ShareThisIt isn't hard to guess what most Americans will be eating that Friday -- the almighty leftover Thanksgiving sandwich.
Every bite replays the glorious meal we labored over the previous day, shoved between two slices of bread. And it's fabulous.
By Saturday and Sunday, though, the thought of another sandwich can seem as mundane as Ben Stein droning "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?" But with a little planning and some new flavors and techniques to preserve quality, transforming those leftovers is easier than tired cooks might think.
Melissa d'Arabian, host of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinners With Melissa d'Arabian," said she loves sandwiches and those "blue plate specials" of Thanksgiving-meal leftovers, but after a day or two, "I'm pretty much over it."
(Food Network is part of Scripps Networks Interactive, which shares common ownership with The E.W. Scripps Co., the parent company of Scripps Howard News Service.)
After the big meal on Thanksgiving, "The Next Food Network Star" winner takes a third to half the leftover turkey, shreds or cubes it, and pops it into freezer bags.
"So I'm getting leftovers that are frozen as freshly as possible," she said.
She's also prepping the turkey as an ingredient, making it easier to reinvent.
When it comes to making meals from the leftovers stashed in the fridge on Saturday and Sunday, think ethnic, d'Arabian suggested.
"It will trick your palate completely and you will no longer be sick of your flavors," said d'Arabian, in a phone interview from New York.
She came up with a trio of Southwest-inspired recipes for one episode. She transformed turkey into Turkey Taquitos, sweet-potato casserole into Sweet-Potato Empanadas and cranberry sauce into Cranberry Salsa.
"The trick (for cranberry sauce) is simple -- think of it as fruit," she said. "We do mango salsa, why not try a cranberry salsa?"
If houseguests are still lurking about, use leftover cranberry sauce to spice up an apple crumble or pour it over a block of cream cheese and use as a spread for scones or biscuits.
For those who enjoy the Thanksgiving flavors but are looking to make use of the odds and ends left over, there are still a lot of options, said chef Jessica Williams, an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Sacramento, Calif.
Try taking that green-bean casserole -- which by the weekend is likely missing its crunchy fried-onion topping -- and sprinkle leftover stuffing as a topping.
"Since you're doing a second cook, it only needs about 15 minutes in the oven," she said.
The stuffing also can be shaped into a patty and pan-fried, like a crab cake.
Stuck with a bunch of leftover rolls? Let them dry out and get really stale and then use them as the base for bread pudding, Williams suggested.
No matter how you plan to reinvigorate those leftovers, however, there are a few key food-safety considerations to bear in mind, said Christine Bruhn, director of the Center for Consumer Research at the University of California, Davis.
It's tempting to sit around and enjoy family and friends' company instead of immediately refrigerating leftovers, but the chance of bacteria growth and foodborne illness increases as the temperatures drop.
Bacteria love to grow between 40 and 140 degrees, Bruhn said.
"Take a few minutes and get those products in the refrigerator, and then sit back down and enjoy your coffee and dessert," said Bruhn, who researches consumer food-safety issues.
Simply shoving the turkey carcass and casseroles in the fridge won't cut it. Leftovers need to hit the fridge within two hours and be stored in smaller packages.
Turkey should be cut off the carcass and packaged in bags or containers 2 or 3 inches deep. Side dishes should also be packaged in smaller containers, and not stacked atop one another until they reach 40 degrees or lower.
"The key is you have to get food cold," she said. "If it's in a big mass, the center won't get cold."
If fridge space is at a premium and items must be stacked in order to fit, place the containers in an ice bath that includes cold water for a few hours.
For cooks who don't want to get stuck with a heap of turkey and trimmings to reinvent, one solution is extremely simple: send leftovers home with guests.
"That's part of Thanksgiving," Bruhn said. "Others help contribute to the meal, so everybody goes home with something."
If they want to morph those leftovers into something else, so be it.
Leftovers guide
Wondering how long all those Thanksgiving leftovers will stay fresh in your refrigerator? It depends on the level of acidity in the dish, said Bruhn.
