Around the Kitchen Table: Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas + 8-Book #Giveaway!

VALERIE (V.M.) BURNS: For me, Thanksgiving is always a time for food, friends, and family. Regardless of how much I plan, there are always leftovers. So, rather than fighting it, I've learned to embrace the leftovers. In fact, I now plan for them. One of my favorites are leftover collard greens. When the collards sit, the seasonings seep through and they taste even better the next day or multiple days. So, rather than reducing the amount I make for Thanksgiving, I actually double it and freeze the excess. That gives me a head start for Christmas. Did I mention I love collard greens?

Leftover turkey is another favorite that I look forward to. It's not just the turkey sandwiches, but turkey noodle soup, turkey salad sandwiches, and turkey salad. I know I can have any of those things any day of the week. So, what makes them so special after Thanksgiving? I think it's because the turkey from Thanksgiving is special. Thanksgiving turkeys are not your run of the meal poultry. Oh no. That turkey has been brined, dry rubbed, braised, deep fried, cooked in a brown paper bag, marinated overnight in mole, or cooked with a beer can up its cavity, and those are just a few of the multitude of ways to cook the bird. For a normal sandwich on any given weekday throughout the the year, I'll open a package of lunch meat and slap it between two slices of bread. Of course, there may also be a bit of mental manipulations at play when it comes to Thanksgiving turkey. Mentally, I know that my Thanksgiving turkey is not only well seasoned, but it has all of the memories associated with the day in each bite. 

So, my advice is to embrace the leftovers and cook your Thanksgiving meal (or show up for the big family dinner) with a plan. Bring your Tupperware containers, Ziploc bags, and aluminum foil, and prepare for several days with delicious meals and warm memories that will make you thankful long after the main event is a thing of the past.

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VICKI DELANY: Did someone say leftovers?  The best meal of the year.  We've already had our Thanksgiving in Canada and I made sure to have plenty of leftovers.  Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and cranberries.  And pie (not many leftovers of my apple pie this year, but enough for everyone to have a small piece the next day).  This picture shows my brother enjoying his breakfast the day after.  I never make anything in particular with the leftovers. Just heat it all up in the microwave the next day for dinner, maybe even the day after that, and also use for sandwiches.   Yum yum. 

 

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MAYA CORRIGAN: We make sandwiches with any turkey leftovers we haven't been able to coax guests to take home with them. The sandwiches include, not just turkey, but also stuffing (yup, bread on bread), and cranberry-orange relish. My in-laws used to make this kind of relish from scratch. I only did that once and then I discovered Trader Joe's version of it. It's so good that I buy it in bulk when it's available (only in November and December). I freeze at least five containers for use throughout the year with chicken dinners. With fresh cranberries that are left over, I make a cranberry tart perfect for a December holiday dinner.

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Love your observation, Valerie, that the holiday turkey is seasoned with memories as well as sage and bay!

Both Mr. Right and I are trailers, the much-younger siblings and the only "kids" in our families who did not live in the same town as the rest. That meant that for years, we'd make the drive over the mountains and through the woods -- literally; this is Montana -- to someone else's home for a big Thanksgiving dinner. While leftovers were plentiful, they don't all travel home equally well, so we often felt a little bereft. Mr. Right occasionally remedied that by making a turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy the next week so we could savor the treat of leftovers at home! Traditions have changed and we stay home now, usually making a turkey breast roulade and other variations on the traditional. And we get to eat ALL the leftovers ourselves. But if you swing by, we'll be happy to share!

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LUCY BURDETTE: Leftovers are the best part of the meal! the last two years John has insisted on making a soup stock from the turkey carcass. I was a little skeptical after having done all that cooking already, but I have to admit, it's definitely superior to store bought. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, we're in heaven with that too!

Turkey courtesy of A Deadly Feast

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PEG COCHRAN/MARGARET LOUDON: I love leftovers--any kind, especially soup that can be eaten for lunch the next day. But Thanksgiving leftovers are special. There's always Thanksgiving dinner #2 the day after--with turkey and trimmings warmed up and devoured. Then there are turkey sandwiches and finally, turkey tetrazzini, which I only make once a year. The year of the pandemic lockdown, we were celebrating alone like most people. We got the smallest turkey we could find but it was still way too big for two people. I managed to cut it in half and freeze half for another meal. Then there's the carcass, which I also freeze for turkey soup but I always seem to forget about it and only discover the carcass sometime during the summer when it's too late for soup and I end up throwing it out.

