It’s that time of year again when the tried and tested tradition of Thanksgiving dinner is brought to bountiful fruition. But what about bringing new life to leftovers, creating a medley of innovative meals that can be served on the days after Thanksgiving or frozen for the harried holiday season ahead. Here are some savvy suggestions from top chefs around the country:
Gavin Portsmouth is the chef at the popular neighborhood restaurant Zax in Brentwood that continually draws a popular crowd including such celebrities as Michelle Pfeiffer, Reese Witherspoon and Al Pacino. Portsmouth, a Brit, who’s worked as a chef at the prestigious Connaught Hotel in London, has only been celebrating the great American tradition of Thanksgiving since moving to the U.S. five years ago, but he offers a refreshing perspective on recycling leftovers:
€ Sweet Potato Soup: sweat two small onions, three leeks and one Serrano chili in a pan with olive oil. Add one to two cups of leftover mashed sweet potatoes, one cup of chicken/vegetable stock and a little coconut milk. Puree into a smooth soup consistency.
€ Stir Fried Turkey and Vegetables: shred leftover turkey into strips; slice fennel, celery, red pepper and carrots into thin strips and cook in a wok at high temperature. Add sesame seed and hoisin sauce. Fold ingredients into crepes, cut in halves and serve.
€ Arugula Salad with Caramelized Onions and Kumquats with a cranberry salad dressing: make the dressing by combining olive oil, vinegar and leftover cranberry sauce.
Sue and Julie Campoy are the mother and daughter dynamic culinary duo that owns the enduringly successful Julienne restaurant in San Marino. Their leftover suggestions include a hearty dish of turkey and black bean chili that can be made in high volume and frozen for later in the season. (Add a tasty cheddar cornmeal crust on top and you have a delicious potpie version.) For a different spin on turkey and cranberry sandwiches, they suggest a turkey breast, arugula, tomato and caper aioli sandwich. For those wanting to slim down after the excessive festivities, they recommend a salad of roasted turkey breast, dried cranberries, celery root and toasted pine nuts.
Johnny Vinczencz is the executive chef of De La Tierra restaurant of the Sundy House in Del Ray Beach, Florida and the recently opened luxury eco-resort El Monte Sagrado Taos in New Mexico, both owned by Dharma Resorts. Vinczencz, known for his creative comfort cuisine, suggests the following recipes:
€ Turkey, Biscuits and Gravy: sauté diced onions, carrots and celery in a pan and add a few breakfast sausages broken into pieces. Add shredded leftover turkey pieces, black pepper and half & half cream for the “gravy.” Reduce down. Serve over fresh hot biscuits.
€ Poached Eggs with Leftover Turkey Hash: sauté diced onions, corn, diced peppers and diced potatoes (or sweet potatoes) in butter. At the last minute, add shredded leftover turkey and a ladle of turkey gravy to bind. Poach eggs and set atop hash. Garnish with a dollop of cranberry sauce.
€ Sweet Potato Cake (perfect as an accompaniment to duck or pork): dice up leftover sweet potatoes, onions, and cilantro. Mix with an egg and bread crumbs to bind. Sauté or cook on a griddle (like a crab cake).
€ Homemade Pecan Studded Cranberry ice cream: Add honey-roasted pecans to vanilla ice cream topped with pureed cranberry sauce.
Frank Walason is the executive chef at Fulton’s Crab House in Orlando, Florida and has created a tangy cranberry relish that will complement many dishes throughout the holiday season. Take the leftover cranberry jelly and add the following ingredients as desired to suit one’s personal taste: sun-dried cranberries, brown sugar, mandarin oranges, granulated sugar, raisins, walnuts, corn starch, water, lemon rind and cranberry juice. Walason also brings a tasty new dimension to the traditional crème brulee recipe by adding a 1/4 cup of leftover sweet potato and two tablespoons of Grand Marnier to the mix.
Bradley Ogden is known as the “Father of California Cuisine” and is executive chef and co-founder of the Lark Creek Restaurant group in northern California, and is also involved in the planned reopening of Alice’s Restaurant at the Malibu Pier. Ogden, who has influenced the evolution of American cuisine for more than 20 years, is the master of reinventing turkey leftovers creating zesty new meals:
€ Turkey Hash with crispy corn stuffing cake
€ Turkey risotto with wild mushrooms and corn
€ BBQ turkey with roasted hot and sweet pepper flatbread, cilantro and aged Jack cheese
€ Turkey ragout and deviled mushrooms
There are undoubtedly many families who delight at the prospect of the traditional Thanksgiving leftovers-white bread, lots of mayo, turkey breast and cranberry sauce. But it’s comforting to know there are easy-to-make alternative recipes that will continue to excite the taste buds throughout the holiday season-and beyond!