The Meal That Keeps on Giving
Written By Catherine Newman
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Thanksgiving dinner is over in hours, but the leftovers linger for days ...
Recipes
We are filled with gratitude, we really are, but Thanksgiving leftovers are a blessing and a curse, and everyone's an expert.
"You know what you should do with leftover creamed onions?" my dad offers. "Throw them in the trash, that's what." When I try calling Brussels sprouts Cabbage Patch Babies, my kids express a similar sentiment since A) it's a joke they don't get and B) they don't like cabbage. But they do like turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes. In fact, they love them, and for a day, life is a stroll down easy street: We eat variations on the original meal — microwaved or layered into sandwiches — and lie around in a gorged stupor.
But then there are the leftover leftovers. By Saturday, things are going awry in the fridge: All the nice turkey slices are gone, but, eerily, there's as much mysterious foil-wrapped everything as there was the day before. Nothing quite looks like dinner (the turkey's shaggy carcass is giving everyone the willies), but the children expect to be fed. That's where these recipes come in. You've already done all the hard work, now you need something easy. Plus, your children might like to help, and you might feel relaxed enough to let them, now that there are no longer two dozen hungry people in your dining room. That alone is something to feel thankful for.
Next page: A classic Thanksgiving menu
