Cooking Show: Day-After Thanksgiving Recipes!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it wasn't difficult to come up with a theme for our recent cooking show.

Instead of preparing traditional recipes, however, I decided to focus on leftovers.

I need to confess that I actually roast a pre-Thanksgiving turkey, and perhaps make an extra batch of mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce as well, ensuring that there will be post-Thanksgiving leftovers...can you relate?  

I find it helpful to have a fridge full of leftovers because it makes meal-planning a cinch when I'm in the midst of my decorating frenzy during the days after Thanksgiving...

I was assisted by my friend, Maureen.  We made batches of No-Stress Cranberry Sauce and Make-Ahead Gravy.  This is a cooking show after all.  We felt the need to actually cook something before we started assembling our leftovers!

If you've never made homemade cranberry sauce, please give it a try!  I would usually strongly suggest making gravy using pan drippings, but a recipe like this one that you can make ahead before you even put the bird into the oven can certainly come in handy!

(Click on the highlighted titles to be taken to the recipes.)

Cranberry/Brie Phyllo Tartlets with Pistachios

One more phyllo tart recipe to add to the repertoire. FOUR ingredients!!! 

Great way to use your leftover cranberry sauce! And so easy to whip up a batch to fortify yourself during your post-Thanksgiving decorating frenzy (hint-hint).

Loaded Leftover Mashed Potatoes

If you're wondering what to do with leftover mashed potatoes, look no further!  Soooo good.  

Simply reheat your mashed potatoes and add your favorite toppings!

Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Wraps

Fill them up, give them a quick sear, dip them into gravy.  A one-stop-shopping recipe for Thanksgiving leftovers!

Thank you for following along.  I hope that you have a very Happy Thanksgiving...

...and a very happy day after Thanksgiving as well!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Thanksgiving is fast approaching.  I've already roasted one turkey, with another still in my fridge, defrosting to be roasted soon.  And then, of course, more turkey on the big day.

I can't help it, it's 58 cents a pound, we've been/are/will be overdosing on Turkey for awhile.

DID SOMEONE SAY TURKEY??? 

Yes, Gus gets his share of turkey tidbits.

He will sit at attention and not move a muscle. 

Well, no movement except for the drool dripping out of the corners of his mouth.

He will subtly turn his head, wondering why he has been holding this pose for so long with no reward.

And then he will give it one last sit-at-attention-and-look-at-her-with-my-most-pleading-puppy-dog-eyes-possible-and-if-you-don't-give-me-a-piece-of-turkey-I-will-probably-spontaneously-combust attempt.

Despite Gus' best efforts to entice me to give all the leftover turkey to him, we will still have plenty of leftovers to make lots of tasty turkey dishes.  

 

Like this recipe for Turkey Tetrazzini.  It's not traditional Turkey Tetrazzini because

I don't bake it casserole style

I use broccoli instead of peas

it's not drowning in sauce

there's no cheese in the sauce

but there's cheese in the topping

sometimes I add mushrooms

but this time I didn't

I like to use sherry

but you can use white wine if you like.

Got a little carried away there, but I'm back in control. 

I think the message I'm trying to get across is that you should use ingredients to suit your tastes and preferences.

Sweet Potato Bread

Poor Gus.  Turning back the clocks for Daylight Saving Time leaves him so disoriented.  He thinks it's dinnertime, so he's taking up post near his bowl.  And staring at me while I putter around the kitchen.  With those big, accusing eyes. 

I caved and fed him his dinner fifteen minutes early, I just couldn't stand his oh-woe-is-me pose any longer.

Remember when I blogged about the fabric that Caitie picked out for  the pillowcases I was going to sew?  I'm not surprised if you can't remember, it was so.......long..........ago.

I sewed them in a timely manner.  I just didn't get around to trimming them until this week.

Done.   Finally.  I had to go upstairs and switch out one of the pillowcases on Erin's bed.

Mix and match.

Emphasis on mix.  Not-so-matchy.

It's Erin's turn to pick out the fabric for the next batch.  As long as my girls like these pillowcases, I'm happy to make them for them. 

Today's recipe, Sweet Potato Bread, is perfect when you're looking for a way to use up any leftover mashed sweet potatoes after Thanksgiving.  Or, if you don't want to wait until after Thanksgiving, you can use canned sweet potatoes.

My daughter describes this bread as "a combination of coffee cake and banana bread.  Cinnamon taste like coffee cake, moist texture like banana bread."

In other words, it's really good!