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 Arianna Johnson has A Bachelors Degree in English/Creative Writing from Dowling College. She is very passionate about writing and cooking and her goal is to become a food writer and cookbook author. Arianna can be reached at arianna.ruth.johnson@gmail.com |
| Thanksgiving Dinner….so much work goes into the big day, with lots of stress going along with it. As the holiday unwinds, the question remains…what do we do with all of the leftovers? There are only so many nights you can eat a full Thanksgiving dinner and there are only so many turkey sandwiches you can eat as well. So, what do you do with the rest of the leftovers? First, there’s the bird; what else do you do with it except put it between two pieces of bread? Years ago, my aunt found some Paul Prudhomme recipes using turkey, and we decided to try them out. One of the recipes was Turkey Hash, which is browned potatoes with sautéed onions and peppers along with a combination of spices all tossed together with shredded turkey. That was delicious and something different to try. My favorite recipe was the Turkey Tex. This also has peppers and onions, but it is in a sauce made with cream cheese and chicken stock, then spiced up to your liking. We actually put this in a tortilla because it reminded us of queso, and it was out of this world. We make Turkey Tex every year now after Thanksgiving because it is that good. Next is the mashed potatoes…This is probably the simplest side dish to redo into something new. All you have to do is put them in a bowl, add some chives and garlic (if they are not already in there) mold into pancakes, dredge in a little flour and fry in oil; serve with apple sauce or sour cream and you have potato pancakes. If you have mashed sweet potatoes, it works the same way, except add orange zest or chopped pecans, instead of the herbs and garlic, and serve with crème fraiche. If you make your own cranberry sauce, it’s really easy to turn it into a sweet sauce to put over ice cream. All you have to do is put the cranberry sauce into a pot, add some water and sugar (to your desired sweetness) and cook down until it is a thick syrup. Speaking of ice cream…If you have leftover pie, just place it in a blender with some ice cream and make yourself a pie milkshake. It sounds crazy, but it’s a wonderfully indulgent treat. These are just a few suggestions of what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers. Don’t get stuck in a turkey rut, have fun with your leftovers too! |
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