Leftover Turkey and Stuffing

This is a favorite for Thanks-giving leftovers. Mix 2C diced cooked turkey, 2C mayo-nnaise, 1C water chestnuts, 2C diced celery and 1 can of cream of chicken soup. Place in a baking dish and top with leftover stuffing. Bake at 350 F for 30-45 min. uncovered. Variations could use chicken or mashed potatoes. We served it with a green salad but leftover cranberries would work well too.

Our Thanksgiving Table

We have a pretty traditional Thanks-giving. Turkey cooked on the Weber; stuffing..we put the meat thermometer in the stuffing rather than the bird to assure that the stuffing is completely cooked. This year we had carmalized shallot-sage mashed potatoes which used 2C of thinly sliced shallots carmalized in 2T of olive oil along with 1t fresh sage and 2t sugar. The mixture is finished with 1T white basalmic vinegar and folded in the mashed potatoes. Gravy is made by making a roux of the drippings from the Weber and flour. Stock prepared from the gibblets, celery, onion and carrots is added to thin the roux to the desired thickness. We also like cabernet-cranberries. They are prepared by mixing fresh cranberries and sugar with 2T orange zest and dry red wine and simmering until the mixture thickens. The yam is baked with rosemary sprigs. We served a chilled Rose wine.

For dessert this year we had a cheese cake which our daughter Karen and Dee prepared. The cheesecake is a pretty traditional recipe but has a gingersnap crust, a caramel topping with toffee crunch supplied by crushed Heathbars......VERY rich.

Noodle soup with Fresh Noodles

Remember the Weber chicken from a few days ago? The is the fate of the bones. We put them in a pot with 2 qt. of water, 1 whole onion, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk and some dried thyme. Simmer it slowly for 2 hrs. Allow the bones to cool, remove the meat and put back into the stock after removing and discarding the vegetables. Adjust the seasonings and set aside.
Fresh noodles are fun and easy and take little more time than it takes to boil the water to cook them. Our recipe calls for 2C flour, 3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg and about 4T water. Beat the eggs and then add them to the flour. Add the water until the dough is just workable. Knead until smooth and then roll it to the desired thickness; we like less than 1/8 inch. Roll the dough like a jelly roll, slice it into 1/4 inch widths and unroll them individually. This recipe makes enough noodles for 12 servings. They can be frozen for later use. Heat the stock back to boiling and add the noodles. Cook until tender. This is a nice hearty soup with a definate smokey taste from the Weber chicken.

5 Hr Beef Stew

This is a very nice stew that originated before the days of slow cookers so it describes oven cooking at 250 F for 5 hrs. It can also be done in a slow cooker. "Chunk up" 3 medium potatoes, 2 onions and 3 carrots. Place them in a dutch oven or slow cooker along with 1 pound stew meat, 1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes, 1/4 C tapioca and 1/2C red wine. Cover and cook on low( or 250 in the oven) for about 5 hrs or until the meat is very tender. We served it with a crusty bread and a dry red wine....a green salad would be nice as well.

Eggplant Parmesan, Pasta with Tomatoes and Olives and Green Salad

The secret of good eggplant parmesan we think is the prep-eration of the eggplant. Our favorite way is to slice the eggplant in 1/2 inch slices and salt both sides generously. Place the slices on layered paper towels for several hours to remove the excess water. The water seems to carry the salt away so there is no saltiness to the eggplant. Dredge the eggplant in flour then an egg wash and finally in bread crumbs. Bake the slices at 400 F for 10-12 min, turn them and bake for another 10-12 min. Layer the eggplant slices in a baking dish with sliced mozzeralla cheese and your favorite red sauce. Bake at 350 F for 30 min until bubbley.
The pasta sauce was made by simmering canned diced tomatoes, garlic and sliced kalamata olives.
The salad was dressed with an asiago peppercorn dressing.
We had an Italian red wine with the meal http://www.winelegacy.com/ItemDetail.aspx?Item_ID=276

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas and Rice with Chilies and Tomatoes

This is a new favorite for left over chicken. Slice 2 large onions thinly and saute them in 2T butter being careful not to burn them. Remove from the heat and add 2C cooked chicken, chopped, 1/2C chopped roasted red peppers and 6 oz. of cream cheese. Stir gently to blend these ingredients and add salt to taste. Pour a little green enchilada sauce in a 9x13 baking pan. Spoon 1/3C of the mixture onto a tortilla (flour or corn), roll them and place them seam down in the pan. Hint: in order to make the tortillas flexible, warm them in the microwave. Continue until all the mixture is used, about 12 enchiladas. Cover with the remaining large can of green sauce and top with 8 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese. Bake uncovered at 375 F for 20 min. We finished it under the broiler until the cheese was nicely browned.
Brown rice was prepared according to package instructions. A small jar of diced green chilies and 1C diced canned tomatoes were added just before serving.

Roast Chicken, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts

This is a fairly common meal with a couple twists. First, the bird is cooked on the Weber and the juices caught in a drip pan are used to make the roux for the gravy. Second, the stuffing was made from leftover dried bread and corn bread. Make some stock by simmering the giblets with a carrot, celery and small onion in 1 qt. of water. Add spices as you wish; we like sage and thyme. Simmer this while the chicken cooks....about 90 min for a 5-6 lb bird. Finally, we use a meat thermometer which is placed in the stuffing rather than the meat of the bird. When the chicken is done, put the drippings in a sauce pan, mix in some flour (the amount depends on how much liquid you have). Warm gently until bubbley then dilute with the stock until you reach the consistancy you wish. Salt and pepper to taste. We served our chicken and stuffing with mashed potatoes and sauted slice brussel sprouts which have appeared here before. We had a chilled dry white wine with it.