By Personal Chef Lori Eaton

Thanksgiving often comes and goes and we discard leftovers because we eat them for a day or two and become bored with the standard left over creations. I ask, why not utilize our leftovers, right down to the bone (or even the cranberry sauce)? I am a true believer in using every leftover on a daily basis, so when the holidays roll around I find myself in a playground of ingredients. I’ve included three recipes to try or perhaps inspire you to come up with your own ‘new’ creations.

Read more about Personal Chef Lori Eaton and read past articles. 

(Leftovers from a 10-14 pound turkey will make enough for six servings)

(If you don’t like dumplings boil up some egg noodles and serve the turkey and gravy over egg noodles, YUM!)

To make stock:

Take the carcass of your turkey and place in a large stockpot. Make sure you’ve removed every little bit of meat before doing so. Set the meat aside—whatever you may have left, or up to 1 pound.

Don’t be shy with bones and any skin leftover, this will give your stock great flavor. If you put out the standard crudités platter, toss in left over celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peas, etc…YES; chuck it all in the pot. All of these veggies will boil down and release great flavor into the stock. If you don’t have any leftovers, toss a quartered onion in the pot, a few stalks of celery and a couple of carrots in there. If you have a bay leaf in your pantry, go for it! Drop one of these flavor enhancers right on in.

Fill the stock pot with cold water, enough to cover the bones by 2”. Place a lid on the stockpot and turn on the water to medium high heat. When the water begins to gently boil (this is going to take at least 20 minutes), turn the heat back to low and let it gently simmer for 1-2 hours. Strain all of the stock through a fine sieve or colander. Return the strained stock into the pot and add up to a pound of turkey meat. Throw whatever type you’d like or a mix of white and dark. Bring to a gentle boil and thicken to your liking. If you have any leftover gravy you can add it at this time. Use cornstarch and water to thicken the stock, using in a 1:1 ratio. I’d suggest 1/8 cup water and 1/8 cup cornstarch, but don’t dump it all in at once, slowly add until the desired consistency is reached. This recipe is based on the fact we all buy different weights of turkeys, so I’m giving you basic guidelines to follow.

To make dumplings:

(Again this recipe will serve 6)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add buttermilk and stir to make a soft dough. Drop dollops of dough into the simmering pot. Cover tightly and cook for about 15 minutes without removing cover.

You’ll need a standard bread pan for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 pound turkey meat, divided into halves
1 pound stuffing, divided into halves

3 slices bread choice, cut to the width of the pan
1 cup of cranberry sauce (use a fork or whisk to break it up until smooth)

garnish of your choice  

Line the bread pan with plastic wrap and spray with non-stick spray. Spread the stuffing to cover the bottom of the pan. Press the turkey into the stuffing. Lay the three pieces of bread over the turkey and gently press them down. Spread the cranberry sauce over the bread and then another layer of turkey (some people prefer to substitute mayo for cranberry).  Gently press down again. Top with another layer of stuffing and press down. Cover with plastic wrap and press down again to compact the layers. Refrigerate for 4-24 hours. To serve: remove top layer of plastic wrap. Invert on a cutting board and pull pan away from the Napoleon, removing the remaining plastic wrap. Slice with a sharp knife and serve on salad plates—go nuts with a left over garnish like some green peas or a dollop of warm candied yams.

If you choose to freeze the Napoleon; freeze in the pan overnight, remove from pan and then wrap in foil. Before serving, thaw in a refrigerator overnight (at least 10 hours).

(This is a tasty way to put that left over cranberry sauce to use!)

1 ½ cups cranberry sauce

1 ½ cup half-and-half

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

8 egg yolks

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons superfine sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Divide cranberry sauce equally into 6 ramekins.  

Add the half-and half and vanilla extract to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until just under a boil. Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil. Remove from heat.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the egg and egg yolk with the granulated sugar. Gradually stir in the scalded half-and-half mixture. Stir in the heavy cream until thoroughly combined. Divide the cream mixture into the ramekins. Place the six ramekins in a baking dish. Add enough hot water to the dish so the water reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully slide the pan into the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes. The brulee should be set with the middle slightly jiggly when removed from the oven. Remove the brulees from the water and cool 15 minutes. Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours to overnight, covered.

To make the tasty crunchy brulee topping.

Sprinkle sugar on top of each brulee. Try to be consistent with the sugar; shake the brulees side to side distribute sugar evenly.  Place the ramekins on a broiling tray place as close to the broiler as possible. Leave the oven door open and watch carefully because the sugar will burn easily. If you have a fancy torch, pass the flame over each sugar topped brulee until the sugar melts and browns. You may want to substitute raw sugar for superfine sugar if using a torch as it melts better.

Bon Apetit!

Chef Lori