Thanksgiving: Ideas for turkey leftovers
Deciding how to eat up Thanksgiving leftovers is more than half the fun
Planovers: An excess of food cooked so as to have leftovers for future meals.
It’s a good word, one I stumbled upon in an article about hip, 20-somethings who cooked a turkey the day before Thanksgiving and then transformed the meat into sandwiches and various other concoctions for the big day.
Most of us deliberately buy turkeys that are just a little too hefty for our gatherings so we can enjoy the leftovers for days to come.
Turkey sandwiches are great, but here are four new ideas:
Turkey Enchiladas With Pumpkin Sauce
Turkey & Wild Rice Skillet Cakes
Curried Turkey Salad With Dried Cranberries & Yogurt Dressing
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Roasting turkey usually is a no-brainer (just throw it in the oven, stuffed or unstuffed and wait), but here are key tips from the Turkey Farmers of Ontario:
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Place turkey, breast side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan.
- Insert meat thermometer in deepest part of inner thigh, without touching the bone.
- Roast uncovered or loosely covered with foil.
- Cook until juices run clear and the thermometer reads 170 F (77 C) for an unstuffed bird, or 180 F (82 C) for a stuffed one. (Remember, the temperature will rise after you take the bird out of the oven, so you can take it out a few degrees early.)
- Let your turkey stand 15 minutes before carving to let the juices set.
To these tips, may I add: Don’t forget to remove the bag of giblets from the neck cavity. I did last week after stupidly confining my search to the body cavity.
For more detailed roasting info, along with recipe ideas, check out turkeyrecipes.ca or turkeyfordinner.ca.
Butterball.ca has lots of cooking info and recipes, too. On Oct. 6, 7 and 8, you can email or call the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line at 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372).
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Put it where?
Thanksgiving isn’t usually a time of humour, but I loved the news release from Mr. Rooter Plumbing noting that this holiday is the busiest time of the year for plumbers because people stuff turkey bones and skin, potato/onion peels, celery stalks and grease into their garbage disposals.
“Disposals aren’t designed to replace the trash can,” said Derek Moreland of the Greater Toronto franchise. “When a house full of family and friends try to put their leftovers down the drain, there’s a good chance it’s going to clog the pipes.”
Who knew?
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Catered turkey
For those with no time/interest in cooking, there are plenty of takeout Thanksgiving meals available from hotels and restaurants.
Orders for the Fairmont Royal York’s Turkey to Go (a local, free-run turkey dinner) must be placed by 5 p.m. Friday at 416-860-5050. Best of all, for every turkey that is ordered, the hotel donates one to the Daily Bread Food Bank.
Complete meals are are $140 for four, $240 for eight and $320 for 12.
This article was written by Jennifer Bain, Food Editor at the Toronto Star