The Turkey Makeover

A person cannot live on day-old pumpkin pie alone. Thus, in honor of the day after Thanksgiving, I'm dusting off a few of the recipes involving leftover turkey that I've had on this blog, and I've got links to some other sites where you'll find MANY more. From the Southern United States to Mexico to Italy and India, these recipes span the globe. Hope you see (and eat) something you like.

---

This Mexican stew is probably my favorite way to use leftover turkey. I saw Dave Lieberman make it on his cooking show back in 2006, and I've made it every year since. The stew has wonderful flavor from mild peppers, oregano, cumin, and cilantro, and the lime juice provides a bright note as well as a shot of vitamin C. If you top it with sour cream and avocado, so much the better.

Update: later the same day . . . I made this stew for lunch today and was very thankful for everything, but especially for taste buds, all over again. 

I dialed up the heat quite a bit, using two—or was it three—fresh cayenne peppers and two small green chili peppers that I think were serranos (thanks, Blue Moon!). The rice I put in this time was La Preferida pearl rice (get it at Schnucks or the Mexican groceries around C-U), and I'm endorsing it here and now as the best rice to use. The plump little grains gave the stew great  body.

---

And this turkey Tetrazzini was also terrific. The original recipe, from Jamie Oliver, called for chicken, but obviously it's a great vehicle for leftover turkey as well. Oh, and mushrooms, white wine, cream, Parmesan cheese, and spaghetti as well. You have a little cream left over from yesterday, right?

---

Going Indian style, with a curry, was another good idea. It's a coconut-milk curry, so it's creamy and fragrant, and you get your greens at the same time—a complete meal in a bowl once you add rice. The recipe for this turkey and spinach curry came from an article by Mark Bittman titled "The Turkey That Went to India." Love that title.

---

More options:

• Check out the 80 million recipes in About.com's Southern Food section. 
• The Food Network site has ideas for reusing everything from the turkey to the sweet potatoes.
• Epicurious has recipes for salads, soups, sandwiches/wraps, and even turkey chilaquiles. Now why didn't I think of that?
• Simply Recipes also has lots of great ideas, including chilaquiles (again with the chiliaquiles!), gumbo, and tacos. 
• Ooh, and how about this Thai noodle salad with turkey and shrimp? What a great idea from Coconut & Lime.