Blogger Inspired Turkey en Croute

Yesterday, I was reading through some of my favorite blogs when I fell upon Megan's blog post for Chicken en Croute Fiona Style.  I had some turkey cutlets thawing in the fridge and my original plan was to just roast them with some vegetables.  But Megan's blog post seemed a lot more interesting and I knew I wanted to give it a try.

My version is adapted from Megan's adapted recipe from The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook.  With so many blogger modifications, I'm calling my version a Blogger Inspired Turkey en Croute.  "En croute" typically refers to something being wrapped and baked in a pastry shell so this is a loose interpretation of "en croute" but this version is a much healthier option.

First, I gathered my ingredients:

• Zest of 2 lemons
• Zest of 2 limes
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 5 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 eggs
• 4 turkey cutlets, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

Following Megan's recipe, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and lined a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  I pounded my turkey cutlets thin.

In a shallow bowl, I combined all of the ingredients except the eggs and the turkey cutlets.  This was definitely a combined effort between Bret and I - I chopped up all of the herbs and he grated all of the fruit.  The breading smelled unbelievable from the freshly chopped herbs and the citrus zest. 

In another bowl, I whisked together the two eggs and added a splash of water for a looser consistency.  I dipped each turkey cutlet into the egg mixture and then dredged it into the herb mixture and made sure to coat each side thoroughly.

I then placed the turkey cutlets in the oven and baked it for twenty minutes.  While the chicken was baking, the kitchen was filled with the smell of the Parmesan cheese and citrus.  It was a strange combination of scents yet very inviting.

The turkey en croute was incredibly flavorful.  The saltiness of the Parmesan cheese contrasted nicely with refreshing notes of citrus.  The turkey itself was incredibly moist and juicy.  I seriously was amazed at how flavorful this turkey was and impressed that the breading contained no actual bread crumbs at all!

I served my Blogger Inspired Turkey en Croute with herb and garlic mashed cauliflower (blog post to come) and this made the perfect dinner for Friday night....with plenty of leftovers for today.  Thank you Megan for providing the inspiration behind such a wonderful meal!

Tell me, do you like to stick to a recipe or modify it at your whim?