Thanksgiving Edition: Elegant Turkey Wellington

Good evening bloggers! Welcome to a brand new Thanksgiving edition of Everyday Meals. I'm your happy hostess, Mandie. From now until Thanksgiving, we will be prepairing meals fit for the upcoming holiday. Today, we will be preparing an elegant twist on Wellington. When people think of Wellington, it's an automatic response to think of beef Wellington. We will not be using beef tonight, but turkey instead. Before we begin, we will have a little history lesson. The origin of the name, beef Wellington, is unclear. Most theories point to Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington. The earliest accounts of beef Wellington were in 1966 in a cookbook. The term "Wellington" is sometimes referred to informally to describe other dishes in which meat is baked in a puff pastry, such as our own today. Now that we've taken a moment and learned something new, let's get in the kitchen and make something fantastic!

Elegant Turkey Wellington

You will need:

• 1 package frozen puff pastry
• 1 cup dried wild mushrooms, diced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 4 turkey breast cutlets
• 1 tub herb-flavored cream cheese
• 1 egg, beaten

For the Sauce:

• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup canned cranberry sauce

Ready?

1. Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions. 
2. Place the diced mushrooms in 1 cup of broth to re-hydrate. 
3. Place the onions, 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon salt in a pan. 
4. Cook the onions for 10 minutes at medium temperature, adding water if needed. 
5. Add the mushrooms and the tarragon in with the soaking broth. 
6. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until all the liquid is evaporated and the onions are caramelized.
7. Season the turkey cutlets with salt and pepper. 
8. Cut the cutlets in half. 
9. Place the turkey in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of butter and brown on each side, then remove from the pan. 
10. Cut the puff pastry into 4 pieces, saving some pastry for decoration. 
11. Place 1/4 of caramelized onions and mushroom mixture on top of each piece of puff pastry. 
12. Place one piece of turkey on top, followed by 2 tablespoons of cheese. Top with a second piece of turkey. 
13. Fold the sides of pastry towards the middle and moisten, then press to seal. 
14. Turn the pastry over, place in shallow baking pan and brush with beaten egg. 
15. To decorate, cut leaves from the leftover pastry by using a small cookie cutter. 
16. Attach to the center top of pastry and brush with egg. 
17. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. 
18. To create the sauce, add wine, balsamic vinegar and 1 cup chicken broth to a sauce pan. 
19. Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. 
20. Swirl in the cranberry sauce to finish. 
21. To assemble, spoon 1/4 of the cranberry sauce in the center of plate, followed by the pastry-wrapped turkey.
22. Enjoy!

I hope you all had a blast preparing this dish. I know it was a little tougher than our other dishes, but rest assured, your significant other (or friends) will enjoy this dish. I will be back soon with more Thanksgiving inspired dishes. Have a fantastic evening and happy blogging to all! <3