Sausage, vegetables give turkey meatloaf recipe an Italian accent

I usually regard ground turkey as a somewhat healthier and less tasty substitution for ground beef, but a recent restaurant meal convinced me that ground turkey could reach higher heights. The chef mixed ground turkey with Italian sausage and sautéed vegetables, elevating what could have been an ordinary meatloaf into a dish that was unusual, flavorful, moist and nicely textured.

I think the restaurant used pork sausage, but I decided to lighten my loaf by using turkey sausage and ground turkey breast along with ground turkey thigh. (I bought the meat at Whole Foods, where I knew freshly ground turkey and freshly made sausage are always available in the butcher case.)

I stirred in a favorite combination of vegetables – onion, bell pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes – but many other veggies could be substituted or added. Try a few leaves of spinach and some chopped fennel or grated carrots, for example. The variations are easy and almost endless.

ITALIAN TURKEY MEATLOAF
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, minced
½ small yellow or red bell pepper, minced
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
10 grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
¼ cup fresh bread crumbs
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
1 pound ground turkey thigh
½ pound ground turkey breast
½ to 2/3 pound uncooked sweet Italian turkey sausage (2 large links)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a broiler pan with foil (for easy cleanup). Spray the top portion of the pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet, then add onion, bell pepper and mushrooms. Sauté, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften. Remove from heat; stir in grape tomatoes. Set aside to cool.

Beat egg and egg yolk lightly in a large bowl. Stir in bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Add ground turkey and sausage meat, removing the sausage from the casings. Mix gently but well. Add vegetables; mix gently until well combined.

Shape the meat into a loaf on the broiler pan. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the middle reaches 180 degrees, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; let sit for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

Lemon scones recipe is a tea-time treat

Tea can be enjoyed throughout the day, and so can these lovely scones. If you're serving them in the morning, don't hesitate to mix the dough the night before. A food processor will make quick work of cutting the butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in the liquid, then cover the dough tightly and refrigerate. The next morning, knead the dough and shape the scones while the oven  preheats.

Like all traditional scones, these are lightly sweetened. They have a double dose of lemon flavor, provided by lemon juice and grated zest. You can amp up the lemon flavor even more by drizzling the cooled scones with the glaze described in the second variation.

You can split these scones and fill them with butter or clotted cream and jam. Clotted cream, also called Devonshire or Devon cream, is a classic accompaniment to scones (and the "cream" in an English cream tea). You can buy clotted cream at some high-end groceries or make your own using a recipe such as this one.

However you serve these lemon scones, everyone is sure to enjoy them -- with tea, with a glass of cold milk, or even with a mug of coffee.

LEMON SCONES
Yield: 10 to 12 scones

1 medium lemon
½ cup cold whole milk or more if needed
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling 
¼ cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) cold butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet.
2. Grate the zest from the lemon; set zest aside. Squeeze the lemon juice. Measure 1 tablespoon juice; add to ½ cup milk.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. Cut the butter into ½-inch cubes. Scatter over the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or two table knives or the tines of a sturdy fork, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture forms fine crumbs. 
4. Pour milk-lemon juice mixture over top. Stir just until combined. If dough doesn’t hold together, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time.
5. Sprinkle a clean surface (such as a sheet of parchment paper) lightly with flour. Turn dough onto the floured surface. Knead gently six times, then form into a ball.
6. Place the ball of dough on the baking sheet. Pat into a circle about ½ inch thick and 8 to 9 inches in diameter. With a bench knife or a sharp kitchen knife, score into 10 to 12 wedges, being careful not to cut all the way through.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, until wedges are lightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with butter or clotted cream and jam.

Variation 1: To make mini scones, pat dough into two ½-inch-thick rectangles side by side on a baking sheet. Score into small triangles.

Variation 2: Let scones cool completely, then drizzle with a glaze made from 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, about 2 tablespoons lemon juice and the zest of 1 lemon.

Food processor method: Combine dry ingredients and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Scatter cubed butter over dry ingredients; pulse about 20 times, until fine crumbs form. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and proceed with the directions in Steps 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Adapted from a recipe posted at TasteOfHome.com.

