TABLE TALK: WEEK 4

HOMEMADE TURKEY BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Confession:  I don't like sausage--the kind from pigs anyway.  It's just too greasy and gristly for my liking.  I do, however, love the meatless Boca sausage you can buy at the store.  And not because its meatless, but because its gristless (it always comes down to texture for me!).  It is super expensive though, so when I saw a turkey sausage recipe, I knew I had to try it. 

What I liked:  The texture (of course).  No gristle, and not too mushy.  I thought it was a great idea to cook 1/4 of the turkey first and add it to the mixture as to add substance and sausage-like texture.

The taste was good, but nothing to rave about.  However, the kids all loved it, I think because it wasn't too spicy.

What I didn't like:  The handling.  It was kind of gross molding the mixture and then it was hard to get them into the pan while keeping their link shape.  Once they started cooking, turning them was a NIGHTMARE.  More than half of my links broke apart and crumbled.  That was very frustrating and I forgot to take pictures at this stage. LINK became an inappropriate four-letter word in my house that night.

Conclusion:  Four stars for four reasons:  my kids loved it, it tasted good (even though it didn't look pretty), its healthy, and inexpensive!  Can't wait to see what the rest of you thought! Here's the recipe.

HOMEMADE TURKEY BREAKFAST SAUSAGE

Makes 16 (4-inch) links

White bread can be substituted for the whole-wheat bread.  Do not use ground all-white meat turkey (ground turkey breast) here or the sausage will be very dry.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound ground turkey (see note above)

2 teaspoons minced fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1 1/2 slices high-quality whole-wheat sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into small pieces

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 small garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Pinch cayenne pepper

Pinch ground nutmeg

1. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add 1/4 pound of the ground turkey and cook, breaking it up with wooden spoon, until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the meat to a large bowl and let it cool slightly. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels.

2. Mash the bread and buttermilk together into a smooth paste, then stir it into the cooked turkey along with the remaining 3/4 pound ground turkey, the maple syrup, garlic, salt, pepper  thyme, cayenne, and nutmeg until uniform.  Working with 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture at a time, use wet hands to shape the mixture into sixteen 4-inch-long links.

3. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the sausages and cook until will browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a paper towel-lines plate to drain briefly before serving.

PER SERVING (2 links): Cal 110; Fat 6g; Sat Fat 1g; Chol 35mg; Carb 5g; Protein 12g; Fiber 0g; Sodium 370mg.

To Make Ahead

The raw sausages can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and aluminium foil and frozen for up to 1 month; thaw before cooking.

Table Talk

PAN-SEARED SHRIMP WITH GARLIC AND LEMON

I love a recipe that's healthy, simple, quick, AND that the family will eat.  This recipe was almost there since all the kids at least tried it and most of them liked it.  I'm giving it four stars.

I feel like it could have used a little more flavor.  Maybe next time I'll throw in some lemon pepper.  I usually serve shrimp with pasta, but I'm interested to see what everyone else did!  Check out Janet's blog, HERE, for this great low-cal shrimp recipe.

TABLE TALK

STIR-FRIED BEEF AND BROCCOLI

Love this cookbook and the tips!  I think I say that every time, but I do!  Having said that, I didn't love this recipe, but I loved the way it was cooked.  My meat didn't get overdone and the veggies were perfect.  I think if the brown sauce would have been different then I would have loved the whole dish.  

What I learned:  There is a section in the cookbook that gives you a 101 on Asian ingredients.  Apparently rice vinegar and Chinese rice wine are not the same--wish I wold have read that before I cooked, maybe my sauce would have tasted less vinegary. 

What I'm glad I did:  I like oyster sauce WAY better than hoisin sauce so I used that instead.

Overall:  3 stars, based on popularity by family.

I very much recommend making this, even if its only for learning the correct way to stir-fry.  Plus, it might taste different with the correct ingredients (rice wine).

Amanda was our host this, check out her fabulous blog for the recipe, HERE.

TABLE TALK: WEEK 1

CHICKEN PARMESAN

This was a great recipe to start the year off with!  Rarely do all my children (I feel like I should do AMC for that) like the same dish, but this one they did.  Even my four-year-old said he like it without any prodding and for that reason I'm giving this five stars.  The chicken stayed moist and I really liked the homemade sauce on top.  I used the rest of the sauce on some penne pasta and served together.  My only complaint on this recipe is that it used a ton of dishes.  Something new that I learned and loved was baking the chicken on a cooling rack (on a baking sheet) so that the bottom didn't get soggy.  I love the tips in these cookbooks!  To get the recipe, head over to Jen's blog, HERE.

BAKE 52: WEEK 52

THICK AND CHEWY TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

I''m pretty sure if I wouldn't have been completely hypoglycemic from eating all my stocking candy in two days that I would have loved these cookies.  They were rich and chewy and everything you would expect in a thick and chewy triple chocolate cookie!  I'm sure I will be craving these in a couple of weeks when I'm back on WW's!  Thanks, Janet, for a great recipe to end with!  You can get the recipe at Janet's blog HERE.

BAKE 52

ALMOND BISCOTTI

I actually made a round version of these last week when I forgot to time my cookies.  The difference between those and the biscotti I made today is biscotti is supposed to be crisp.  Plus, the burnt cookies tasted, well, burnt, and they didn't soften up in milk.
The biscotti, however, had a great mild flavor and a crisp texture expected with biscotti.  I went for the chocolate chip version and it was wonderful dunked in hazel nut hot chocolate.  It softened up just right when soaked in the hot chocolate without getting soggy, doughy, or falling apart.

Thanks, Emiy, for picking a recipe I could use my cute tea cups with!  You can get the recipe at Emily's blog, HERE.

BAKE 52

GLAZED CHOCOLATE CREAM ROLL

This week's pick was a great one for the holidays and since I have a party this weekend I had every intention of freezing this roll and taking it to the party.  The only problem was every kid wanted a taste and decided they loved it (not the problem), but now I need to bake another one, which, as I think about it, really isn't a problem either.  However, I wanted to love this roll too, but I only liked it.  Maybe that's the problem?  Hmm, anyway, here's my break down on the glazed chocolate cream roll:

What I didn't love:  Cake rolls in general are spongy due to all the eggs in the batter that help it not brake when being rolled.  This one was no different and I'm not fond of the spongy texture.  

What I loved:  The marshmallow filling!  Hello, did anyone else eat spoonfuls of it first?!  It was so good! Spoonfuls good! I also love the look of cake rolls--very festive and yet easy.

What I changed:  Every time a recipe has called for bittersweet or unsweetened chocolate, I have always thought it a bit too bitter.  So this time I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of the bittersweet chocolate.  It was a subtle change but just enough for me. 

What I will change next time:  Double that filling!  It was too thinly spread for my liking (even if it would have had those extra spoonfuls that I ate:)), I wanted more cream in my bite.  Also, was greasing the sheet pointless to anyone else?

Thanks, Michelle, for picking a great recipe that I can take to my family party this weekend!  You can get the recipe (and a gluten-free version) at Michelle's blog,  HERE.