Leftovers are easily one of the best parts about Thanksgiving. And because most our gatherings were smaller this year, most of us made way too much food. Of course, the day-after meal can be far more rewarding than the holiday feast. Here’s a few ideas to make the most of your Thanksgiving leftovers.
Tex-Mex, Gumbo or Soup
At Tim Love‘s home in Fort Worth, Texas, the chef turns his scraps into a fiery Tex-Mex spread. “I like to mix it up a little bit,” he says. “I make enchiladas, quesadillas, chilaquiles with fried eggs and pulled turkey meat.”
Patrick Mould whips up a turkey-based gumbo every year, while some people prefer a rich turkey soup.
Turkey Sandwich
For many others – the impulse to lounge trumping the draw of the kitchen – the optimum day-after lunch is actually the least labor-intensive: the sort of big, heaping turkey sandwich Homer Simpson might make. Put whatever you like inside: some mashed or sweet potatoes to bind the sandwich; cranberries for a sweet and salty zing. Or don’t. The point is, the day-after sandwich is your big opportunity to revisit the best of yesterday’s meal.
New York chef Bobby Flay grew up with a holiday meal that included white-bread stuffing and canned cranberry sauce. His sandwich colossus: homemade roast turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing piled between slices of mayonnaise-slathered toast. “It’s a little weird putting bread on bread,” Flay says, “but it’s really satisfying.”
Clark Frasier, chef at Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine, pares his sandwich down to meat only (with mayo, pickles, mustard, and lettuce). “I don’t need cranberries on my sandwich,” he says.
Bread Pudding
Or if you’re willing to put in a bit more effort, take some advice from Chicago chef Graham Elliot. He makes bread pudding from stuffing. When firmed up and sliced, it serves as the bread. Add turkey, chestnuts, turkey jus mayo, pickled yams, and cranberry relish.
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