Want to be a freelance food writer? Here's help

Food editors can be flooded with freelance pitches, yet good freelancers can be in short supply. Here’s how to make yourself stand out.

One pitch doesn’t fit all. Before you submit a pitch, take a good look at the publication. Suggest a story that complements but doesn’t duplicate existing coverage.

Start with the subject line. The editor probably gets hundreds of emails daily. Chances are, most of those are deleted without being read. Your subject line should convey the essence of your pitch – and that it is a pitch from a writer, not yet another press release.

Keep it short (see previous).  Introduce yourself in a sentence or two, and summarize your story in a paragraph.

Show your work. Link to your blog. If you’ve been published elsewhere, include links to those stories too.  Avoid attachments if possible.

When you get an assignment, pin down the details. When is it due? How many words does the editor want? Don’t assume that you have wiggle room. Turn your story in on time, and don’t write long.

Be style savvy. Every publication has a list of preferred style guides. If your editor doesn’t tell you which ones to use, ask. Before you write, read an issue or two of the publication with an eye toward style. You don’t want the editor to need to insert (or delete) the word “granulated” before every mention of sugar.

Check, then check again. Verify every fact. Double-check names, especially spellings. Be vigilant about ingredient amounts, cooking times and other recipe details.

Read your story aloud before you turn it in. That’s the best way to catch overwriting, typos and missing words.

Don’t fret about a lack of feedback. Today’s editors are so busy that you might not even get an acknowledgement of your submission. Try not to take it personally.

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved. 

How to write a recipe

Whether you want to write a cookbook or share a favorite recipe with a good friend, these hints will help. I compiled them for a panel discussion at this year's St. Louis Food Media Forum. 

A good recipe paints a picture. It tells the cook what ingredients to use, how to prepare them and when to add them, and it gives visual clues as to when the dish is done.

Here are some guidelines to use when you write a recipe:

• List ingredients in the order that they are used. Make sure that all ingredients used are listed, and, conversely, that all listed ingredients are used.

• Don't abbreviate. You’d be surprised how many people aren’t sure if tsp. is a teaspoon or a tablespoon.

• Use exact amounts (1 ½ tablespoons, not a heaping teaspoon).

• Be precise, and pay attention to wording. “1 cup heavy cream, whipped,” means you measure the cream, then whip it. “1 cup whipped cream” is just that – cream that has been whipped before being measured. The difference is significant.

• Call for the measurements that home cooks commonly use (1/4 cup water, not 2 ounces; 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, not 1/8 cup).

• Be as specific as possible. (Canned pineapple packed in juice -- or light syrup, or heavy syrup -- not just canned pineapple.) If an ingredient needs to be at room temperature or drained, say so.

• Be specific about package sizes, and be sure that the sizes and products called for are still available. (Package sizes change frequently).

• In the directions, be concise but use full sentences. Be specific about pan sizes, cooking temperature and any other essential details.

• Don’t assume that readers understand cooking terms such as “cream” or “dredge.” Instead, define them: “beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy” or “coat fish lightly with flour.”

• When appropriate, give a range of cooking times and provide a way to determine when the food is done. (Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until golden brown.)

• Provide the number of servings that the recipe yields.

• If you adapted the recipe from another source, give credit.

When listing ingredients, three reference guides are especially helpful: 

“The AP Stylebook” has a section for food writers. AP is the default style for most publications.

“The New Food Lover’s Companion,” by Sharon Tyler Herbst (Barron’s, $14.95), is a comprehensive A-to-Z look at culinary terms. The appendix includes everything from a listing of trade groups to pan capacities to a pasta glossary.

The Association of Food Journalists has compiled a guide called “FoodSpell.” In addition to defining a host of terms, the 40-page guide notes AP style on words that can be spelled more than one way (use ketchup, not catsup) and lists common brand names, such as A.1. (with two periods).

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved.

