According to the Surreal Gourmet Institute of Culinary Research, the average Thanks-giving feast requires two months of negotiating, three weeks of planning, at least four shopping trips, three-and-a-half hours of prep time, five hours of cooking and two hours of baking. At mealtime, the first serving is inhaled in roughly 20 minutes, seconds are scarfed down in 15. Desserts disappear faster than a pass thrown by Brett Favre. Then everybody falls in-to a tryptophan-induced coma, and it’s all over but for the clean up.
Once you’ve put so much energy into preparing the bird, not to mention the myriad traditional side dishes, it’s only fair that you should get more out of your many leftovers than just a few turkey sandwiches.
The following two recipes will help transform your leftovers into quick and easy breakfast and dinner meals that are virtually untraceable from the previous evening’s feast. Your family will wonder where you found the time and energy to prepare your post-thanksgiving food from scratch. I suggest you keep the secret under your (pilgrim’s) hat.
Quirky Turkey Hash with Poached Eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, 1/2 onion or 4 green onions, chopped
1 cup each of leftover roasted potatoes, carrots, yams or other root veggies, all diced into 1/4-inch cubes (cold mashed potatoes or other mashed veggies can be chopped and substituted for solid veggies)
1 cup salvaged turkey leftovers, torn or cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup of any leftover fresh herbs or parsley, if available, chopped coarsely
1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne pepper or 1 minced chipotle in adobo sauce or one fresh jalapeño pepper, minced salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
In a cast-iron or heavy-bottom pan over medium-high heat, combine olive oil and butter. When butter has melted, add garlic, scallions and leftover veggies and sauté for about 15 minutes or until veggies begin to brown.
Add turkey, herbs, chipotle, salt and pepper, and continue to sauté for a few more minutes until contents are transformed into crispy browned nuggets. Remove pan from heat.
Poach or fry eggs.
Serve straight out of cast-iron pan topped with eggs, or spoon half of the turkey hash on a plate, then slide an egg on top.
Serves two.
Turkey Parfait
Dessert as a main course. What could be better?
2/3 cup leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup leftover turkey, torn or cut into small pieces
2/3 cup leftover squash
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
2/3 cup leftover greens
2 leftover roasted brussels sprouts
Reheat potatoes, turkey, squash, greens and brussels sprouts in a microwave or oven.
To assemble parfait, use a spoon to layer ingredients in individual parfait glasses. Finish with an ice-cream scoop of mashed potatoes and top with a leftover roasted brussels sprout.
Serves two.