Meals for Which to be Thankful

If you are like me, you have a refrigerator or two filled with Thanksgiving leftovers.  I am thought to be an accomplished cook, but I have a problem estimating the right amount of food for the number of people I am serving.  The Jewish mother part of me tends toward overkill; it is better to have too much than too little.

The general rule of thumb is 2 pounds of turkey per person.  While this ensures that I have sufficient remains for sandwiches, it also neglects to take into account what else is on the table.  In my case, we have a large amount of stuffing and a farm’s worth of roasted vegetables.  Strangely, there is less leftover pie than left over Brussel’s sprouts!  So we spent our lunchtime today discussing the many things that can be done with Thanksgiving leftovers.  I hope some of my recycling projects can help your family put good food to good use.

Among our roasted vegetables, we have butternut squash (tossed with a little brown sugar and maple syrup), along with parsnips, celery root, and Jerusalem artichokes (also called sunchokes).  These vegetables—or any combination of root vegetables—can be pureed in a blender and reheated as soup.  Depending on the texture you achieve, you can stir in a little chicken or vegetable stock or broth, or a little cream as well.  Garnish with a dollop of sour cream or some chopped pistachios.

This year, I chose to roast a collection of small potatoes (red, yellow and blue) with fresh chopped rosemary instead of making cream and butter laden mashed potatoes.   These can be combined with chopped turkey, sautéed onions and peppers to make a great gourmet hash.  Include a tablespoon of leftover herbs, like parsley, sage and thyme.

At my daughter’s request I made spaghetti squash—a great vegetable for a large dinner because it can be roasted a day ahead of time and then reheated before dinner in a little brown butter and sage.  Leftovers can be transformed as a low carb pasta alternative, tossing with a good marinara or meat sauce.  These Italian tastes are a great departure from the Thanksgiving flavor profile.

When the turkey dwindles down to scraps that are no longer fit for sandwiches I like to recycle them into a sort of barbeque pie (think Shepher'd pie).  I chop about a cup each of turkey and smoked sausage (polska kielbasa), and dice a red onion and leftover roasted carrots.  In a cast iron skillet, I sauté the red onion in a little olive oil, and then add the meat.   Stir in the carrots (and any peas, or chopped green beans).  To complete the pie, you can use leftover mashed potatoes or stuffing, or a prepared box of Jiffy corn bread mix (add chilies and/or cheese), covering the meat mixture complete to the edges of the skillet.  For potatoes or cornbread, sprinkle with grated cheese over top.  The entire skillet is then placed in a 350 degree oven and baked until the topping is brown (or the corn bread mix is baked according to package directions).

Don’t be afraid to use Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast.  Cranberry sauce makes a tasty addition to a toasted bagel with a schmear of cream cheese. 

Every family gets tired of eating the same foods night after night.  A little creativity and the addition of unexpected flavors helps traditional Thanksgiving foods to masquerade as fresh cuisine.  When you can get a few extra meals out of a single dinner—now that’s something for which to be thankful!