Food

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Leftover Heaven

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Some quick and inventive ways to use those

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Thanksgiving leftovers.

ANNABEL COHEN
Special to the Jewish News

INT

hat to do \Nrith leftovers
after Thanksgiving?
Succulent turkey
breast slices are a no-
brainer. Use them for dinner, in sand-
wiches, or sliced over a salad.
But what do you do with all those
little pieces of turkey? And what
about mashed sweet potatoes or cran-
berry sauce?
The following recipes use lacklus-
ter leftovers, mostly misfit turkey
parts, to create fresh, delicious, allur-
ing creations. Roast turkey becomes
soup, chili, hash or a scrumptious
colorful salad.
Sweet potatoes are transformed
into appetizers or a side dish that's
superb served alone or topped with
smoked salmon. Cranberry sauce —
any kind you buy or make — gets a
renaissance as a sauce for savory and
sweet meatballs.
Or think of ways to use other left-
overs — stuffing patties (add eggs and
fry or bake), pumpkin bread pudding,
green bean and turkey enchiladas or
sweet potato frittata (find a recipe and
substitute your leftover ingredients).
This year, hoard your leftovers ...
and reinvent them all weekend long.

THANKSGIVING TURKEY
NOODLE SOUP
If you want to boil the carcass of the
turkey in water to make turkey broth,
go right ahead! If you'd rather not, use
chicken broth, as stated below.
2 T. olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 t. minced garlic
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced turnips (optional)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups turkey gravy
3 cups diced cooked turkey
2 T. dried parsley flakes
1 t. dried dill
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped

spinach, thawed and squeezed of
excess water
6 oz. dried thin noodles
1 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges,
garnish
Heat oil in a large pot over
medium-high heat. Add the
onions and garlic. Cook, stir-
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ring frequently, for 5 min-
utes. Add the celery, carrots,
turnips (if using) and bell
pepper. Cook until the veg-
etables are softened, about 8
minutes.
Add gravy, turkey, parsley
and dill and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and cook the
soup, uncovered, for about 1
hour. Stir the in the spinach,
noodles, peas and salt and pepper to
taste. Cook for 10 minutes more,
adding more broth or water if the
soup is too thick.
Adjust seasonings to taste and serve
the soup hot, with the lemon wedges
as garnish. Makes 8 servings.

DAY-AFTER TURKEY HASH
4 T. olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 t. minced garlic
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups chopped cooked turkey
2 cups 1/4-inch cubed Idaho or
Russet potatoes, unpeeled
1-2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. ground cayenne pepper
2 T. dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-
high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper
and garlic and cook, stirring frequent-
ly, until the vegetables are softened
and beginning to brown, about 8 min-
utes. Add the flour and cook, stirring
frequently, for 3 minutes more.
Stir in the broth and wine and bring
to a boil. Stir in the remaining ingre-
dients and bring to a boil again.

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Reduce heat and cook the hash, stir-
ring frequently, until the potatoes are
tender and most of the liquid is
absorbed.
Adjust salt and pepper to taste and
serve hot, with hot sauce (such as
Tabasco) on the side. Makes 6-8
servings.

MINCED TURKEY CHILI
3 T. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 t. minced garlic
2 (28 oz.) cans seasoned diced toma-
toes with juice
12 oz. beer, any kind
3 T. chili powder
1 t. ground cayenne pepper, or more
to taste
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. fresh ground pepper
6 cups minced cooked turkey
2 cups chopped green pepper
2 15 oz. can great northern or
canellini beans, drained
1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges, garnish
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-
high heat. Add the onions and garlic
and cook, stirring frequently, until the
innin
o-
vegetables are softened and beginning
to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the
remaining ingredients except lemon
and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook the chili, stir-
ring frequently to prevent the- chili
from sticking to the bottom of the
pan, for about 1 1/2 hours, until the
mixture is thickened. Adjust season-
ings and serve the chili hot, garnished
with the lemon. Makes 8-10 servings.

SWEET AND SOUR CRANBERRY
MEATBALLS
Sauce:
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup barbecue sauce, any kind
1 can (about 15 oz.) beef broth
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups cranberry sauce, any kind
1 T. minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Meatballs:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground pepper
2 eggs
Combine all sauce ingredients in a
large pot over medium-high heat and
stir well. Bring the sauce to a boil,
reduce heat and simmer while you
prepare the meatballs.
Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all

LEFTOVERS on page 90

11/28

2003

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