Turkey Pot Pie Soup

Behold the day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich. Juicy turkey breast, a layer of stuffing (or dressing, if you're a Southerner) and a touch of cranberry mixed into the mayonnaise recreate the holiday dinner bite after glorious bite. However, you can only have so many turkey sandwiches before the glory subsides and it's just another plate of leftovers.

When you are at that point and you still, somehow, have turkey meat left, it's time to try something new. Soup? Been there. Pot pie? Done that. In the spirit of the "cronut," the "stuffle," and countless other hybrid foods, we give you (the not-so-cleverly-named) Turkey Pot Pie Soup.

A touch of flour and some half-and-half transports this concoction from mere soup to pot pie territory. Otherwise, the ingredients are the same. Why sage? Because it's still thriving in our garden. Dried herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme) or whatever you have on hand will work just fine. We made a homemade stock from our turkey carcasses, but go ahead and allow yourself to use store-bought turkey or chicken stock or broth.  If you're feeling creative, get out a cookie cutter and bake some puff pastry into festive shapes. Or be lazy like us and serve it with bread or biscuits.

Turkey Pot Pie Soup

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

2 carrots, peeled and diced

4 cups turkey stock

1 cup half-and-half

1 1/2 cups your favorite (or your leftover) vegetable (we used a can of peas, drained)

3 cups leftover turkey meat, chopped into bite-sized pieces

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Melt butter in a large soup pot. Add onion and celery, and cook until onions are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add flour and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in sage and carrots. Pour in broth and half-and-half, cover, and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes, until carrots begin to soften. Add the peas (or other vegetable) and turkey and cook about 5 more minutes until meat is warmed through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Stuffing Waffles Topped with Turkey and Gravy

When you don't host Thanksgiving, there are a lot of variables to consider, particularly regarding the availability of leftovers. Will there be any/enough? Will the host be willing to share? Will I get a little of everything, or a lot of one thing, or (horror!) nothing at all? In order to assuage our anxiety, we took advantage of the wonderful chefs and students in the culinary department at Chris's school who were selling both stuffing and gravy available for pickup the day before Thanksgiving. This way, leftovers were a sure thing. 

We didn't need to worry so much because, as always, Amy's mom was very generous with her leftover-giving (thanks, Mom!). She cooked at 20-something pound turkey and gave us the carcass to make homemade stock, which will do later this weekend. We nabbed some turkey meat as well, but the stuffing and gravy were scarce, so we were glad we planned ahead. Inspired by the chicken and waffles we enjoyed at The Hidden Still, we planned to make stuffing waffles and top them with shredded turkey and gravy. 

Holy amaze-balls! The cornbread stuffing was delicious on its own - moist, well seasoned, and perfectly savory. But when cooked in the waffle iron, it was incredible, for our favorite parts of the stuffing are the bits from the crunchy, crispy edge - you know, the super browned parts, and in the waffle iron, that happened with every delicious bite. Topped with shredded turkey and hot, thick gravy, this took plain leftover turkey sandwiches to new heights.

It was so easy, we can't really write a recipe. Here are the steps:

1. Spray and heat the waffle iron.

2. Form leftover stuffing into a medium-sized ball.

3. Place one ball on each part of the waffle iron.

4. Close waffle iron and allow to cook until nicely browned and crispy (about 10 minutes).

5. While stuffing waffles are cooking, shred turkey and heat gravy.

6. Remove waffles from waffle iron, assemble and enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving

To quote Jacques Pépin:

I fell in love with Thanksgiving, and it has remained my favorite of all holidays — maybe because it makes no explicit appeal to patriotism, politics or a particular religion, and it’s not centered on children, like the egg roll at Easter or the Santa Claus tradition, with its largess of Christmas presents. There are no gifts to bestow on anyone, except the gift of being together and sharing nourishment.

(From "A Thanksgiving Love Story," by Jacques Pépin, The New York Times, November 12, 2012.)

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Happy Thanksgiving! Some Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes

Amy writes:

Life has been unusually crazy. School is, in a word, overwhelming. Winter Storm Alfred put a wrench into the normal flow of life and we still haven't quite recovered from that. Chris is in Florida this week, invited to watch the launch of the Mars Rover and attend an educators' conference at NASA. My mother hosts Thanksgiving and I'm headed there Thursday afternoon. All of which means, I'm pretty much not cooking this year. Still, I wanted to write a post, so... This post features some of my favorite fall recipes that I think would be fabulous for the Thanksgiving table. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!! I'm thankful for you, our readers!

Favorite Turkey Recipe:

Dry-Brined Turkey: 

Although most people would expect me to say "Fried!!!" but I actually prefer the results of dry brining. Moist and tender turkey with a wonderfully crispy skin, plus all the parts cook evenly. To me, that's turkey success! Next time we make this, we'll take a better picture, promise!

Favorite Side Dish:

Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratins:

This year, Mom asked me to bring our award-winning (runners up in the 2010 Sweet Potato Bloggers Contest) individual Sweet Potato and Pancetta Gratins, which she has never tried. These are delicious, not only as a fall side dish but even for breakfast or brunch. Chris has been known to build an egg sandwich around them as well. A definite favorite, and what says "Thanksgiving" better than the sweet potato?

Favorite Stuffing:

Slow Cooker Panettone Stuffing:

A modern twist on Grandma's classic bread stuffing, we love this stuffing we created with panettone. It has a great mix of sweet and savory flavors, and an added bonus is that it's made in the slow cooker so you have more room in your oven and on your stove-top for the rest of your dishes!

Favorite Gravy:

Cider-Sage Gravy:

Gravy, in some form, makes an appearance at everyone's Thanksgiving right? This gravy is easy and delicious, and goes really well with turkey. We were finalists in the 2010 Food 52 "Your Favorite Gravy" Contest with this one; they created it in their test kitchen and there is a great photo of it there). It's a winner in our book!

Favorite Bread/Roll:

Maple-Smoked Gouda Gougeres:

Why have a plain old dinner roll when you can have light, cheesy, airy gougeres? Picking a seasonal cheese like maple-smoked gouda takes them to a whole new level and adds a classic French touch to the meal.

Favorite Dessert:

Apple Pie:

Personally, I'm an apple pie girl. And I use refrigerated crust. Baking disasters are my specialty, so on holidays and special occasions, I tend to focus on everything but the baking and ask other people to bring dessert. That said, I make one or two apple pies every fall, and this one is my usual go-to recipe. Do as I say and not as I do...use those crust protectors!

Favorite Ways to Use Leftovers:

Chris's Rich Turkey Stock:

Chris is a big fan of making our own stocks. Stocks vary widely in flavor because of the number of variables involved, but this one was one of our favorites, with its deep brown color and rich turkey taste. We used it as the basis for both pot pie and soup, and froze the rest. Don't throw that carcass away! Make stock! It's easy!

Turkey Cassoulet:

I'm not sure Jacques or Julia would call this a cassoulet per se; I know Bourdain certainly would not. Nonetheless, cassoulet is one of my favorite foods and while this recipe certainly needs work, it was a decent first try. Hearty and filling, it can barely be called a "leftover" meal. (photo by Joanne)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!