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But when you leave the party, no doubt stuffed more than sated, you may very well find yourself loaded down with something beyond an expanded waistline: as many containers of leftovers as your host can persuade you to carry. Well-meaning families tend to take pity on us solo cooks, assuming that we can’t possibly have the wherewithal to provide for ourselves and foisting off even more on us than on other guests; wouldn’t we like this turkey, and that cranberry sauce, and wouldn’t we get a lot of good mileage out of some mashed potatoes and gravy and dressing and pie?
I don’t know about you, but after carb-loading for 24 to 48 hours, the last thing I feel like eating a couple of days after Thanksgiving is a big plate of the same meal I had around the groaning table. Or, heaven forbid, some of the more indulgent, over-the-top suggestions for leftovers that start flying around this time of year (pumpkin pie smoothie, anyone?). So I’ve laid out a plan for turning that take-home bounty into lighter, tangier, crunchier meals that can awaken my palate after all the beige, cream-laden stuff I had on turkey day.
The first order of business is to decide what to take – and what to leave behind. For leftovers, I prefer to focus on the leaner turkey breast meat and on one of the brightest parts of the meal, the tangy cranberry sauce. Both are versatile enough to use in ways that seem light-years in flavor and heft from the Thanksgiving table. With the right ingredients added, they can remain seasonally appropriate as well.
Vietnamese summer rolls, one of my favorite light meals, become fresh fall rolls when I wrap strips of leftover turkey, baby spinach and mint leaves, carrots and apple in softened rice paper. (I leave out the usual vermicelli noodles to cut down on the carbs.) With a little lime juice, chopped mint and soy sauce stirred into leftover cranberries, I have a bold dipping sauce for the rolls.
Another day, I’ll whisk vinegar, Dijon mustard and olive oil into more of that leftover cranberry sauce for a quick vinaigrette, then drizzle it onto a textured salad of cubed turkey breast, carrot, celery, Bosc pear and feta. Pumpkin seeds give it even more crunch.
Finally, when my hunger for something spicy takes hold, I’ll pull out my trusty wok and stir-fry the last cubes of turkey with crushed red pepper flakes, Sichuan peppercorns, brown rice, peanuts, scallions and – for that seasonal touch – shredded Brussels sprouts. It’s a kung-pao-style approach, but it’s not traditional by any stretch. The real thing doesn’t include rice or Brussels sprouts in the stir-fry, naturally, but does entail a healthy dose of cornstarch to create that goopy sauce. Normally, I’m a fan, but when I’m in post-turkey-day mode, something that sticky would just weigh me down.
Turkey Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Yield: Serves 1
1 tablespoon raw, unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds; see headnote)
2 tablespoons homemade or canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher or sea salt
1-1/2 cups (2 ounces) loosely packed mixed lettuces
3 ounces cooked breast-meat turkey, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (3/4 cup)
1 small Bosc pear, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (3/4 cup)
1 small rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1/4 cup)
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1/2 cup)
1 ounce feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper
Toast the pepitas in a large, dry skillet over medium heat for 2 to 4 minutes, until the seeds turn golden brown and start to pop around. Cool completely.
Whisk together the cranberry sauce, vinegar, mustard and oil in a small bowl. Taste and season with salt as needed.
Combine the lettuces, turkey, pear, celery, carrot and feta in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and toss to combine. Season with pepper to taste, sprinkle with the toasted pepitas and eat.
Source: By Joe Yonan, The Washington Post Fresh Fall Rolls with Cranberry Dipping Sauce
Yield: Serves 1
For the sauce
2 tablespoons homemade or canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon lightly packed mint leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
Sugar (optional)
For the rolls
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 cup (2 ounces) packed baby spinach leaves
10 to 12 large mint leaves, torn into strips
Kosher or sea salt
3 ounces cooked turkey breast meat, torn into strips (3/4 cup)
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks (1/3 cup)
Four 6-to-8-inch round rice paper wrappers
1/2 small Granny Smith, Gold Rush or other firm, tart apple, cored and cut into matchsticks (1/3 cup)
For the sauce: Combine the cranberry sauce, lime juice, mint leaves and soy sauce in a small bowl, stirring to mix well. Taste for seasoning and adjust with lime juice and/or sugar, if desired.
For the rolls: Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add the spinach and mint; toss to combine. Season with salt to taste.
Keeping each ingredient separate, divide the spinach-mint mixture, the turkey, the apple and the carrot into four equal portions.
Pour warm water into a shallow baking dish and place a clean dish towel next to it. Soak one of the rice papers in the water until it is pliable, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer it to the towel to drain, then turn the wrapper over.
Arrange one portion of the apple and one portion of the carrot matchsticks on the lower third of the moistened wrapper, leaving a 1-inch margin at each end of the wrapper. Top with one portion of the spinach mixture, then lay one portion of the turkey strips on top. Pull the end of the rice paper closest to you over the filling, being careful not to tear the wrapper. Fold in the two sides so they overlap, then roll forward, keeping the roll as tight as possible. Repeat with the remaining three wrappers and portions of the filling.
Eat with the dipping sauce.
Source: By Joe Yonan, The Washington Post Turkey Fried Rice, Kung Pao Style
Yield: Serves 1
3 ounces cooked turkey-breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (3/4 cup)
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1-inch piece peeled ginger root, finely grated (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine) or dry sherry
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon crushed Szechuan peppercorns (optional)
4 Brussels sprouts, cored and sliced thin (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons unsalted, roasted peanuts
2 scallions, cut on the diagonal into thin slices
Combine the cubed turkey, garlic, ginger, water, soy sauce, Shaoxing or sherry, and the sugar in a medium bowl, stirring to coat the turkey evenly. Let the turkey sit at room temperature for between 30 minutes and 2 hours, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Heat a flat-bottomed wok or large skillet over high heat, then pour in the oil. Toss in the crushed red pepper flakes (to taste) and the Szechuan peppercorns, if desired; stir-fry for a few seconds, then add the Brussels sprouts and brown rice. Stir-fry until the sprouts have started to wilt, 1 or 2 minutes. Add the turkey along with its marinade; stir-fry for a minute or two, until the meat is heated through. Add the peanuts and scallions; stir-fry until the scallions turn bright green, about 30 seconds.
Source: By Joe Yonan, The Washington Post
