Recipes for the week
Turkey leftovers + reader favorites 🌞
Happy Sunday. I hope everyone is feeling well-rested after the holiday. I also hope that everyone’s dinner turned out amazing, no marshmallows caught on fire, and no turkeys were dry.
Here I am serving up my sweet potato confit. I ran out of time to make the pomegranate maple sauce. But! I had started making gorgeous spiced pears in the morning hoping they’d be ready for the cheese board presentation, but they weren’t.
When it came time for dinner, the pears were ready, and I couldn’t bear the thought of breaking out another saucepan to make the maple sauce, so I improvised and served the pears over the sweet potatoes. It ended up being the star of dinner. I’ll be making another iteration of the sweet potato confit with spiced pears to put on the blog next week.
Thanksgiving Leftovers
Do you still have lots of turkey in your fridge? Can’t bear to eat another turkey sandwich? Are you getting so sick of turkey that you don’t want to see it again until next year? Same here. I have a few leftover recipes for you, plus a gorgeous orzo that goes well with warmed-up turkey.
Speaking of warming up leftover turkey, how do you store your turkey after dinner? This year, I tried a new method of storing my turkey, which worked well for me.
I can’t stand it when the turkey dries out, so when I picked the meat from the carcass, I also took off as much skin as I could. When I put the turkey in the storage container, I mixed in all the skin–particularly the fatty parts around the bottom of the bird–and put a few pieces on top to act as a protective barrier around the meat.
When I reheated it in the oven, I also reheated some of the skin mixed in with the turkey. The fat continued to render over the meat and kept it extra moist. I’ll do this again next year because it made my leftover turkey taste so good!
Leftover Turkey Soup
I will preface this by saying that it is not always practical to keep the carcass, so don’t ever let anyone make you feel bad if you have to discard yours for whatever reason. Some years I’ve had to get rid of it simply because I had no space in my fridge or freezer and I had no energy to make anything with it after cooking such a big dinner.
That said, if you still have your carcass, this is a great recipe for it. If you don’t have the carcass and you still have lots of turkey meat, just use store-bought chicken broth instead. It’ll be just as delicious.
Butternut Squash Orzo with Goat Cheese
Maybe this is a me problem, but I always buy so many side vegetables, as if everyone is going to eat 20 pounds of Brussels sprouts at dinner. Needless to say, I always have tons of random veggies and bits of cheese blocks after Thanksgiving. This orzo is a great way to use up all those bits and bobs in the fridge. If you don’t have goat cheese, try it with Parmesan or even cheddar.
This orzo is perfect served up alongside warmed-up turkey.
Leftover Turkey Curry
There’s no better way to enjoy the last of the turkey than in a well-spiced, coconut curry sauce. I use Spicemode’s Smoky Tandoor Blend, but you can use your favorite curry powder or garam masala if you’re looking for a warmer flavor profile.
A new recipe
Cabbage Walnut Pasta
A quick, no-fuss pasta dinner? Yes, please. This cabbage walnut pasta is savory and filling and comes together in a flash.
Recipes readers love right now
Ready to move on from turkey altogether? Try out some of these recipes that people are loving right now.
Mushroom Ragù with Ricotta Polenta
This ragù is hearty and filling. It’s perfect if you’re looking to add a deliciously satisfying vegetarian dinner to your rotation.
Roast Chicken and Fennel with Mashed Potatoes
This recipe seems to show up on the reader's favorite list every week, so hopefully this is your sign to add it to your dinner menu next week!
Salsa Verde Chicken Soup with Squash
This is one soup that I will have on rotation until spring (and probably beyond that if I’m being honest). It’s so easy to make, has tons of flavor and just the right amount of heat, and it’s just super comforting. I absolutely love this one, and I’m glad others are loving it as much as I did.
If you want a break from poultry, you could easily make this with ground beef. You can make it vegetarian by using a can of white beans or chickpeas.
That’s all for this weekend! I hope you all have a great week filled with lots of tasty food. 💖
-kylie