Even though it is only just October, before you know it we will all be thinking about Thanksgiving dinner and the different dishes we are going to prepare. The great thing about this time of year is that turkey becomes not only more available, but more affordable. For the rest of the year, the price can seem quite high for a turkey. Right about now you will start to see the price creep down little by little and you may also see the availability of different turkey parts for sale as well. I came across this half a turkey breast in the store on Monday and couldn’t pass it up. It was 2 1/2 pounds, but it only cost $4.00 and we will get a dinner and lunches out of it, so it’s a great deal. I then went looking for a recipe and found this one from Rachel Ray. I did modify it somewhat, as in the recipe she makes a cranberry pomegranate sauce and had neither cranberries nor pomegranates, so I eliminated that end of it. She also makes the recipe with two split turkey breasts and since I only had one, I had to scale things down a bit. I am posting the entire recipe she uses here for you to try.

Roasted Turkey Breast with Creamy Gravy and Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

For the Turkey Breast:

1 full or 2 split boneless, skin-on turkey breasts

2 cloves garlic, grated or pasted

1 stick butter, softened

1/4 cup fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives, thyme, tarragon or rosemary

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Salt and black pepper

For the Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce:

One 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

Pinch salt

1 cinnamon stick

1 strip orange rind

1 pomegranate

For the Creamy Gravy:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and black pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)

For the roasted turkey breast: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the turkey breast on a baking rack over a baking sheet. Combine the garlic and softened butter with the herbs and lemon juice. Slather about 5 tablespoons of the garlic-herb butter over the turkey breast and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper., reserving the remaining garlic-herb butter for the gravy. Roast the turkey in the oven for 45 minutes.

For the cranberry pomegranate sauce: Place the cranberries in a medium saucepan with the sugar, salt, cinnamon stick, orange rind and 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until all the berries pop and the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes. Cool and remove the rind and the cinnamon stick. Peel the pomegranate in a bowl of water, separating the seeds, and drain. Add the pomegranate seeds into the sauce.

For the creamy gravy: Right before serving the turkey, melt the remaining garlic-herb butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour until blended, followed by the chicken stock, to thicken. Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the heavy cream and the cheese (if using) and keep the gravy warm until you are ready to serve.

Slice the roasted turkey breast and serve with room temperature cranberry pomegranate sauce and the warm gravy.

A couple of things about this recipe. I left the cheese out of the gravy since I don’t really care for cheese that much and I just didn’t think it went well with the dish. I think the gravy turned out fine without it, but if you want the added creaminess from the cheese, go for it. This recipe makes a lot of turkey, which is one of the reasons I cut it in half. The one split turkey breast was more than enough for the three of us and we had plenty of leftovers as well. I liked the flavor you get from the garlic-herb butter on the turkey and in the gravy and it did help to crisp up what little skin there was on the turkey. I served this with smashed potatoes (they weren’t mashed too much; I just used a potato masher for a bit on them) and some pan roasted asparagus. It was a nice meal that you can do in under an hour and satisfy that early season turkey craving.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I still have my Oktoberfest sausage to make tonight, a roast beef recipe for this weekend, and some other things to try like a new soup recipe and a new one for banana bread. Keep checking back to see what comes up next. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!