlic and anchovies. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil, and process until the mixture becomes a paste. 2. If the breast is tied up, untie it and pat dry; season with salt and pepper. Coat it with half the paste (reserve the remaining paste for serving). Roll up the turkey and secure it with kitchen twine. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 24 hours, covered, in the refrigerator. 3. When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Roast, turning once halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of the turkey reads 160 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 hour (it will continue to cook as it cools). Let stand 10 minutes before untying and slicing. Serve with remaining tapenade and mayonnaise on the side.

FIG-GLAZED ROAST TURKEY WITH CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Begin by re-hydrating the figs. In a large mixing bowl combine the figs, honey, lemon juice; cover with the warm water. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 to 25 minutes until the figs are tender and soft. Pour off the liquid and reserve for the glaze.
• Meanwhile, heat a little extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat and gently saute the onions with rosemary. Add the sweet Italian sausage and continue to saute until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. When done, scrape it all into the bowl with the figs, Add the cornbread pieces and season well with salt and pepper. Give it a good toss until it's well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and 1/2 cup stock, and pour that over the cornbread. (Add up to 1/2 cup more stock if the stuffing is dry. ) Stir the stuffing together and set it aside while you work on the turkey.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse the bird thoroughly inside and out with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Using your fingers, gently lift the skin from the turkey breast and using 1 stick of butter, massage it onto the breast meat. Sprinkle the cavity and skin liberally with salt and pepper. Stuff the bird with the cornbread stuffing and truss it (or just cross the legs over one another and tie with a piece of kitchen twine). Put the turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan, and place in the oven.
• In a small saucepan set the fig liquid over medium heat and bring to a simmer to reduce, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar; simmer, cook until syrupy. Cut up the remaining stick of butter and whisk it into the balsamic mixture. Use the glaze to baste the turkey.
• Roast the turkey for 2 hours. About 20 minutes before the turkey in done, baste the turkey with the fig glaze, coating it well. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the meaty part of the thigh registers 170 degrees F. The thigh juices will run clear when pricked with a knife, about 3 hours total (15 minutes per pound). If the legs or breast brown too quickly during roasting, cover them with foil. Transfer turkey to a cutting board, loosely covered with foil to rest for up to 30 minutes before carving.

ROAST TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Set the oven at 350 degrees. If the turkey breast is wrapped in netting, cut the string from the top (skin side) of the breast leaving all but the two ends uncovered. (If the netting is left on top, the spice coating will be lost when you cut off the string after cooking.).
• In a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold the breast, place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Set the breast in the pan and tuck the garlic under it. Sprinkle the meat with salt, pepper, and chili powder or paprika. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on top of the meat.
• Roast the turkey for 45 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of water to the pan, and continue roasting for 30 to 40 minutes, spooning the pan juices over the meat every 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center registers 170 degrees (total roasting time is 75 to 85 minutes). Let the turkey stand for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

FIG AND OLIVE TAPENADE

Steps:

• In a medium-sized saucepan, simmer the figs in the water for about 30 minutes, until very tender. Drain, reserving a few tablespoons of the liquid.
• In a food processor or with an immersion blender, pulse the pitted olives, drained figs, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, capers, and fresh rosemary to create a thick paste. Pulse in the olive oil until you've achieved a chunky-smooth paste. Season with black pepper and salt, if necessary. (The spread can be thinned with a bit of the reserved fig poaching liquid.).
• Serve tapenade with slices of baguette or pita triangles that have been lightly brushed with olive oil and perhaps sprinkled with salt and fresh thyme, or a dusting of chili powder, then toasted on a baking sheet in the oven until nice and crisp.

OVEN-ROASTED TURKEY BREAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Mix 1/4 cup butter, garlic, paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic and herb seasoning, salt, and black pepper in a bowl. Place turkey breast with skin side up into a roasting pan. Loosen skin with your fingers; brush half the butter mixture over the turkey breast and underneath the skin. Reserve remaining butter mixture. Tent turkey breast loosely with aluminum foil.
• Roast in the preheated oven for 1 hour; baste turkey breast with remaining butter mixture. Return to oven and roast until the juices run clear and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, not touching bone, reads 165 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 30 more minutes. Let turkey breast rest 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
• While turkey is resting, transfer pan drippings to a skillet. Skim off excess grease, leaving about 1 tablespoon in skillet. Place skillet over low heat; cook and stir shallot in turkey grease until opaque, about 5 minutes. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet with shallot and whisk in white wine, scraping any browned bits of food from skillet. Whisk in chicken stock and flour until smooth. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened. For a creamier, lighter gravy, whisk in half-and-half.

FIG-OLIVE TAPENADE

Steps:

• 1. In a small saucepan, simmer the figs in the water with the lid askew for 10 to 20 minutes, until very tender. Drain.
• 2. If using a mortar and pestle, mash the olives with the garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard, and rosemary. (Sometimes I chop the olives first, which means less pounding later.) Pound in the figs. Once they are broken up, stir in the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• 3. If using a food processor, pulse the olives, figs, garlic, capers, anchovies, mustard, rosemary, and lemon juice to create a thick paste. Pulse in the olive oil until you've achieved a chunky-smooth paste. Don't overdo it; good tapenade should be slightly rough. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.