i actually found this as a suggested alternative to cooking a whole turkey for thanksgiving. i was into the idea, until i realized that without cooking a turkey, i wouldn’t be able to have awesome gravy to pour over everything on my plate.

so i made this a couple days prior to thanksgiving for jason and i, on a smaller scale — using chicken instead of turkey.

2 boneless, skinless turkey breast halves, each about 1 ½ pounds
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ pound Brie or Camembert cheese, rind on, cut into 8 slices
20 fresh basil leaves
3 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced

1. Preheat over to 350°F.
2. Make a large pocket-like slit in each turkey breast half. Unfold like a book. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place cheese and basil evenly on half of each breast. Fold over filling. Loosely wrap each breast with half the prosciutto — about 3 slices for each.
3. Bake 35–45 minutes or until turkey registers 160°F on a meat thermometer. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 8.

i really enjoyed sampling the brie while i worked through the recipe.

i also wrapped fresh garlic into the mix. yum!

Recipe by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig, published in relish, November 2011.