What's cooking for Thankgiving Day?

For a single gent that's pretty good Freddy. I like to cook, but I also enjoy leftovers because I can take a break, do other things, and just eat when it's time.

For a single gent that's pretty good Freddy. I like to cook, but I also enjoy leftovers because I can take a break, do other things, and just eat when it's time.

Thanks, Brian. I am always appalled at folks who don't like leftovers and just throw out any uneaten food. I simply cannot get my head around that. I'm not talking about a new recipe someone tried but really didn't like the outcome or food that may have gone off. I'm talking about cooking something one really likes but throwing out a good part of it because it might have to be eaten for more than one day.

Here is yesterday's, admittedly easy, meal.  It was good, though; so much so that I didn't have room for dessert, which is a completely unlikely event for me.


food prepared but not yet cooked


Food cooked. From left to right: roasted Brussel sprouts and mushrooms, turkey meatloaf stuffed with mozzarella cheese, mashed potatoes with skins (top), stuffing


Ready for dinner with the addition of whole berry cranberry sauce

I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight.

Mmmmm , I love cranberries. Over here that makes me somewhat of an oddball!

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When my wife and I were both working full time the only way we could survive (I loath most premade factory food) was to cook up a storm on the weekend and eat what we cooked throughout the week. Yeah, I can't get my head around wasting leftovers either. I have run into folks who just don't know how long food will last in a refrigerator where the door isn't constantly opened by folks looking for their next snack. They think it'll spoil much quicker than the reality. But we don't have those little hands. :-)

We make 1/2 of our dogs food, the other half being a high quality dry ration. Anyway, we make about 5 gallons at a whack which is anywhere between 25-30 days worth. It goes into the cooler in the shop and it will last 25-30 days without spoiling. But I have no little hands opening the refrigerator either. That cooler hovers near freezing. I've kept primal cuts of meat out there, and marinated meat for a month before I could get to it to BBQ it. All without spoilage.

But the reason I came to the thread was to post the recipe I used for Chicken a la king yesterday. Turkey leftovers would work just as good for the meat. We had ours over stuffing, but rice, or noodles would work, and it could be served as a stew with crusty bread on the side.


Chicken (or any other bird) a la King (Brians version)

The following recipe is the one I use most often, but as with most recipes I had to change it. It’s super easy. Yes, you can make this. It’s just slightly more difficult than boiling water. It can be made with leftover poultry.

The recipe is chicken specific as written, but any bird can be used. Change the stock to fit. That is, if you use turkey meat, if you can make turkey stock from the turkey carcass that would be great, or you can use chicken stock and it will still be delicious. I’ve done both.

Note that amounts are all approximate. Feel free to use more meat, more veggies, adjust the spices. I almost never use canned broth. I either use homemade or a base that I buy that’s intended for the restaurant trade. If salt is required I use “Better Than Bouillon” in the appropriate flavor.

Ingredients

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large shallots, minced (onion works)
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
3 3/4 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
6 sprigs plus 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender “stalks” only.
1 sprig fresh thyme Or approx’ ½ - 1 tsp of dry thyme I never have fresh (thyme is strong, so don’t go crazy with it)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more, to taste (I use chicken or turkey bouillon which has salt)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more, to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper (or some hot sauce)
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream (the low fat option subs’ evaporated milk)
4 cups 1-inch cubed poached chicken, recipe follows
16-18 ozs frozen mixed veggies of your choice I like a mix of carrots, peas, green beans and whatever else grabs you when in the frozen food aisle. I find a bag of mixed veggies works best.

Optional:1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
Optional: 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch slices

Serving suggestions: Buttered noodles, toast points, biscuits, dressing.

Directions
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup of the butter, and saute the shallots until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.
Whisk in the sherry and broth and bring to a boil while stirring. Add the thyme, and veggies, lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the sauce until the veggies are almost tender, 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. How do you know if the veggies are almost tender? Try one. Don’t over cook the veggies.
While all of that is going on, heat the remaining butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the mushrooms until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Pull the thyme sprig out of the sauce if you used fresh. Add the mushrooms and season with the salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg. Whisk in the creme fraiche (a spoon is fine).
Add the minced parsley, chicken, and chives to the sauce, and bring to a simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper (how? Taste it) .
Serve immediately over noodles, toast points, split baking powder biscuits. (Or over rice, dressing, with crusty bread, heck, whatever you want to serve it on or with)

This will rewarm fantastically and like a soup might actually be better on following days.

* The original recipe is from the Food Network, but I have changed it to make it mine. Now it's yours. Please enjoy!