Loving the leftovers

Thanksgiving is in the books, and you have probably had a turkey sandwich with the leftover bird. While many people live for the leftovers, I find it a struggle to use everything up in a satisfying way. There are many articles about ways to use up extra turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes but most are rehashing the same recipes the website did in previous years (soup, turkey tetrazzini, etc.). I love it when I find something new, as I did with Serious Eat’s 15 Thanksgiving leftover recipes.

The list does not start off with anything exciting (stuffing waffles and waffled mashed potatoes), but a few more entries down I encountered ideas I had not seen before. The Vietnamese chicken and cabbage salad (Gỏi gà bắp cải) (pictured above) looked great (obviously subbing turkey for chicken), as did the turkey enchiladas with mole. I was also intrigued by the turkey “carnitas” that uses the meat that clings to the bones after carving (I am not great at carving turkey so this hit home).

If none of these recipes inspires you, head over to Food & Wine, where they have several options from professional chefs including larb and chilaquiles. Then, check out what Delish has to offer – 53 ideas for using leftovers from potato gnocchi to a cranberry sauce spritz. The one that grabbed me was the kalimotxo cola punch.