I've said it before and I'll say it again. There's nothing like a big meal to make you hungry later. So after voicing our thanks for family, freedom and country, let us all sing the praises of that other great blessing, Thanksgiving Leftovers.
The best leftover, consumed later on the day of the big feast, after you've dozed through the football game and awakened ravenous, is the simple sandwich. Cut two massive slabs of white bread, smear on some mayonnaise, add slices of leftover turkey, some green beans, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy and maybe a squirt of sriracha sauce. Hold it in both hands and eat it at room temp.
The second best leftover is a gnaw on a whole turkey leg while standing in front of the open refrigerator door at 2 a.m. the next morning.
Then, stretching over the next couple of days, comes the cornucopia of dishes aimed at the imaginative use of every morsel of food left over from Turkey Day _ recipes from leftover cranberry pancakes to mashed potato soup.
And if there's wine left over from Thanksgiving, use it, to be sure. But I can never count of that with my family, so I bring out new bottles, chosen to complement the reborn dishes. I like light, simple wines, geared to the fact that we still may be popping the occasional antacid in penance for the previous day's debauch.
Let's start with some recipe ideas. They're sketched out here; you have to google them for the details.
_ Leftover Turkey Lasagna: Chop some leftover turkey, add Italian sausage, tomatoes, ricotta and lasagna noodles and bake.
_ Turkey Soup: Heat a pot of chicken broth, slip in the leftover turkey carcass for an hour or so, then add pasta, green beans, sweet potatoes and spices and simmer.
_ Turkey Tetrazzini: Prepare a pot of pasta. Add turkey, mushroom soup, cheese, sherry and some spices and bake.
_ Next-Morning Cranberry Pancakes: Drop a dollop of leftover cranberry sauce into your favorite pancake recipe as you mix it before frying. Spoon a bit more on top in place of syrup.
_ Cranberry Appetizer: Bake a round of brie topped with cranberry sauce and slivered almonds. Serve with crackers.
_ Cranberry Meatloaf: Get out your favorite meatloaf recipe, stir in a few dollops of cranberries, and have the moistest, tangiest loaf ever.
_ Cranberry Muffins: Whip up some muffin batter, ladle it halfway up a muffin tin, add a spoon of cranberries and top with more batter. The cranberries will be a tangy surprise when diners bite into them.
_ Cranberry Parfait: Put a spoon of cranberries in a parfait glass, slide in a couple of vanilla cookies, add ice cream, top with more cranberries and whipped cream.
_ Potato Pancakes: Haul out the leftover mashed potatoes, add stuffing, biscuit mix, chopped onions and a couple of eggs, form into patties and saute in butter. Top with a dollop of that cranberry sauce.
_ Mashed Potato Soup: Make a hearty soup of turkey broth, bacon chunks, mushrooms and onions and stir in some mashed potatoes. Include some grated cheddar cheese if you must.
_ Green Bean Casserole Leftover Bake: Add diced turkey and stuffing to yesterday's green bean casserole, top with grated cheese and heat through in the oven.
Following are some wines to help you enjoy the second-best feast of the year _ good old Thanksgiving leftovers.
