Tequila Lime Cilantro Turkey Meatballs with Herb Sauce

I wasn’t going to publish this recipe because after I made the meatballs I thought they were ok but needed something. Then the next day we had them for dinner. I DON’T KNOW if the flavors needed to settle or they are just FORKING GREAT with the herb sauce…..Anyway the meatballs ARE Forking Delicious with the herb sauce. So make them, let them sit a day and serve them with herb sauce so you can be amazed too!

Ingredients for about 6 servings

1 lb ground turkey 85% lean

2 large eggs – slightly beaten

1 cup + 3 Tablespoons panko bread crumbs

2 teaspoons turkey base (instead of salt) (I used better than bouillon brand)

1/4 cup scallions – chopped

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste

fried jalapeno – to taste – They differ greatly , this time I used one

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2 teaspoon fresh epazote (it’s very funky….all Mexican grocery stores sell it) Fresh oregano is about the closest to it but not)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

2 Tablespoons tequila (I used silver Patron)

Non stick spray – preferably canola or vegetable

1 bunch fresh parsley – rough chopped

1/2 bunch cilantro – slightly less – rough chopped

1 good sized shallot – rough chopped

1 large lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

a roasted or fried hot chili to taste – I used part of a very spicy hatch – rough chopped

1 teaspoon course sea salt

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F and spray baking sheet(s) with non stick spray.

In large bowl hand mix together the turkey, eggs, panko, soup base, scallions, garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, sugar, cinnamon, lime juice, epazote and a 1/4 cup fresh cilantro.

Scoop out meatballs with a small scooper leaving a little space. You should have about 29 meatballs. Spray the tops of the meatballs lightly with oil or canola spray. They go in the oven till done. (about 15 minutes)

Make the Herb sauce

In a blender or a container with a blending wand add the parley, cilantro, shallot, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, hot chili pepper and sea salt and blend till smooth. This sauce is really great! You will want to use it on other things besides the meatballs however this sauce and the meatballs are amazing together.

Tequila Lime Cilantro Turkey Meatballs with Herb Sauce

The Forking Truth

Forking Delicious Turkey Breast

I usually stock up on Turkey around Thanksgiving time and purchase a few whole already brined turkeys from Trader Joes and break them down and keep what I’m not using in my freezer and cook them up over the next few months.   I have a lot of room most times of the year but at Thanksgiving time I don’t have the room to brine Turkeys. I think the Trader Joe Turkeys are far greater and much tastier and also come out far better than pretty much all the turkeys from our local big chain supermarkets. (of course a local free range Turkey would be best…….but it will cost you much much more.  I am a big fan of breaking down the turkeys and preparing each part different. I usually sous vide the turkey breast for perfection…….well anyway for Thanksgiving…..but often I just pan sear each half pounded breast in a fry pan. I recently made this half turkey breast in a fry pan with just salt, pepper, a little granulated garlic and just one teaspoon of flour on each side with nonstick spray in a fry pan on medium high heat. My husband was amazed (again…I guess he forgot) on how well turkey can come out in a fry pan and he thought I sous vide it……..I wasn’t planning about writing about how I prepared this Turkey breast but many people and maybe some restaurants out there can benefit on how this was prepared because it came out FORKING DELICIOUS! I don’t know why turkey isn’t featured more on menus…..this was really something special…

I just pound out the half already brined turkey breast (with a Worcestershire bottle on both sides) I hit the meat with fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground tellicherry black pepper…… a small amount of granulated garlic………Then one teaspoon of flour on each side. The 1/2 breast then goes on a already heated, canola sprayed lightly covered fry pan for about ten minutes on one side and about 10 minutes uncovered on the other side.

Here you are…..Crusty, Moist and FORKING DELICIOUS! I do chicken breast the same way but timing varies depending on size. (usually half the time or less) See it was very easy. I don’t know when I go out to eat I don’t get something this tasty.

