As soon as November arrives, we're all inundated with TV shows, magazines, newspaper articles, and internet newsletters/posts/blogs, etc., telling us - down to the second - How to "Do" Thanksgiving! I won't add to that tsunami of info... I'm guessing most of you already know how to do your Thanksgiving.
But what I will do, because I think it might help, is gather up some of the TOC "Days After Thanksgiving" posts... to remind you of some fun ideas for what to do with what's not completely consumed on The Day!
And, just as a reminder: don't ever use the dreaded "L" word. Think of all that gorgeously cooked food in your fridge as though you had a sous chef at work in your kitchen...
Ready to help...
And ready to cut down your workload at the stove!
So here are some satisfying, house-'n'-heart-warming dishes and posts from the past to give you a headstart... Just think how much more your family will love you in the days after Thanksgiving..
The L Word (for Leftovers) or The Remains of the Day
No one finishes the Thanksgiving meal.
There are always containers of... remaining food.
What to do? Dump everything in a pot and call it soup? YUCK.
Instead of thinking of The L Word as some "used" food you need to get rid of... I think of "them" as if I have a sous chef who's already started preparing things for me to use.
Meats and vegetables can go into sauces, stuffings, "cakes," stews to top pastas or polenta...
Or mashed potatoes can top Shepherd's Pie... or thicken soups.
A salad can be added to cooked greens. A piece of cooked salmon is the base for a great salmon salad... a salmon cake... or hash. And though hash has a reputation as a dumping ground for "remains," with a little care it can be better than the original dish!
If you have a little bit of sauce left from a meat dish, add it to some day-old rice for a totally new side. All it takes is a little imagination, and these "pre-prepared" treasures are just advanced mise en place!
So... I'm starting a campaign to remove the word "leftovers" from the language... Too Much Baggage.
From now on it's "THE L WORD," (with apologies to my dear friends in the Lesbian community)...
...Or The Remains of the Day!
Turkey Sandwiches on Homemade Bread... with Crunchy Potatoes!
Turkey sandwiches! One of America's great contributions to world cuisine...
I had homemade bread that I'd made for the dressing... I had arugula... I had mayonnaise... and white meat from the Thanksgiving turkey.
Perfect.
But one must have potato chips! And I had no interest in a trip to the store. So...
Mashed potato croquettes!!!
I sautéed a bit of scallion, added it to mashed potatoes, tossed in some chives, a bit of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, an egg, some Parmesan, salt and pepper... Then I rolled balls of the mixture in flour, then egg, then fresh breadcrumbs (made from some day-old baguette), and fried them in EVOO until puffed and golden brown...
They were served alongside these perfect sandwiches with a dollop of chive sour cream...
Who needs potato chips?!?!?
Turkey Sandwiches on Homemade Bread with Potato Pancakes and Cranberry Chutney
Dinner the day after Thanksgiving... ALMOST my favorite use for white meat... the only sandwich to seriously challenge the BLT for the crown... the TURKEY SANDWICH (needs a better name, though)...
Slices of my good homemade bread (1 cup of WW flour and 7 cups of AP), lavish slatherings of mayo... salt, pepper, and of course, Food Police Be Damned... ICEBERG LETTUCE. Perhaps a side of cranberry chutney...
And this year, mashed potato cakes with scallions, cheddar, and 1 egg white. Not quite sure what it is about the turkey, mayo, iceberg combo... plus REALLY good bread... but it sure does work!
So THAT'S Why They Call It The Staff of Life! (Perfect Homemade Bread)
Sometimes I just want white bread. OK, not squishy, icky, boring white bread. But the kind of white bread that reminds you why people gave up all of the texture and nutrients of whole wheat to begin with...
So I set out to do some tinkering with my basic hearty white loaf recipe. And the tinkering was pretty simple... I just replaced about a quarter of a cup of AP flour with a quarter of a cup of whole wheat. All this did was add enough depth that the bread stopped being just a vessel, and became a player in its own right. It had a little oomph... but it was still a bread that didn't overpower other ingredients...
Like... say... oh, I don't know... turkey... bacon and... hmmmmmmmmmmm... lettuce and... maybe some tomato?
Or just toasted with butter?
Sigh...
