Sunday, November 27, 2011

What To Do With Leftover Turkey


Here are two really good recipes for leftover turkey. You can substitute chicken in both but I liked the rich taste of the turkey in both recipes.

Turkey Pho

Pho is one of my favorite soups and because this recipe proved to be easy and delicious, I’ll be making it often because of the delightful flavor.

It looks like a lot of steps but the recipe is really easy and I was amazed at how quickly I put this together.

I love when I find a good soup recipe because homemade soup is crucial to surviving the long cold winters in Chicago.

You can use any vegetables in this recipe but I especially loved the kale because it is a nutrition SUPERFOOD.

Add sugar and fish sauce to taste. I only use squid based fish sauce.

Turkey Pho

Makes 2 big bowls of soup

Toast the spices:


2 tablespoons coriander seeds 
4 whole cloves
4 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick 

Heat a cast-iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves, star anise, and cinnamon stick and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices into a bowl to avoid burning them and set aside.

Make the turkey pho:

1 quart homemade turkey stock (or homemade or store-bought chicken stock)
1 bunch green onions (green top parts only) chopped
1 3-inch chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife  
1 teaspoon brown sugar 
1 tablespoon fish sauce 
1-2 cup chopped kale 
1/2 pound shredded turkey 
1 bunch (approx. 2 oz.) cellophane/bean thread noodles (or enough flat dried rice noodles to serve 2)
1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro 
1-2 tablespoon chopped green onions (white parts only), minced- for garnish (optional)
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
Sriracha chili sauce to taste

In a large pot, add the toasted spices and all ingredients from stock through fish sauce and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.

Taste the broth and add more sugar or fish sauce, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids. Add the kale and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Add the shredded turkey and the cellophane noodles. Allow to sit for a few minutes while the noodles soften.

Ladle the broth into bowls. Divide the kale, shredded turkey and the noodles evenly into each bowl.

Sprinkle on the garnishes and add sriracha to taste. Squeeze lime juice to taste ever the top of your bowl before eating.

    Turkey Pot Pies

These were especially easy using pie crust dough for the pastry. They came out looking really good and when I tasted one I immediately thought how much better these were than the frozen ones we had as kids. This is real winter comfort food!

These would make a wonderful lunch served with a huge, mixed green salad and a large glass of Pinot Grigio.

1 ½ pounds chicken (about three medium-size chicken breasts) cooked and shredded
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup potatoes cut into small cubes
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 cup)
2-3 stalks celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
½ cup flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup frozen peas
Pie Crust - about enough for 2 pies

Place chicken broth and potatoes in a large pot. Cook on medium high until potatoes are tender. Time varies depending on how large your potato pieces are. Pour the broth and potatoes through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup and reserve broth. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add shredded chicken to bowl and set aside. Return the pot to the stove top (no need to wash if you used it to cook the chicken).

Heat the olive oil in the now-empty pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, shred the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the chicken; set aside.

Over medium heat melt the butter in the empty pot. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes, taking care not to burn the bottom. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat and stir the chicken, vegetables and peas into the sauce.

Roll out pie crust to desired thickness. Place ramekins on dough and cut out circles to fit ramekins. Scoop filling into each individual ramekin. Place dough circle on top of each filled ramekin. You can also fill each ramekin down the sides with the dough like a frozen pot pie.
Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.

  
P.S. Sorry. No leftovers from the pumpkin pie.

Bon Appetit!