Forking Delicious Turkey Breast

Honestly you might  lose a few friends over this…..some people get very angry when you make something this tasty and good…

The Forking Truth

Twisted Date Bread

A few months back one of the food magazines had a recipe for a twisted dessert bread that looked something like this.I think it was for a Babka? I remembered how they twisted it (because it was very easy) and I thought I could do something similar with the dough I make all the time. I make a basic dough that I also use for focaccia, onion rolls, challah, pizza and cinnamon buns. Then I just rolled out the dough, made the date filling and rolled it up from the LONG ENDS. Then I just sliced the long rolled dough in half and just twisted the two pieces together. It was pretty FORKING EASY! I threw the dough in the oven and I almost burnt it but I didn’t. It got really dark and got me nervous but isn’t burnt! I put it in at 450 degrees F and pulled it out at about 18 minutes. I didn’t cover the bread but maybe I’d recommend to lightly cover halfway because it was that close. The bread is delicious and moist. Only a minimal amount of sugar was used because the dates are so sweet. You will have some extra date filling but it’s so delicious you won’t mind. You can use it for breakfast on toast or in your oatmeal. The two clementines and their zest I added just accent the date filling so well. I think next time I’d spread the date mixture a little thinner than I did. I thought some would bake into the dough but it didn’t. This technique is great for all kinds of different breads.

Twisted Date Bread

Ingredients for about 16 servings

1 packet active dry yeast – (2 1/4 teaspoons or 1/4 ounce)

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water 100-110 degrees F

3 cups bread flour

1/4 cup scant extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon course sea salt

1 cup bread flour – this is the extra flour that you knead into dough, let dough ball rest in and also use to flour surface and rolling pin.

1 lb 6 oz dates pitted and chopped (I note I had about a cup of extra filling I didn’t use for recipe)

2 1/2 cups water – Your amount of water may differ…..depends on how dry or moist your dates are…

2 clementines – just the zest and fresh squeezed juice

1 Tablespoon cinnamon (I used Vietnamese)

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

pinch course sea salt

1 large egg –  beaten with a teaspoon of water

Directions

Start out with a large bowl and put the sugar and yeast in a bowl and add the 1 1/2 cups of 100-110 degree water. Mix it up and wait for a foam to develop on the top to make sure your yeast is alive and working. It should take between 10-30 minutes.

After you got foam add the (3 cups) flour, oil, salt and mix well. Keep mixing till the dough comes off bowl and your hands. Make a dough ball and get the remaining cup of flour. Let the dough ball rest on most of the flour and sprinkle the top of the dough ball with flour.

Cover with plastic wrap. Now work on the dates.

In a sauce pot on medium heat add the dates, One of the cups of water (start with less than the 2 1/2 cups I don’t know how much you will need keep adding water as you need it. That’s what I did) clementine juice and zest, cinnamon, dark brown sugar and pinch of course sea salt. If your dates are like what I used they kept absorbing the water quickly. I slowly added water until the dates stayed at a jammy consistency. Then I took them off the heat and used a stick blender and blended them up. I’d say they were close to apple butter like. Then I set them to the side.

Around this point you can turn your oven to 450 degrees F

Your dough should have doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and keep kneading it till it feels smooth and doesn’t stick to anything. Use the extra flour in the bowl to dust surfaces. Make it into a rectangle.

Pat the dough out as much as you can to a big rectangle shape and finish with a dusted rolling pin,

Sheet under the dough is 16×24 inches

From LONGWAYS you roll the dough like a jelly roll.

Then you cut in half LONGWAYS.

Then you put the two pieces of dough next to each other with the date side up and start on an end.

You just keep laying one piece over the other BACK and Forth! Like the right piece goes over the left piece till you get this. I made this on a Quilon Baking Sheet and I lifted the whole thing up on to a baking sheet and made it fit by squishing it together but you can cut the bread in half or make a circle…..

Then I cut off the ends of paper than hang off the sheet so they don’t burn. Next I brush the beaten egg mixture on the bread twice and avoid where it meets the paper so it doesn’t stick.

I put it in the 450 degree F oven for 18 minutes but next time I’d put a loose cover on it half way threw because another minute and it might have burnt…I got it out just in time and it was done. I don’t like cutting it that close…got lucky.

Twisted Date Bread

Came out Forking Delicious and I think it’s kind of pretty too!

The Forking Truth