HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
The leftovers are our favorite part, tbh...
Happy Thanksgiving!! We hope your turkey is *m word*, your gravy is without lumps, and your pies are fully set today. And if they’re not… who cares?!?! Thanksgiving is about spending time with your loved ones and showing your gratitude (and if that doesn’t describe your Thanksgiving day, there’s always Quirky Turkeys).
EK: I have to admit that my long-time favorite leftover is a turkey sandwich on toasted Pepperidge Farm white bread, slathered with mayo, and layered with crisp lettuce. That is, until I made Anthony’s Turkey Pozole a.k.a.The Soup. The soup is so good that I am going to make another roasted bird just so I can make the soup again!
AU: You are a pozole machine!! I have to admit, it’s a damn good way to use up leftover turkey (especially if your turkey turned out a little dry!).
EK: Other than the “only turkey soup that you need to make,” there are so many good things to make with the leftovers. And here are a few of my current favs:
In my Pizza on the Grill cookbook that I wrote with Bob Blumer, we even made a leftover Thanksgiving Pizza and I have to say that it was delicious in a ‘more is more’ kind of way.
Feeling like a stuffed baked potato as a meal? You can top a hot steamy baked potato with all your Thanksgiving leftovers on top of the potato—like the one that I make with leftover smoked chicken.
Make a Thanksgiving parfait by layering all your leftovers in a wide-mouth mason jar and digging in with a fork getting a little of everything in one bite.
Turn your leftover sausage dressing into waffles and top them with a poached or soft-boiled egg.
And no one would be mad if you made tacos and quesadillas out of the leftovers (I see that all my leftover cravings are leaning towards the barbecue and Tex-Mex world. Maybe that is because I am spending the holiday week in Houston and I am eating a lot of barbecue and a lot of tacos!).
AU: Those all sound amazing! I, too, have been leaning into the Tex-Mex. Since we write this lovely newsletter for you folks, we get to make Thanksgiving twice (hooray?), so I made Leftover Turkey Enchiladas Suizas by slow cooking some thinly sliced poblano peppers, onions, and garlic till they were caramelized. Cooled them, and then rolled the onion/pepper mixture with pulled turkey meat, and shredded cheese in corn tortillas. I relied on a big jar of store-bought salsa verde for the sauce (half on the bottom of the dish, other half on top). Y’all… they were so good, and I recommend you make ‘em.
If you don’t want something with a Mexican flavor, how ‘bout some Turkey ‘n’ Dumplings?! Take my Chicken & Dumplings recipe, and instead of using raw chicken, just add in your pulled turkey meat at the end of cooking to warm it through. It’s COMFORT FOOD DELUXE®.
We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we’re so thankful for YOU!