Turkey & sides, fresh off the panini press

By J.M. Hirsch / Associated Press

Admittedly, I am totally late to the panini press party. But I’ve totally fallen for mine.

After purchasing one on a bit of a whim, then barely using it, I’ve suddenly discovered the many and often unexpected ways to use it to make my weeknight cooking faster, easy and less messy.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, for example, cooked so quickly and so well, there was no time for them to dry out. Bacon crisped up perfectly in no time. French toast on the panini press totally rocked. And don’t even get me started about the hash browns.

So for this recipe, I decided to do the entire meal on the press — meat and a veggie side.

For the meat, I opted for turkey tenderloins sliced into thin medallions. If you’d rather do chicken, just get thinly sliced chicken breasts or slice regular breasts into cutlets. A quick Asian-style marinade effortlessly added tons of flavor and the medallions cooked in no time on the press.

For the side, I went with sliced portobello mushrooms and asparagus, both of which have the heft to stand up to the high heat of the press.

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Start to finish: 45 minutes (15 minutes active)

Servings: 4

 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Ground black pepper

1 1/4 pounds turkey tenderloin, cut into  1/2-inch-thick rounds

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 bunch asparagus, bottoms trimmed, halved crosswise

2 large portobello mushrooms, cut into thick slices

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger and  1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Add the turkey rounds, turning to coat each. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a second medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, hoisin and  1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add the asparagus and mushrooms, then toss to coat evenly. Set aside until the meat is ready.

Heat the oven to 200 F.

Once the meat has marinated, heat a panini press or other countertop grill (if your press has temperature settings, use high).

Arrange the turkey rounds on the panini press, close it and cook for 3 1/2 minutes, or until browned on both sides. Transfer the rounds to an oven-safe platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds, then place in the oven to keep warm.

Arrange the asparagus and mushrooms on the panini press, close it and cook for 3 minutes, or until the vegetables are nicely seared and just tender. Sprinkle them with the salt, then cook for another minute. Serve the vegetables with the turkey medallions.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 346 calories; 141 calories from fat (41 percent of total calories); 16 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 56 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrate; 39 g protein; 3 g fiber; 1,137 mg sodium.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Associated Press Food Editor J.M. Hirsch is author of the cookbook High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking. He can be e-mailed at jhirsch@ap.org.

Grilled fool: Seared fruit punches up a classic dessert

By Alison Ladman / Associated Press

Don’t let the name confuse you. This is an easy, delicious and summery dessert, not a reference to the person standing at the grill.

A fool is a classic British dessert made from a fruit compote and whipped cream. Traditionally, the two components are folded together, but they also can be layered in a parfait glass. In our revision, we’ve opted to grill the fruit rather than cook it on the stovetop.

Grilling the fruit keeps your kitchen cool and adds a wonderful smoky-caramel flavor to the fruit.

We’ve opted for a mixture of strawberries and peaches, but pineapple and banana with a little toasted coconut on top would be a great tropical fool. Or use apples and pears with a little cinnamon added to the whipped cream.

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Start to finish: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Vegetable oil, for oiling the grill

2 peaches, halved, pits removed

1 pound large strawberries, stemmed and halved

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the grill to medium-high. Be sure that the grates are very clean. Using a pair of tongs, rub a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil over the grates.

Grill the peaches and strawberries until tender and starting to brown. Remove the strawberries after 5 minutes. Flip the peaches and grill for another 5 minutes. Allow the fruit to cool until it is easily handled. Pull the skins off the peaches. Cut the fruit up into  1/2-inch cubes, then combine in a large bowl. Stir in the honey and lemon juice. Allow to cool completely.

With an electric mixer, in a large bowl beat the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form.

To assemble the fools, arrange the fruit and whipped cream in layers in tall glasses. Start with the mixed fruit, then spoon whipped cream over it and repeat until the glass is filled. Or, fold the cooled fruit into the whipped cream and spoon the mixture into glasses.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 440 calories; 310 calories from fat (67 percent of total calories); 34 g fat (21 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 125 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 3 g fiber; 35 mg sodium.

Alison Ladman writes about food for the Assocated Press.