Pesto is perfect, no matter how you make it

If you're a pinch-of-this-and-a-handful-of-that cook, my pesto recipe is just for you. And if you're a follow-the-recipe-to-the-letter cook, this pesto is for you, too.

When I first planted basil years ago, I scoured Italian cookbooks for pesto recipes. This was before the Internet -- I know, I'm dating myself -- and pesto seemed exotic. The more recipes I read, the more confused I became. The ingredients were pretty much the same, but the proportions were different.

Then I started making pesto and discovered that the proportions didn't much matter. Use more or less Parmesan, however many nuts you like (or have on hand), a little garlic or a lot -- somehow, it's all good.

Although I usually take a free-form approach to pesto, I measured every ingredient that went into my most recent batch. Follow the resulting recipe to the letter or let your instincts be your guide.

While I whirled the pesto in the food processor, I brought a pot of water to a boil and cooked red potatoes, pasta and fresh green beans. As soon as they were done, I tossed them with pesto. The result could serve as a summery side dish or as an entree.

I had about 1/4 cup of pesto left over, so I mounded it by the tablespoonful on parchment paper and froze it until solid, then popped the nuggets of pesto into a freezer-weight zip-top bag. I'll add them, still frozen, to enhance sauce, soups and other dishes down the road.

PERFECT PESTO
Yield: About 3/4 cup

2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
6 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, washed and patted dry
1/4 cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
About 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt or to taste

Place the metal blade in a food processor. Turn on the processor and drop the garlic down the feed tube. Process until minced.

Add basil to the food processor. Top basil with nuts and sprinkle with cheese. Pulse until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, slowly drizzle oil through the feed tube. Process until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. If pesto is too thick, drizzle in more oil. Add salt; pulse to combine.

Use immediately or scrape into a bowl, add a thin film of olive oil over the top, cover tightly and refrigerate for a day or two. To freeze, drop dollops onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, then transfer to freezer-weight plastic bags.

PESTO, POTATOES, PASTA AND GREEN BEANS
Yield: 4 servings

3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed
6 ounces bow-tie pasta or another shape
2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed
About 1/2 cup pesto

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook for 9 minutes. Stir in pasta; return water to a boil, then cook for 7 minutes. Add green beans; cook for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Test potatoes and pasta for doneness; if any of the ingredients are not quite ready, remove those that are done with a slotted spoon or large strainer.

When ingredients are cooked to your liking, use a ladle to remove about 3/4 cup of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the ingredients. Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Place potatoes, pasta and green beans in a large bowl.

Stir together pasta and about 1/2 cup cooking water, making a loose sauce. Add to the potatoes, pasta and green beans; mix gently but well. Taste; add more pesto or cooking water if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved.

Cinco de Mayo treat: Mexican chocolate angel food cupcakes

If you've ever had a cup of Mexican hot chocolate, you know that chocolate, almonds and cinnamon are delicious together. This angel food cupcake borrows that flavor combination for a dessert that's just right for Cinco de Mayo. Sure, it's not authentic -- but neither are huge Cinco de Mayo celebrations, which are a tradition north, not south, of the U.S.-Mexico border.

You can enjoy these cupcakes plain or top them with buttercream, as in the photo above, or dip them in a chocolate or almond glaze.

Making angel food cake from scratch isn't hard, but the process is exacting. To achieve the maximum airiness, make sure you follow the recipe exactly. Here are some tips to help you suceed:

• Separate the eggs as soon as you remove them from the refrigerator.  The most foolproof way is to break each egg into a slotted spoon and let the white drip through. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can use one hand to break an egg into your other hand; let the white drip through your fingers as you cradle the yolk. Always break one egg at a time into a small bowl, then transfer the white to a larger bowl. That way, if a bit of yolk gets into the white, you can discard just that egg (or save it for another use). If any yolk gets into the whites, they won't whip well.

• Let the egg whites come to room temperature while you assemble the rest of the ingredients. If they're still cold, you can put a few inches of hot water in a clean sink, then add the bowl of whites and let them warm up a bit.

• When a recipe calls for sifting dry ingredients, I usually give them a good whisking instead. Not angel food cake -- triple sifting is essential for success.

