Making my three favorite "recycled" menu items after Thanksgiving is such a part of the holidays for me that I always buy more turkey than I need. I want to have enough leftovers for Turkey Boudin Balls and Cajun Turkey Jambalaya. To do this, I need 3 pounds of leftover turkey-2 pounds for the Boudin Balls and 1 pound for the Jambalaya.
My family and I look forward to the Cajun Turkey Jambalaya each year following Thanksgiving Day, but at least some of the Boudin Balls go in the freezer to have on hand for the Christmas holidays. They make a great impromptu meal or, if formed the size of large marbles, a wonderful appetizer before dinner, or as part of a tree-trimming party.
They are versatile: they may be fried and enjoyed as soon as you make them, or fried then frozen--all ready to place in the oven and reheat. Your leftover turkey will have an unrecognizable new face, one that you, too, may make part of your holidays.
As for the Bread Pudding with Whiskey Vanilla Sauce, if we don't have 8 ounces of leftover bread, I go to the store the next day and buy some. I cut it in cubes and leave it out on the counter for a few hours to get stale. It's not that we actually need another dessert following the Thanksgiving feast, but...well...we did have that "leftover" 8-ounce baguette, cut up in cubes and just setting out on the counter, getting stale.
In addition to the above recipe links for jambalaya, boudin balls and bread pudding, here are some other ideas for using up Thanksgiving leftovers:
- Make potato cakes with leftover mashed potatoes and chopped turkey. Mix together, add a beaten egg or two if the mixture is loose, form into patties
and fry in butter - Chop the leftover green bean casserole and stuff it into portobello mushrooms. Top with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and bake until mushrooms are done and stuffing is hot
- Turn your cranberry sauce into a savory cranberry salsa that is great not only on leftover turkey, but with pork and any other poultry as well: for every 2 cups of cranberry sauce, add 1/4 cup minced onion; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro; 1 teaspoon orange zest; 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Form the leftover stuffing into balls that will fit into muffin tins (add a beaten egg or two if the stuffing is loose). Place in oiled muffin tins and bake at 350ºF until hot
- If you have large slices of turkey left, place stuffing on them, roll them up and place in an oiled baking pan. Top with gravy and bake until hot
- Mash leftover sweet potatoes, combine with a beaten egg or two, and form into golf ball size pieces. Then roll in flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs and fry to make croquettes
- Make a muffuletta sandwich by purchasing olive salad and layering turkey, cheese, and the olive salad on rolls. If your deli or grocery doesn't have olive salad, Roland makes a delicious "Italian Style Muffuletta Olive Salad Mix." This is a versatile item to have in your pantry (www.rolandfood.com). You can also top cream cheese with the olive salad and use as a spread for crackers or bread.
OR: Save the leftovers for another time when you aren't tired of the turkey meal:
- Gravy freezes well; just whisk it after you defrost it
- Place leftover stuffing (leftover stuffing?) into muffin tins, freeze, when solid remove from tins and place in freezer container or bag
- Leftover vegetables can be used in soup, or frozen and used for soup on another occasion when you're not tired of cooking
- Leftover turkey can be made into turkey salad (as you would make chicken salad). This is a great way to use the small bits and pieces of turkey that won't fit on sandwiches
- While I first thought this seemed odd, a sandwich with turkey and cranberry mayonnaise is delicious. Mix mayonnaise and leftover cranberry sauce and put it on a sandwich with turkey
- A "shepherds pie" can be made by mixing chopped leftover turkey and gravy (add peas, green beans or other leftover vegetables if available), top with leftover stuffing or mashed potatoes and bake until hot. If you don't have leftover stuffing or mashed potatoes, top the turkey/gravy with biscuit dough and bake until turkey is hot and the biscuits are done
- The turkey carcass can also be frozen and pulled out of the freezer some time when you're in the mood to make soup
- Leftover desserts? Just eat 'em!
HOW LONG WILL YOUR LEFTOVER FOOD BE SAFE TO EAT?
- According to the FDA, at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F (5°C and 60°C) bacteria multiply rapidly, so food should either be in the refrigerator, freezer, or oven. It should not be at room temperature for more than two hours (one hour if the temperature in the room is above 90°F). And don't test it by tasting if you're not sure of its safety--if in doubt, throw it out. I freeze any food that I don't think we'll eat within a short time--and I freeze it while it's still fresh. A general rule is that food remains safe for three to five days when refrigerated
and tightly sealed - If you think your food is getting close to not being fresh and safe, you can bring it to a boil to kill any bacteria (this works for soups, stews and foods that can be brought to a boil). Use common sense here, as you can't "make safe" food that is already spoiled. Also use your common sense to judge the safely of food — how does it smell and how does it look? You can’t always see or smell that the food is good, but you can generally tell pretty quickly when it’s outlived its usefulness.
- Some specific guidelines are listed below, but use your own judgement as I don't know how safely you've handled the food, or how long it was kept out:
- Mashed potatoes: 3 to 4 days
- Cooked vegetables: 3-4 days
- Meat, cooked: 3 to 4 days
- Poultry, cooked: 3 to 4 days
- Stuffing, cooked: 3 to 4 days
- Fruit or pumpkin pies, baked: 2 to 3 days
- Chicken or turkey, fresh: 1 to 2 days
- Gravy, and meat or poultry broth: 1 to 2 days
- Placing turkey in the freezer can extend its shelf life by six months
- At each meal that uses leftovers, reheat only what you expect to use. Don’t reheat the same leftovers more than once
- For a comprehensive cold-storage chart, consult the federal food-safety website, foodsafety.gov