Repurposing Thanksgiving Leftovers

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, November 26th, 2009

You’ve done it again and made enough Thanksgiving dinner for an army when a small battalion would have sufficed.

Lucky for you we queried some chefs from Northern Virginia to find out their remedies for elegantly disposing of all those mashed ‘taters, piles of turkey, and ad infinitum pies. Gut Check Heads, prepare to wave the worn-out post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich goodbye.

Since the family has come and gone,  invite some friends over for a little more relaxed holiday togetherness with Fyve’s Amy Brandwein’s three-course tasting menu as the centerpiece.

Soup and Bread Pudding

Take your leftover root vegetables (celery root, carrot, celery, squash, etc); add stock and simmer. Puree and serve with a bread pudding made of stuffing. For the stuffing: for 4 C. stuffing, add 3 beaten eggs, ¼ c. half n half and fresh chives. Line ramekins (ceramic or foil is fine) w/non stick spray, butter or oil. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until set.

Gnocchi with Turkey, Wild Mushrooms, Rosemary, Gravy

Take left over turkey and shred a bit with your hands. In a sauté pan, sauté wild mushrooms, add chopped rosemary and a knob of butter. Add cooked gnocchi, a bit of the cooking water and add left over turkey gravy. Toss well; garnish with chopped parsley and parmesan (If you cannot make gnocchi, you can use store-bought egg noodles.)

Cranberry Granita

Last year, I had leftover relish, so I froze it and it became granita – which is similar to sorbet, but it is more like shaved ice. Just put the relish in the freezer and fluff it with a fork when frozen. Serve it in a martini glass. Recommended wine pairing: Barbera

Too many mashed potatoes? Chef Hump Astorga from Chrysalis Vineyards gave us this recipe for Croquetas de Bacalao that turns your leftover spuds into a refined main course.

Croquetas de Bacalao (Salt Cod Croquettes)

INGREDIENTS

2 C left over Thanksgiving mashed potatoes
1 lb Salt Cod
TBS Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 TBS fresh mint, finely chopped
2 TBS fresh thyme, finely chopped
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 extra large eggs, separated
2 TBS Sherry
Kosher salt to taste
Canola Oil for deep-frying

INSTRUCTIONS:

Two days before making the croquettes, soak the salt cod in cold water. Change the water six times during this period.

The day you are making the croquettes, bring the leftover mashed potatoes to room temperature two hours ahead.

Drain the cod and rinse it well under cold running water.

Cover fish with fresh water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until cod is soft and flaky.

When the cod is flaky, drain it thoroughly and remove the skin and bones.

Shred the cod with two forks.

Add the mashed potatoes, parsley, mint, thyme, pepper, sherry, and egg yolks. Mix thoroughly.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff, and then fold into the cod mixture. Adjust seasonings.

Preheat deep fryer to 375º.

Take 2 TBS of the mixture, and mold it in your hands to make a 2” x 1” cylinder shape. Deep fry in 375º oil until crisp and brown all over. Drain on paper towel and serve hot.

Note: You can accompany croquettes with a good quality whole-grained mustard or your favorite remoulade sauce.

Recommended wine pairing: 2008 Chrysalis Vineyards Albariño

And we got some differing opinions from area pastry chefs as to what to do with that leftover pumpkin pie.

David Guas of Damgoodsweet Consulting and Bayou Bakery suggests, “If you don’t want to stare at it for days, freeze it and then chop it up and serve it over ice cream.”

Chris Ford of Trummer’s on Main in Clifton has a recipe for leftover sweet gourd, too:

Pumpkin Brulee Bread

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups sugar
1 cup good quality butter
1/2 cup creme fraiche
3 large eggs
2 cups pumpkin pie (scraped from the crust, already baked)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
raw sugar, for the top of the batter.

Preheat oven to 350°F and butter loaf pans. Combine cream, sugar and butter in large bowl, then mix in eggs and pumpkin, add creme fraiche. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl.  Slowly fold in the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture, combining completely.  e using  Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.  Divide batter equally between prepared pans. Sprinkle the raw sugar on top of the batter evenly. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool.

The raw sugar adds a crisp texture on top after baking, as if it has been bruleed and  the creme fraiche adds great moisture.

Recommended wine pairing:  A 10-year old Madeira

Where pies are considered, Michelle Poteaux of Bastille is from an opposing pastry school of thought. If there is one thing you should do, she says, “Defintiely don’t save the pie.”

–Amy Loeffler

Tags: Amy Loeffler, Gut Check, Northern Virginia Magazine, Thanksgiving