Here are some clever and delicious ways to really get the most out of Thanksgiving Dinner!
As wonderful as Thanksgiving dinner is, at the time, I have to admit to getting equally excited about the leftovers as the actual meal. Here are a few ideas to ensure strictly no waste and maximum culinary pleasure!
Bone Broth
The act of boiling bones to make stock or bone broth has been around for centuries, and I for one have fond memories as a child of the smells emanating from the kitchen on Sunday evenings after a roast. However, only recently has it become so trendy as more and more health benefits emerge from this erstwhile cooking technique. Gut health, joint mobility and healthy skin, hair & nails are just a few of these. Green Queen wrote an excellent piece on this including recipes you can try here.
Drippings on Toast
When your turkey has been sitting in the fridge overnight, you should find a jelly like substance at the bottom of the dish, which many would think to discard. Do not! This sweet substance has turned into jelly because of the gelatin inside, and is full of protein and dietary collagen as well as carrying many other health benefits. Most importantly, it is the bomb smeared on top of slices of your finest toast…
Deviled Turkey
This is an old family tradition in my home, and there are many recipe variations out there. Last year I tried an 18th Century one from Jane Grigson with outstanding results! In brief, you separate your dark meat from your white meat, making a hot spicy sauce for your dark and a creamy sauce for the dryer white meat. This also means that there is something for everyone and the whole family is happy for once! Check out the recipe here!
Curried Bubble and Squeak
This is a fabulous way to use up any leftover potatoes and greens that you might have lurking in the fridge. Simply fry them in a generous dollop of butter or ghee with a few pinches of various Indian spices. I like to use turmeric, cumin, garam masala and cayenne pepper. You can make it as spicy as you like. Salt to taste at the end and shove a poached egg on top. Delicious…
Cranberry Chia Pudding
If you have any left from making your sauce, macerate a few with a drop of maple syrup then swirl through yoghurt or chia pudding. To make a chia pudding, add 4 tablespoons of chia seeds to 1 cup of your milk of choice (cow’s, soy, almond etc.) and stir well. Leave for 20 minutes as the chia seeds absorb the liquid, or overnight in the fridge. Before eating, stir it well again to remove any clumps then add your sweetener or fruit of choice. Here we have layered it with granola and a chocolate chia pudding, adding 1 teaspoon of cacao powder and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup to the original pudding. More chia pudding ideas here!