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MADDIE DAY: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No fussing with gifts, just family and friends and great food. I always make my mother's bread stuffing. With walnuts, celery, loads of butter, and poultry seasoning, it's the perfect comfort food as a leftover. I've even been known to fry some up with an egg for breakfast. And speaking of breakfast, pie is also perfect, which is why I always make at least two pumpkin pies, plus an apple and a pecan. As you can see from last year, I had my choice of breakfasts!

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TINA KASHIAN: We enjoy Thanksgiving and celebrate very differently with both sides of my family. We travel to the Poconos to visit my husband’s family and enjoy a traditional American Thanksgiving—turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing. We always come home with leftovers, and we like turkey sandwiches and the ease of not having to make dinner the next day. When we visit my Armenian side of the family, we celebrate with different types of food. We also have turkey and ham, but it would not be complete with our treasured favorites—yalanchi (vegetarian stuffed grape leaves), boreg (thin, flaky Filo dough stuffed with different cheeses), hummus, and baklava for dessert. Each of these make for great leftovers, too.

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LESLIE KARST: I'm a huge fan of leftovers--be they from a weeknight dinner, a night out at a restaurant, or--best yet--Thanksgiving! Nothing like turkey sandwiches on soft white bread with lots of mayo, lettuce, and black pepper. And I always make extra stuffing and gravy, because truly, they're the very best part of the holiday, to my mind. Problem is, no matter how much gravy I make, it always seems to be finished by the end of the meal! 

And then, of course, there's the beautiful turkey stock to be made from all those luscious leftover bones (recipe here).

 

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MOLLY MacRAE: Oh, how we love Thanksgiving leftovers in our family! Not only because they're so tasty, but also because the cooks get a break - for days, if we plan right. Here's a funny (horrible) story from when I was about four and just barely tall enough to see over the edge of the kitchen table. Days and days after Thanksgiving, sitting on the edge of the table, right in front of my eyes, was the last little bit of tasty stuffing. I LOVED stuffing, and with five brothers and sisters, all but one taller than me, none of whom had seen that marvelous treat sitting there, I couldn't believe my luck. So I snatched that bit of stuffing and popped it in my mouth - only to find out it was a glob of horrible, smelly cat food that a careless sibling had dropped. I can still taste it. But I still love stuffing.

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ABBY L. VANDIVER: I LOVE collard greens, too! I don't like leftovers though. I've usually had enough of all the turkey and mac and cheese by the second day after Thanksgiving, but I too have learned to embrace them. I watch SO much Food Network and I try to imitate the chefs on the show, so I always try to refashion what was left over. Like putting collard greens inside of wonton wrappers and deep frying them, or making turkey pot pie from the left over bird. But, if I'm being honest, if the leftovers stay in my fridge too long and I didn't give them away to family members as they left, I throw them away. (Terrible, I know . . .) After all, I need the room in the fridge for the Christmas feast that is only weeks away!

 

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CLEO COYLE: Great topic, Valerie! Truth? We are a leftover-loving house. A slice of leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast the next day? Check! As for lunch, that famous cold turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce sandwich gives me almost as much joy as the feast itself. My husband, Marc, prefers the hot, open-faced sandwich version with plenty of gravy and mashed potatoes (very retro diner). AND over Thanksgiving weekend, I always reserve a few cups of diced leftover turkey to make my annual, quick-and-easy TURKEY POT PIE. Click the photo below to download the recipe in a step-by-step PDF. I use a pre-made crust, so it’s a snap to throw together. And it is soooo good! I’m now counting down the days to the day after Thanksgiving! How about all of you? Do you enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers? And do you have favorites?

Cleo's Easy (Leftover) Turkey Pot Pie
Click the photo for the free recipe PDF.

 

GIVEAWAY!

To be entered in this week's drawing

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Thanksgiving leftovers?

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> TWO PARTS SUGAR, ONE PART MURDER by Valerie Burns

> GINGERDEAD MAN by Maya Corrigan

> DEATH ON THE MENU by Lucy Burdette

> MURDER IN THE MARGINS by Margaret Loudon

> BREWED AWAKENING by Cleo Coyle

> FOUR LEAF CLEAVER (ARC) by Maddie Day

> MISTLETOE, MOUSSAKA AND MURDER by Tina Kashian

> BODY AND SOUL FOOD by Abby Collette

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