Here in the South, we don’t usually skimp on food for celebrations. Y’all know exactly what I mean. It’s go big or go home. This year for Thanksgiving we had appetizers: a vegetable tray, baked Swiss and bacon dip, and a terrific cheeseball and cracker array shaped like a turkey. For dinner we had a whole smoked turkey and gravy, a whole ham, cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, pineapple-cheddar casserole, green bean bundles wrapped in bacon, Sister Schubert rolls, and cranberry orange relish. For dessert there was an apple cake with salted caramel sauce, an old-fashioned pecan pie, and a homemade pumpkin cheesecake.
I know that doesn’t sound like much, but in our defense it was a very light year. We only had seven adults and three small children–one of whom is a toddler and didn’t slow down enough to eat anything at all–so we reined it in. Notice the total lack of broccoli casserole or salad, squash of any kind, corn anything, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pickled peaches, key lime or lemon meringue pie, or death by chocolate. Oh, and I made deviled eggs but forgot to put them out, so those were missing, too.
I don’t know about you, but after big and heavy, holiday food, the last thing I want is turkey tetrazzini. Or one of those 8-inch tall Dagwood sandwiches with turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and gravy on it. Nope. At that point I am craving something lighter, fresher, and maybe a little crunchy. And a lot faster and easier to prepare. Below are this year’s favorites, and a few other ideas. As always, the whole point is to improvise with what you have. Share your unusual favorites in the comments!
Tiny Turkey Sandwiches
Ingredients
- Leftover Sister Schubert Rolls
- Leftover turkey
- Leftover cranberry orange relish
- Cubed brie or thinly sliced Swiss
- Toothpicks
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300°. Slice rolls in half at the equator. Put a sliver of turkey, a small cube of brie, and a dab of cranberry orange relish on the bottom half. Top with the upper half and spear with a toothpick to hold it all together. Put in the oven long enough to make the brie soft and melty, and crisp the outside of the rolls.
- Yes, this sounds like a no-brainer recipe, but these are absolutely delicious. And even if you eat several, they won’t put you back into a food coma.
Notes
Fresh Pear Salad
Ingredients
- Red leaf lettuce optional, or fresh endive leaves, also optional
- Sliced or chopped pear
- Blue cheese of some sort
- A few pecans
- A sprinkle of bacon
- Either balsamic vinaigrette or *reduced balsamic vinegar
- Cracked black pepper
Instructions
- On a salad plate, put a couple of leaves of lettuce if you have it. Arrange the pears on the salad plate, sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese, pecans, and bacon. Drizzle with the balsamic dressing or reduction* and top with a couple of grinds of black pepper. If using endive leaves, divide chopped pear, blue cheese, pecans, and bacon among the leaves, and drizzle with dressing. Arrange on a plate and grind a bit of pepper over it. You can eat these as finger food.
- To reduce balsamic vinegar, boil 1/2 a cup of balsamic vinegar until reduced by half.
Notes
Future Stuffed Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup thawed cornbread dressing
- 4 slices raw bacon–the thin kind
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Cut a pocket into each breast and season the breast lightly all over and inside with salt and pepper. Divide the thawed dressing evenly among the 4 breasts, stuffing the dressing into the pocket of each. Wrap each breast snugly with a slice of bacon, sealing up the pocket. Put the chicken in a casserole dish just large enough to hold them all without too much crowding. Cover the casserole dish with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 15 minutes or until the bacon is done and crisping on top. I like these drizzled with Lea & Perrins White Worcestershire Sauce.
- This works with thick pork chops, too.
Other ideas:
Grind some ham, crushed pineapple, a sliced green onion, and a little cream cheese in the food processor. Use to stuff the celery left from making dressing.
Add a cup of leftover sweet potatoes to biscuit dough. Serve the biscuits warm with butter and slivers of ham.
Leftover green beans are good drained, tossed with vinaigrette and served chilled.
You can make a good New Orleans old-style po’boy with a split French roll filled with turkey and leftover gravy. Be sure to season the turkey well with salt and pepper.
A couple of pieces of leftover pecan pie (or pumpkin pie) can be chopped up and layered with plain whipped cream in parfait glasses.
Bon appetit de nouveau!
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