Here are Bruhn's guidelines (although how the food was handled -- double-dipping, etc. -- and how cold it was kept also should be considered).
-- Turkey: 3 to 4 days
-- Potatoes: 3 to 5 days
-- Gravy: One week
-- Cranberry sauce: About two weeks or more
-- Stuffing: Cooked to 160 degrees separately from the turkey (that's the recommendation now), 3 to 4 days.
-- Pumpkin pie: 1 to 2 days refrigerated
CRANBERRY SALSA
Makes 1-1/2 cups
This recipe is courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian, host of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinners With Melissa d'Arabian." The salsa pairs well with d'Arabian's turkey taquitos.
1/2 cup canned whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/2 white onion, coarsely chopped, covered and microwaved for 1 minute
1/4 cup diced red-bell pepper
1/4 cup diced green-bell pepper
1/2 cup Mexican-flavored canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the cranberry sauce, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, onion, red pepper, green pepper and tomatoes, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a food processor and pulse until blended, but still chunky.
Per 1/4 cup: 49 cal.; 1 g pro.; 12 g carb.; trace g fat; 0 mg chol.; 88 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 2 percent calories from fat.
SWEET-POTATO EMPANADAS
Makes 16 empanadas
This recipe is courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian, host of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinners With Melissa d'Arabian."
Note: Omit the brown sugar if the sweet-potato leftovers are already sweetened.
1/2 cup sweet potatoes, mashed or pureed
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt
1 tube refrigerated ready-made crescent rolls (uncooked dough)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup plain yogurt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork, and mix in the cream cheese, brown sugar if using, lemon juice and pinch of salt until creamy.
Remove the dough from the tube and separate into 4 rectangles. Working with 1 rectangle at a time, roll over the perforated lines in the dough to seal together. Cut the rectangle in half and then cut the halves into 2 triangles. Place a heaping teaspoon of sweet-potato filling in the center of each of 4 triangles. Fold the dough over on each, as if you were making ravioli, and pinch the edges together. (Cook's note: Use a tiny bit of water if the dough is too dry to seal.)
Continue making little triangle empanadas with the rest of the dough, 16 total. Place the triangles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and into the preheated oven. Bake the empanadas until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a shallow bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt. While still warm, brush the empanadas with melted butter, and then gently toss in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve the empanadas with tangy plain yogurt for dipping.
Per empanada: 80 cal.; 1 g pro.; 9 g carb.; 4 g fat (3 sat., 1 monounsat., 0 polyunsat.); 12 mg chol.; 69 mg sod.; 0 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 52 percent calories from fat.
TURKEY TAQUITOS
Makes 18 taquitos
This recipe is courtesy of Melissa d'Arabian, host of Food Network's "Ten Dollar Dinners With Melissa d'Arabian."
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided use
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1-1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
1-1/2 cups shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup Mexican-flavored canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
18 white or yellow corn tortillas
Salt
Toothpicks
Sweat the onion, garlic and jalapeno in a saute pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Remove from the heat and add to a large bowl. To the bowl, add the shredded turkey, cheese and tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
Warm the tortillas in the microwave oven for 10 seconds so they are pliable.
Fill the tortillas with a tablespoon of filling and roll into a thin taquito, securing with a toothpick. Keep the taquitos covered with a damp towel before cooking, otherwise the corn tortillas will dry out and crack. Heat 2 cups oil in a straight-sided pan to 350 degrees. Place the taquitos in the hot oil in batches and shallow-fry until crisp, rolling to cook all sides, about 3 minutes.
Drain the taquitos on paper towels and salt. Remove the toothpicks before serving.
Per taquito using 6-inch tortillas: 134 cal.; 7 g pro.; 13 g carb.; 6 g fat (2 sat., 2 monounsat., 2 polyunsat.); 17 mg chol.; 91 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 0 g sugar; 41 percent calories from fat.
(Email Niesha Lofing at nlofing(at)sacbee.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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