Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Turkey Cakes!

Thanksgiving has, undoubtedly, become one of my most favorite times of the year. Why? One word: leftovers.

My short list of happy leftovers includes leftover Thanksgiving turkey. An ongoing personal challenge of mine in recent years has become inventing new and interesting recipes incorporating leftover Thanksgiving turkey (not that the turkey needs any help, it is just so good on its own...or maybe with just a dab of cranberry sauce...okay, stop me from getting off track, people!)

Anyway, these little Turkey Cakes are this year's winner in our house, for leftover Thanksgiving turkey recipe of the year. If you like crab cakes, you are sure to love these babies. Very easy to make, they are crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside (just like my husband when he gets upset), and packed with flavor. Is there a piece of turkey at your house that nobody wants to eat. e.g. wings? Put it in the Turkey Cakes! (They'll never know it's there.) Here is the simple recipe:

Turkey Cakes


You will need:
2 cups cooked turkey, well-shredded
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 serrano pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
extra virgin olive oil for frying
1 lemon wedge
(This quantity of mixture makes about 8 cakes, depending on how big or small you make them.)

Combine all ingredients from turkey through black pepper together. Mix well. Shape into evenly sized patties and shallow-fry in a skillet in hot oil on medium heat, about 3 minutes on each side or until golden-brown. Serve warm. Drizzle with lemon juice just before serving. Enjoy!

If you need a meal-completer, these Turkey Cakes pair marvelously with Butternut Squash Risotto (simmered in turkey broth or chicken broth), but, I will only be blogging about that tomorrow as I am still full from this wonderful dinner and now need to go think about penance by way of my A.M. workout. Good night!

No comments: