Sick of Turkey? Pot-Pie It.

Ugh, I am so full. But there is still a LOT of food in the refrigerator and there comes a time when one simply cannot bear the thought of eating the same (albeit delicious) meal again. And that is the time when I remember the adage they taught us in elementary school, "Recycle-Reuse-Reduce." Mashed potatoes can become potato pancakes, but there are even more uses for leftover turkey.

If you're over the turkey sandwich and you aren't into the turkey tetrazzini or turkey noodle soup, how about turkey pot-pies without the pot? These single-serving pies are perhaps a little more like empanadas than pot-pies but are easy to make and create delicious individual portions that use up that turkey in no time.

 Mini Turkey Pot-Pies
--1 tbsp olive oil
--1 small onion, diced
--garlic, minced
--8oz. frozen peas and carrots
--1 cup shredded cooked turkey meat
--1 cup chicken broth
--1 tsp. flour (or corn starch, if needed to thicken)
--salt & pepper
--1 package of refrigerated pie crusts (contains two pie crusts)
--cooking spray

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Sautè the onion and garlic for a few minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and the onion is translucent. Add the frozen peas and carrots mixture and stir heartily to mix together.

Add the chicken broth and the shredded turkey and combine well. Season with a little bit of salt and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Depending upon the turkey (how it was cooked, how old it is, how much it has dried up), the mixture may soak up more or less broth. Use flour or corn starch to thicken the mixture so that it is less liquid.

Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray. Lay out the pie crusts and cut into quarters (you can cut into halves if you want bigger pies). Place a large dollop of the filling onto the center of the pie crust quarter and fold up the edges to create a little purse or dumpling. You may need to wet your fingertips a little to create a good seal on the folds.

Cook at 325 degrees for 15 or so minutes or until the crusts are golden brown. Use a spatula to remove from the baking sheet so the bottoms do not continue to brown.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8 mini pies
Calories: 297 per pie

Think Pink (Salt) For Your Potatoes

It wasn't that long ago that there was just plain ole table salt. The famous jug with the girl in the rain slicker comes to mind, pushing her iodized and non-iodized versions. But then there was also Kosher salt, which only chefs and those minding Kashrut seemed to know about. And then along came sea salt, and gourmands everywhere rejoiced with the salt options. Oh gosh, but it didn't stop there. Salt, you see, is the new "it" gourmet product. There is gray salt, rock salt, smoked salt, flake salt, and finally the one I feature in today's recipe, pink salt. Phew!

One of my favorite side dishes is oh so easy that it is almost a crime that I'm posting this recipe (almost, but not quite). If you like salt (there may be a joke in there...) then you will enjoy making vegetables this way and can pocket this as a potential new way to prep some Thanksgiving veggies. While salt is not necessarily the most heart healthy of all the spice choices, all things in moderation--it's not like I'm telling you to keep a salt lick on hand or anything. Besides, salt is experiencing a renaissance period all its own as evidenced by the above list of salty options.

While I make my own concoction of rosemary and pink sea salt ahead of time (and keep it around for every opportunistic occasion), you can just make enough for each batch of veggies. If you can't find pink salt use regular sea salt so you still get good texture. Pictured is a mixture of small russet potatoes and fingerlings but this preparation works well for potatoes large and small of all types and also for beets and turnips.

While the recipe below is for two servings, you can make a small batch or a big batch. I've made enough for one serving, or two, or twelve before. Just keep in mind that one serving of potatoes is about the size of a baseball. Potatoes are rich in potassium and low in sodium (which is good, 'cause, um, we're going to put salt on these) and a fairly healthy food option when baked or roasted.

Rosemary Pink Sea Salt Potatoes
--potatoes (1 baseball=1 serving), either chopped into large chunks or sliced in half
--1 TBSP olive oil
--2 healthy pinches pink sea salt
--2 healthy pinches rosemary, fresh or dried

In a plastic bag combine the potatoes with the olive oil. Shake well to evenly coat the potatoes. Grab one healthy pinch of the salt and one healthy pinch of the rosemary and add to the bag. Shake more to get the spices moved around.

