All presidential pardons aside…I am not a fan of carcasses lingering in my Frigidaire. Thanksgiving has gone the way of the gobbler and yet I still had the turkey carcass staring back at me. So let me tell you a few handy dandy things you can do with ALL the leftover turkey you may have…and any other bones you have in your fridge…not limited to your exes.
The first thing I do is make something I found in an issue of Martha Stewart Living years ago. If you hate her get over it. Her recipes have never let me down and there are certain issues (mostly Thanksgiving and Christmas) that are as dear to me, if not more, than certain family members. One Thanksgiving issue saw me through a 30+ person sit down that ended with me pouring a homemade stock down the sink by accident…At that point I closed the beloved tome and half screamed to a nearby Lesbian to go to the market and buy a jar of Heinz Brown and lets move on…
So the recipe is quite lovely and delicious, I believe it is called “Leftover Pie,” and actually quite ingenious and something not only family but friends and co-workers insist I make every year…so I do.
Butter a pie plate, casserole dish, what have you and layer in your leftover stuffing which will serve as a crust to your pie. Then add some turkey, break out that carcass and get ripping folks, treat it like someone you hate and we’ll all get through this together.
Once you have the turkey down, add whatever veggies you may have leftover. This year consisted of brussels sprouts and corn. I don’t really want to write this but…leave the butternut squash puree out, but you already know that.
I then top this with left over gravy and then as a top to your pie add mashed potatoes. I know you have a ton left over and they may possibly haunt you as much as that turkey carcass so here’s your chance to take control…add til your little hearts content.
Pop that baby in the oven and let it go until you see the gravy bubbling. You can even toss it under the broiler for a few to crisp up the topping. When its done, slam the left over cranberry sauce down on the table and get to work.
It’s a big delicious job…please be careful.
Oh did you make a ham as well? You did? Me to! The ham bone is still in the fridge, you’ve made ham and eggs, you’ve made ham sandwiches, you’ve done it all…I hear you. This does not include the ham casserole you made or the scalloped ham and potatoes either…I’m gonna share with you a secret…time to make split pea soup with that ham bone.
Don’t panic, it’s so easy it’s almost painful. But like most things it’s worth the pain…so here is a link to a simple and possibly flawless pea soup:
http://www.food.com/recipe/split-pea-soup-best-pea-soup-ever-83287
So wonderful topped with croutons, sour cream or my favorite a little sherry…I am a split pea fan and may people aren’t…too bad for them.
Ok…Ham bone is gone, but that turkey is still there…Time for pot pie…excuse me while I drool. Pot pie be the most perfect food. In fact I’m often saying that if I fall unconscious, please for goodness sake, feed me potpie! Skip the mouth to mouth. here’s my favorite recipe, again so easy and delicious:
http://www.food.com/recipe/turkey-pot-pie-45070
I’m often told to make two pies as one is never enough…I have yet to indulge these demands. You however, may make as many as your hungry brood demands.
Dark meat needs love to: While making any of these dishes feel free to break off a turkey leg throw it on some foil and bake it. Let it get crispy and lovely and gosh darn it your even closer to being completely done with the turkey!
So here it is the final decree, the lament, the requiem of the turkey: Turkey Noodle Soup!
I have a confession: I’m terrified of making soup, stuffing and pie crust. Let me explain; stuffing is relatively simple but people are so attached to it that it practically begs disappointment. It’s the holy grail of T-Day and if you mess it up Hell will yawn before you. Luckily I have to mess it up but do I still occasionally here, “the stuffing is good, but do you remember the time you added dried apricots?
Soup is whole other ballgame. It is alchemy. I know alchemists and I know they would all agree that soup is alchemy. No, it’s not a sorcerer’s stone, but it might as well be. All these raw materials commune to create something else, the fundamental of alchemy is this, at least in my overly simplified explanation.
Again, I have yet to make a terrible soup. This year in particular I have made a spicy carrot and harissa soup, a vichyssoise that was delightful, a borscht to die for and the above mentioned split pea soup that is just back of the spoon licking good.
So why fear the brew? I have no idea to be honest, yes its the alchemy of it, but I’m also always worried it will be somehow flavorless. However, the more I do it, the more you get the idea that really there is no distinct way to ruin soup…
But I digress…
Turkey noodle soup to the rescue. People, this is in fact the best way to send the bird to bed. Granted, a scented, yummy bed but bed just the same, as I write this my house is filling with the aroma of turkey soup, my stock bubbles and I am already imagining the crusty bread that I will certainly eat with a big bowl of the stuff.
>Here’s the recipe I use:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1639,146162-253193,00.html
So there you have it. It’s done it’s over, alls well that ends well, as a famous poet once said, “let be be finale of seem,” and I bid you farewell, my soup is calling.
No comments:
Post a Comment