Turkey Gone Italian

Well, tonight I am making Turkey Cutlets with Rosemary and Cornmeal-Dusted Ravioli. I read over the recipe and I was curious if I could do this in 30 minutes of less. But before I launch into the ingredients, I want to say that tonight's dish called for pasta and i wanted to say that if you can, always try to get a 100% Whole Wheat pasta. Just read the label on the back and compare it to the white pasta and you will see why. Les calories, carbs, more vitamins, fiber, protein, etc.....basically the 100% Whole wheat, still has all the good stuff that the process white pasta, gets removed. Also make sure it says 100% Whole wheat and not just "Whole Wheat" cause sometimes, that is a bit deceiving.......so read the label!!!!


Ingredients

12 to 14-ounce package fresh ravioli filled with cheese, spinach or mushroom and cheese

Salt

1 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated or ground

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/3 pounds turkey cutlets

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, the yield of a few sprigs, stripped

Coarse black pepper

Fresh bay leaves, 1 for each cutlet or small dried bay leaves

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth(if you have both available, use the vermouth...better flavor..........trust me on this one)

Place a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add a healthy dose of salt to boiling water to season it. Add ravioli and cook to package directions for al dente. Pour cornmeal onto a plate and combine with grated cheese, then season with nutmeg and black pepper. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over moderate heat and add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Drain ravioli. Dust hot, cooked ravioli with cornmeal. Add coated ravioli to the skillet and brown on both sides, 3 or 4 minutes total.

While pasta is working, preheat a large skillet for cutlets over medium to medium high heat. Season turkey cutlets with chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Choose small fresh or dried bay leaves or halve large leaves with kitchen scissors. Press a small bay leaf or 1/2 leaf into each turkey cutlet. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to the pan; 2 turns around the pan in a slow stream. Turn cutlets over as you set them into the pan so that the bay leaf faces down. Cook the cutlets in a single layer, working in 2 batches if necessary. Saute the cutlets 4 or 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a warm plate. Add the lemon zest and juice to the pan and deglaze the pan with wine or vermouth, pulling up any pan drippings with a whisk. Add remaining tablespoon butter to the pan, whisk it in and pour the pan sauce down over the cutlets. Serve the cutlets along side the fried ravioli and a small green side salad.

The verdict............why awesome of course........this is an extremely tasty dish, although it took me forty minutes to prepare......but that was mostly due to my getting distracted by my friend. Speaking of which, she really liked this dish too;-)

The view from the feline community........well they just ate this up, turkey cutlets, pasta and all...........they are already lying in the sun trying to digest......

If you get a chance, this is a must try :-)

Until tomorrow