Thanksgiving and More...Published as Thrifty Good Food Column in The Lincoln Co. News

Thanksgiving and More…

            By the time you read this, you are not likely to need more commentary on how to prepare the “feast that was”!  The leftover turkey, stuffing, vegetables, cranberries and mashed potatoes crammed full in the refrigerator are ample enough reminders of that wonderful event, at least at our house.

            While the sight of all these leftovers can cheer any frugal gourmet, that first look can also be daunting. The practicalities of wisely using this bounty can be challenging to say the least, especially if you want the results to be both appetizing and not just a microwave copy of the same meal. We all thrive on variety and this is the time to practice some simple but ingenious methods to achieve both visual and taste varieties. What is more, turkey once prepared can provide many easy and economical meals and can be a real boon to the weekly food budget.

            An excellent and totally different presentation can be achieved by converting many of those ready-made ingredients from your ‘after-Thanksgiving’ refrigerator into a turkey tamale pie. The south-of-the-border flavors are guaranteed to perk you up after a hard day of weekend shopping.

Turkey tamale pie.

            Sauté one medium onion and ½ green pepper, chopped, in 1 Tblsp. olive oil until soft, stir in two minced cloves of garlic and continue to sauté for an additional minute. Stir in the contents of 1 (14 oz) can chopped seasoned tomatoes with juice, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1- 2 Tblsp. chili powder and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups cubed turkey meat, ½ cup leftover gravy (optional), ½ cup chopped olives (green or black), 1 can (14 oz) black beans drained and rinsed and a cup of cooked vegetables such as corn or green beans. Pour mixture in a buttered baking dish. For topping use 1-2  cups leftover mashed potatoes combined with ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Drop spoonfuls of topping as you would biscuits or spread in thin rows to make a lattice.  Sprinkle everything with additional shredded sharp cheddar cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. In absence of leftover mashed potatoes: make a cornmeal topping. Cornmeal topping: stir ¾ cups cornmeal in 2 cups cold water, 1 Tblsp. butter and ½ tsp. salt. Bring to boil and cook stirring until thick. Remove from heat, stir in the shredded cheese and proceed as above, spreading the corn mixture in thin rows. Serve with a salad and you have a totally different meal from Thanksgiving.

            A very different flavor can be achieved by combining cooked turkey cubes with a creamy mushroom sauce.

                                    Turkey mushroom success.

            In a pan melt 2 Tblsp. butter, stir in 2 Tblsp. flour and constantly stirring on medium heat add 1 cup milk. Stir to keep smooth, until thickened. Add: ½ tsp. salt, ¼  tsp. dry mustard, ¼  tsp paprika, ½ tsp. dill seed (optional), 1 Tblsp ketchup, 2 cups cubed cooked turkey, one 4 oz can sliced mushrooms (drained) and 1/3 cup shredded sharp cheese. Stir on low heat until blended and hot. Serve on pasta, rice, warmed leftover stuffing or just toast. 

            Turkey really is one of the most economical and versatile of meats. So, after Thanksgiving I have come to conclude that roast turkey should appear more often on our tables than just on these feasts in November and December. An opinion most heartily supported by the concurring purrs of our two new resident felines.

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

Turkey Trot Time

            Looking out from our window on a recent morning, I was amazed by the sight of several wild turkeys that were doing what looked like a dance at the edge of our meadow. Actually it was probably the high wind that was impeding their foraging, so that they would flap their wings to get a more secure foothold, but in the process they seemed to be engaged in a frolic.

            There actually is a human dance version of the Turkey Trot that was popular in the early 1900’s, which involved a lot of intricate movement to fast ragtime music.  In our modern world the name “Turkey Trot” has become synonymous in many towns and cities with distance races around Thanksgiving time, often livened up by the imaginative costumes of the runners.

            I’m afraid I was not thinking of either the dance craze, nor the closest holiday “Turkey Trot” race.  My thoughts were jolted with a much more practical matter. What to serve for Thanksgiving this year?  Regrettably in reference to those turkeys in our meadow, it was going to be one of their domestic relatives.  Turkey and Thanksgiving just naturally go together at our house.

            Since my kitchen does not have a double oven, the 12-14 pound turkey will have to be roasted by the high temperature method to allow oven time for other preparations. For the high temperature method, rinse and pat dry the thawed turkey, seasoning the inside with salt and a few chopped celery tops.  Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the roasting pan and place the un-stuffed turkey on a rack in the lower one third of the oven, pre-heated to 425 degrees. Roast for one hour, turn the pan and roast for an additional 40 minutes. Baste with a glaze or just lemon juice and the drippings and roast for an additional 20 minutes. Total roasting time 1 and ¾ to 2 hours. Remove the bird to a plate and loosely cover with foil to rest for 30 minutes. This gives you time to make the gravy and other side dishes.

            Side dishes are where some variation each year is allowed at our house, as long as there are mashed potatoes to go under the rich turkey gravy. This year we’ll have sweet potatoes emphasizing their natural flavor, without the cloying sweetness often accompanying this dish.

                                    Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

            Cut 2 large peeled sweet potatoes (or yams) in wedges ½ to ¾ inches at the thickest portion. Make similar wedges from a peeled red onion, with the wedges being held together at the root end.  In a large bowl mix together 2Tblsp. olive oil, 1 Tblsp. balsamic vinegar, ¼ tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. brown sugar, ¼ tsp. ground ginger and ½ tsp. ground cumin.  Toss the sweet potato wedges in the mix until well coated and spread out on an aluminum foil lined large cookie tin with sides. Toss the onion wedges in the oil mixture and distribute between the potatoes. Sprinkle all with coarse salt and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes, turning the vegetables once after 20 minutes with a spatula. The sweet potatoes can be prepared before the turkey, kept covered on the pan until serving time and just heated under the broiler for a couple of minutes.

            Although a roasted turkey, banked with fresh sage sprigs is a picture in itself, having some colorful sides on the table adds visual pleasure. There will naturally be fresh cranberry sauce, a dish of this summer’s dilly beans, but the green fall vegetable can be a challenge. This year’s warm fall has provided the option of kale, still plentiful in the garden and local stores, which unlike collards requires a minimum of preparation.

                                    Sautéed Kale with Pine Nuts.

            Wash kale leaves and chop coarsely, discarding the stems and any wide ribs to give 4-5 cups of leaves. These can be prepared ahead and stored in a plastic bag until use just before dinner. In a wok or deep pan, sauté ½ sweet onion chopped in 2 Tblsp. olive oil for 5 minutes, until golden. Add 1 minced clove of garlic and sauté for another minute. Add ½ of the kale leaves, 1 Tblsp. chopped capers, and 2 Tblsp. pine nuts.  Sauté for about 3 minutes stirring, add the rest of the kale and continue to sauté for an additional 3 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan for 1-2 minutes with heat remaining on medium. Serve sprinkled with additional toasted pine nuts.

            With all this good food ready to go on the Thanksgiving table, family and friends in attendance, one can only agree with the lyrics of the song by Little Eva “Come on, let’s Turkey Trot, Let’s get it while it’s hot”…

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)