What's in that...Friday

Truthfully, I can hardly bear to think about food today! So much good food was brought to the Thanksgiving Day dinner, and it was ALL good. As usual, I picked my way through a few things and thought I was done until a couple of desserts came in. I'm not much of a dessert person but white AND dark chocolate brownies? How could I resist? So I didn't. Then incoming again...mushrooms in some sort of light sauce...oh dear! I don't even know all the good things brought, but my stomach was very happy. Today it is dancing and I'd really like it to stop.





Hands down, the most creative dish brought was this one, made by Amy Jo. Jack was the first taster and was heard to mutter "I hope this isn't a trick." Apparently not, as he seemed to make short work of it!



This morning along came Faithful Ann, with a leftovers sandwich of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, all wrapped up and handed over to me...yum. If I was smart (and sometimes I am, but not this morning) I'd have taken a photo of the sandwich and that would have been perfect!

The main hostess was busy making up bags of scraps and bones for soups in her incredibly efficient manner, before we'd even hit the tables. Thinking of that and the weather getting cooler (it's only 82 in the mid-day and last night got down in the very low 70's - laugh if you must but to us that's chilly!), soup seems to be a good thing to write about...and to cook.

Everyone has different leftovers*, so this is really only a guide of the obvious. Buen provecho!

LEFTOVERS TURKEY SOUP

1 turkey carcass (crack the large bones)
1-2 c. turkey meat (or more if you've got it)
1 c. turkey gravy
2 c. stuffing
2-3 potatoes, cut bite size
4 qts. water
1 c. chopped onion
1 bay leaf
3 carrots cut bite size
2 stalks celery, cut bite size
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried basil

Any cooked veggies can be thrown in at the end (potatoes, corn, peas, broccoli, mushrooms, red peppers; you get the idea) If you have some red or white wine leftover, toss in a cup of that too!

Salt and pepper to taste


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Place turkey carcass, water, seasonings, stuffing, gravy and celery & carrots (fresh, not cooked) in large kettle. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for two hours. If you don’t like celery and carrots really soft, put them in after 1 1/2 hours.

Remove carcass from broth and pick all meat from bones (need I say, AFTER it cools a bit?). Strain the soup. Return broth and vegetables (including leftover veggies), & all meat to kettle and heat to serving temperature, about 5-10 minutes max. Makes about 4 quarts. After filling the house with the aroma of this cooking, you’ll be surprised how hungry you are again!


*Some people like to add noodles instead of potatoes - there are so many wonderful kinds of noodles and I can see where it could jazz things up. I'd probably use rice noodles, because they are *lighter*.
Again, this is just a guide. Make it a curry using rice and less water. Or toss ginger in. Or just forget soup and take all that stuff and make enchiladas instead. Eating well and eating cheap demand one thing, and that is your imagination let loose. As I was taught by my Dad, who got me started cooking a long time ago, it's good to play with your food!

p.s. The photo at the top is taken from a WONDERFUL site called Holidays on the Net. They have many more creative ideas of what to do with leftovers, as well as other great recipes and ideas. Check 'em out!