And Now, On to The Remains of The Day! Turkey Sandwiches with Crunchy, Cheesy Potatoes!

 

No one finishes the Thanksgiving meal.  There are always containers of... remaining food.

What to do?  Dump everything in a pot and call it soup?  YUCK.

Instead of thinking of The L Word as some "used" food you need to get rid of... I think of "them" as if I have a sous chef who's already started preparing things for me to use!

Meats and vegetables can go into sauces, stuffings, "cakes," stews to top pastas or polenta...

Or mashed potatoes can top Shepherd's Pie or thicken soups... 

A salad can be added to cooked greens.  A piece of cooked salmon is the base for a great salmon salad... a salmon cake... or hash.  And though hash has a reputation as a dumping ground for "remains," with a little care it can be better than the original dish!

If you have a little bit of sauce left from a meat dish, add it to some day-old rice for a totally new side.  All it takes is a little imagination, and these "pre-prepared" treasures are just advanced mise en place!

So... I'm starting a campaign to remove the word "leftovers" from the language... Too Much Baggage.

From now on it's "THE L WORD," (with apologies to my dear friends in the Lesbian community)...

...Or The Remains of the Day!

First among equals, of course, would be turkey sandwiches, and they are undoubtedly one of America's great contributions to world cuisine...

So.  I had an extra loaf of the homemade bread that I'd made to turn into dressing...

The Very Best DressingStuffingDressing Ever and Made with My Homemade Bread, Of Course

I had arugula... I had mayonnaise... and plenty of white meat from the Thanksgiving turkey.

Perfect.

But one must have potato chips!  And I had no interest in a trip to the store.  So...

Mashed potato croquettes!!!

I sautéed a bit of scallion, added it to mashed potatoes, tossed in some chives, a bit of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, an egg, some Parmesan, salt and pepper...  Then I rolled balls of the mixture in flour, then egg, then fresh breadcrumbs (made from some day-old baguette), and fried them in EVOO until puffed and golden brown...

They were served alongside these perfect sandwiches with a dollop of chive sour cream...

Who needs potato chips?!?!?

Leave a comment