Pour the bag onto a baking sheet or into a cast iron skillet and spread the potatoes out. Use the remaining pinches of salt and rosemary to sprinkle over the potatoes.

Bake at 400 degrees for a minimum of 30 minutes. The salt will cause the skins of the potatoes (or beets or turnips) to wrinkle and brown. You want the outsides a little crispy, but the insides melt in your mouth tender. I usually cook mine for however long it takes me to make the other items of the meal, which on average means about 40 minutes.

Dammit Jim, I'm a cook, not a doctor...
Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 2
Estimated Calories: 176 per serving

The Rise and Fall of Bacon Mashed Potatoes

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we gather with friends to do what has become known as "Thanksgiving Run Thru". This is this a great opportunity to see as many of our friends as possible, and the leftover potential is awesome.

We also get chance to try out new recipes before serving them to our families at the big event. My addition to the menu was Bacon Mashed Potatoes and I have to say that they were just "good". I used a recipe from Food Network's 50 Mashed Potatoes booklet and it had me drooling in anticipation, but left me wanting more once we made them.

Bacon Mashed Potatoes:

2 lbs. Yukon golds or russets

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup hot milk

1/2 lb. chopped bacon

2-4 tablespoons bacon drippings

salt & pepper

Cover 2 lbs of whole potatoes with cold water; simmer 45 minutes.

Cook bacon until crisp then chop. Retain 2 - 4 tablespoons of drippings. Set bacon and drippings aside.

When potatoes are fork tender (stick a fork into one, if it goes in easily, they are done) drain, peel and add butter, milk, bacon drippings and 3/4 of the chopped bacon and mash until smooth and fluffy. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Put into a bowl and garnish with the rest of the bacon.

I made my dish with the Yukon golds which I happen to prefer over the russets. I find the russets to be a bit grainy. Since I was timing the dish around the standing time of the deep fried turkey, I cut the potatoes into cubes to have them cook faster and left the skins on as well. I ended up adding almost a full stick of butter and an extra tablespoon of the drippings. I used a hand masher rather than a hand mixer to keep a bit of texture (read as "slightly lumpy") although either method will work when mashing.

The end product was less than stellar. The flavor just was not there. I expected the salty smokey bacon and the creamy butter to blend into a mouthwatering delight that would have me undoing my belt and loading up the seconds, but alas no. So needless to say we had regular mashed on Thanksgiving. Since we all know everything is better with bacon, I plan on trying this dish again and tweaking the ingredients a bit to hopefully get better results.

Who knows, maybe a thick cut maple bacon, peeled potatoes and a hand mixer will do the trick.

Mashed Potatoes Get A Second Life

By now you're probably sick of eating leftovers. You've gotten creative and made turkey noodle soup, turkey tetrazinne, turkey casserole. I'm over cranberries and pecan pie. And one person can only eat so many mashed potatoes in one setting!

This year Kathryn and I both decided to make mashed potatoes with bacon included. And once she returns from Thanksgiving in New York we'll all get to see and read about what other goodies she made.

I attended multiple Thanksgiving celebrations and schlepped the potatoes with me to each stop. But with so many other options and all the side dish competition, a heavy portion of those pork mashers came home with me. Cooked bacon gets chewy after a time and these potatoes are past their prime so it's time to get creative.



Potato Pancakes
--vegetable oil
--leftover mashed potatoes
--salt & pepper
--flour

I took my trusty cast iron skillet and added about a 1/2" of vegetable oil and heated it over medium heat.

If the potatoes are plain I'd add salt, pepper, fresh garlic, onion, cayenne or whatever you like to make 'em pop a little.


While the oil heats, fashion the mashed potatoes into cakes. Dredge the cakes in the flour so they are covered in flour (this gives the oil something to stick to and helps keep the potatoes from becoming a hot gooey mess).


Fry pancakes til golden brown, turning so both sides are nice and crisp. Drain on a paper towel and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Great for breakfast!