• Finally, when you fold the dry ingredients into the eggs, be as gentle as possible. A silicone spatula is the best tool; move it in figure eights to incorporate the ingredients completely. I like to use a clear glass bowl for this step so I can make sure that no floury streaks remain.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE ANGEL FOOD CUPCAKES
Yield: About 30 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
Chocolate Almond Buttercream (see recipe) or frosting of choice, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 30 cupcake cups with paper liners.

Sift together 1/4 cup granulated sugar, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, cake flour, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon into a small bowl. Repeat twice, sifting the mixture a total of 3 times. Set aside.

Place egg whites in the large bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle evenly with cream of tartar. Add vanilla and almond extract. Beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed just until the whisk leaves tracks in the foam and the whites no longer slosh around in the bowl. Reduce the speed to medium. With the mixer running, slowly add the remaining 1 cup sugar. Beat until the whites are shiny and hold stiff peaks.

Using a silicone spatula, carefully transfer the beaten egg whites to a large mixing bowl (preferably glass). Sprinkle one-third of the dry ingredients over the whites. Moving the spatula in a figure-eight pattern, gently fold the dry ingredients into the whites. Repeat twice, mixing gently until well combined.

Gently fill each cupcake liner with 1/2 cup of batter. (An ice-cream scoop is the perfect tool for this task.) Bake until cupcakes have browned slightly and are spongy to the touch, about 20 minutes. Remove from the pan immediately and let cool completely on wire racks.

If desired, frost the cupcakes.

Note: To make a cake instead of cupcakes, bake the batter in an ungreased 10-inch angel food pan for about 35 to 40 minutes. (Don't use a nonstick pan, or the cake won't rise properly.) Cool the cake in the pan upside down on a rack. When the cake is cold, run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and carefully remove the cake.

Adapted from a recipe provided by Chris Leuther of Party Pastry Shop in Ballwin, Mo., and published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Pastry chef instructor Barry Marcus adapted the original recipe for home kitchens. (Marcus is the source of the helpful advice to beat the eggs initially until they no longer slosh in the bowl and the whisk leaves a track in the foam).

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTERCREAM
Yield: About 5 cups, enough for 30 cupcakes

1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk or more as needed
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Drizzle with 1/4 cup milk and almond extract. Cut butter into 1-tablespoon chunks; add to the bowl.

Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, beat on low speed until combined. Gradually increase speed to high. Beat until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping the mixer each minute to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. If the frosting is too dry, beat in milk as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved.

Toss asparagus, shrimp on the grill

Asparagus tastes like spring to me. I know that it's become a year-round vegetable, but the local shoots now appearing in markets really do taste best. I like to roast it, broil it, stir-fry it, add it to soups, scramble it with eggs ... just call me an asparagus addict.

Shrimp is a natural partner for asparagus. The flavors complement each other, and the contrasting colors make for a beautiful dish. For this dish, I cooked them separately on the grill in a perforated grill-wok, but you could stir-fry them instead. To serve, toss with pasta or spoon over rice.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS AND SHRIMP
Yield: 3 servings

1 pound shelled shrimp, thawed if frozen and patted dry
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, forced through a press or minced
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 bunch thick asparagus (about 12)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Sea salt
Cooked angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti

Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill. In a bowl, toss shrimp with 1/2 tablespoon oil, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside to marinate.

Snap the tough ends off the asparagus, then cut the stalks into 1-inch pieces.

Oil a grill wok. Place on grill; add asparagus. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add shrimp to grill wok. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp is cooked through. Transfer to the bowl of asparagus. Add 1 tablespoon oil, about 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, lemon zest, chives and salt to taste. Toss to combine. Taste; add more oil, lemon juice or salt if desired.

To serve, toss with hot cooked pasta.

Note: To time your meal properly, start the pasta water just before marinating the shrimp. Add the pasta to the boiling water when the shrimp is done. If desired, for a more liquid sauce, reserve some of the pasta cooking water and add as needed.

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved.