Simon & Garfunkel Rub Turkey

By Paul Briand

This is a simple way to add color and taste your Christmas turkey.

I call it the Simon & Garfunkel rub because the ingredients used here are parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Yes, from the S & G 1966 album "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" and from the song, "Scarborough Fair/Canticle":

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,

Remember me to one who lives there,

She once was a true love of mine.

At any rate, just take a couple of teaspoons of each (with a sprinkle of garlic powder and some salt and pepper) mix it all together in a bowl then rub the entire chicken -- inside and out -- with the mixture. Get some of the rub under the skin too.

As a spokeswoman for the McCormick spice company said to the Associated Press, in a story about seasoning turkey, "Your big three are sage, thyme and rosemary. They work well together so you get a nice balanced flavor."

With the rub inside the turkey, the herbs will drip into your stuffing, if you are an in-the-bird-stuffing kind of person, which I am.

The bird will have nice coloring and great taste.

Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

By Paul Briand

I picked up this recipe from the Associated Press feed on my Blackberry. The idea here is to create a cheese-stuffed chicken dish that may sound like a diet buster, according to the AP article, but isn't.

In fact the nutrition information for this recipe puts a serving at only 296 calories -- hard to believe since it contains three different kinds of cheeses, primarily cheddar and Gorgonzola. The calorie offset comes from the fact that the high impact Gorgonzola is countered with a reduced-fat cheddar with a little Parmesan cheese thrown in for good measure.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess water

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 ounce shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

1 ounce crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

1/3 cup seasoned Italian-style breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 large white egg whites

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees;

2. In medium skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil followed by the onion and garlic. Saute until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes;

3. Add the spinach and Italian seasoning, then cook until all the liquid has evaporated;

4. Mix in both cheeses, set aside;

5. One at a time, lay each chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Use a paring knife to make a horizontal slit along one side to create a pocket (do not cut all the way through);

6. Place a quarter of the cheese mixture into the pocket, then press the meat over it. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken;

7. In shallow dish or pie plate, mix the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper. In other bowl, light beat the egg whites with a fork;

8. Holding the stuffed breast together, dip in egg whites then roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with remaining breasts and set aside;

9. In large ovenproof skillet over high heat, add remaining oil and add the chicken. Cook until browned on one side, about 2 minutes;

10. Turn breasts over and place the skillet in the oven. Bake until chicken is no longer pink at the center, about 20 minutes.

Click here for recipe card.

Stromboli

By Paul Briand

I happened to catch a recent airing of "The Phantom Gourmet" -- a regional television program that reviews restaurants and talks about good food in New England.

The program did a piece on pizza joints with a sidebar about Stromboli. I got inspired then and there to make a Stromboli for my dinner table.

A Stromboli is a type of Italian turnover filled with various cheeses, Italian meats such as salami, capicola, and pepperoni, with some vegetables and marinara sauce. The dough is usually Italian bread dough.

I made mine with the ready-made pizza dough you can find at the grocery store, and I filled mine with capicola, pepperoni, cheeses and sauce.

My caveat: I needed more practice spreading the pizza dough. I needed to make it much thinner than it was because once it was all baked it was a little too thick around all that gooey goodness inside.

Ingredients

Store-bought pizza dough

12 slices of capicola (an Italian pork cold cut)

Slices of pepperoni

16 ounces store-bought marinara sauce

Bag of shredded Italian cheese blend

Bag of shredded Mozzarella cheese

1 egg beaten

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees;

2. On a dry, floured work surface, spread the pizza dough using a rolling pin and your hands to as thin as you can without tearing it;

3. Layer the following down the center of the dough: Some marina, several slices of capicola, several slices of pepperoni, a handful of the Italian cheese blend, handful of Mozzarella;

4. Add another layer, then another;

5. Fold the dough over the layers lengthwise, then fold in the ends to create what looks like a long loaf;

6. Use care in turning the loaf over;

7. Use a pastry brush to spread the egg wash over the loaf;

8. Sprinkle with more Mozzarella;

9. Bake until brown and the insides are gooey, about 20 to 25 minutes;

10. Cut in 2-inch slices and serve, using more marinara as a topping.

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