Creative Thanksgiving Leftovers: Spice it Up!

I don’t think I like roast turkey that much.  Heretical as it may seem, a number of dishes traditionally served at Thanksgiving seem rather bland and plain to me.  More recently, I have not been a slave to tradition, and have developed menus that are more flavorful and incorporate more of the ingredients that I like.  Having said that, I really like Thanksgiving leftovers, and even more, I like coming up with creative ways to incorporate Thanksgiving leftovers into tasty remade dishes.

My favorite way of serving leftovers is to have them appear quite different than the original. In other words, I tend to associate Thanksgiving foods with large amounts of somewhat bland and soft foods (turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, etc…).  For leftovers, I like to add spices and liven up the textures.  Three examples where I would use turkey instead of chicken are Mexican Chicken Soup (using homemade turkey stock), enchiladas, and Thai red curry made with diced leftover turkey.  Another great way to serve leftovers is to make the flavors taste really fresh, this is one of my favorites.  This dish is also great in the summer for picnics and potlucks when you want to serve something cool that can be picked up with fingers.

Vietnamese Turkey Rolls

6-inch rice paper rolls
Leftover turkey, sliced into julienne pieces
Leftover crudite pieces, sliced carrots, zucchini, red pepper
mint leaves
cilantro leaves

Soak the rice paper rolls individually as indicated on the package (only about 60 seconds).  Add turkey and vegetables, I like to use 2-3 pieces of turkey and one slice each of fresh carrot, zucchini, and red pepper, plus a generous sprig each of mint and cilantro.  Roll up like you would an egg roll or a wrap. Cut in half and serve with a dipping sauce

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fish sauce (can substitute soy sauce, but not the same)
2-3 small chilis, sliced very small
1 garlic clove, minced fine
2-4 T sugar
Juice of a lemon or 2 limes

Whisk or shake in a jar vigorously to combine and dissolve the sugar.  Serve as dipping sauce for turkey rolls.

shared at Frugal Friday, Ultimate Recipe Swap, and Food Renegade