As much as we love celebrating Thanksgiving in our house, one of my favorite things is to reinvent holiday leftovers. To me, it’s half the fun of putting together the holiday meal. This Thanksgiving in the wake of Superstorm Sandy we combined two families, two turkeys and two traditions into one and it was probably our best Thanksgiving ever.
A Very Memorable Thanksgiving
As you can see in the pictures, the second turkey didn’t get cooked. We’ll be cooking that bird today and trying something a little different with this Southwestern Turkey with Garlic-Ancho Chili Paste and Gravy. The 3 heads of garlic are roasting in the oven as we speak and smell heavenly.
Some standouts from yesterday’s dinner will be starring again tonight. I tried a new sweet potato recipes that was the hit of the table. I highly recommend you add this to your next holiday menu. Ree Drummond’s Soul Sweet Taters.
Another experiment that turned out to be a winner was Bobby Flay’s Cranberry-Serrano Relish. We’ve got leftovers of this which will go great with the Southwest Turkey. And, finally another interesting twist on stuffing (we had three types by the way) was the Tortilla Chip Chorizo Stuffing. This stuffing was surprisingly light and airy and went down way too easy. I loved the green chilies and tons of scallions. Again, should go great with our Southwest Turkey.
Nobody’s Perfect
Now, I will admit to one disappointment with our meal, and one hilarious mistake. I wasn’t wild about the Sausage and Cornbread stuffing recipe that I got from my America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. I’ll be adding a ton more stock to the leftovers and trying to redeem myself.
Speaking of redeeming myself, one of the highlights for my guests last night was when the bag of giblets came slipping out of the cooked bird as I transferred it from rack to platter. Oh, yeah, my family and friends lie in wait for me to mess up in the kitchen and believe me, they pounced.
I swear I gave that bird a probing any TSA agent would be proud of but, I could not find that damn bag anywhere. I am convinced we had a crafty bird who artfully kept it up his sleeve until he found the opportune time to humiliate me. To further redeem myself, I can tell you that the bag is out of today’s turkey. Ha!
Our Favorite Ways to Reinvent Holiday Leftovers
For those of you who have a plethora of party leftovers, how about Turkey Spinach Pie or a nice Turkey Soup?
If you’ve got Leftover pot roast check out this very popular Pot Roast Enchiladas recipe.
Leftover ham? Try our Spicy Ham and Lentil Soup recipe.
Leftover corned beef is one of my favorites. I make extra every St. Patrick’s Day just for the corned beef hash the next day. Here’s a great recipe from for Corned Beef Hash from the Shannon Rose Irish Pub.
