Plain And Simple Leftovers

 It is the day after Thanksgiving and that means one thing. Leftovers. Tons of them. Yet there's no need for fancy makeovers. The best tasting ones are the only that are just simply reheated.

Yes, you could go for the fancy turkey tetrazzino or make a turkey hot pocket like chef and regular contributor J. Kenji Alt made for the wednesday Food Section of the New York Times, These are the leftovers wrapped in pizza dough, sort of like a cross between a calzone and a Costco chicken pocket.Its a mix of stuffing turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce. They;re baked for twelve to eighteenminutes at 425 degrees Farenheit. You could also bake them in a toaster oven for five minutes at 475 degrees Farenheit. These remind me of those Boxing Day pot pies that English chef and judge on The Great Britihs Bakeoff, Paul Hollyowwd. he layers cranberry sauce stuffunbg gravy and turkey in a pot pie shell. THis can be fun if you're into it /It's sort of like those lefotver sandwiches where your whole Thanksgiving dinner is thrown on a baguette.

To be honest just a slice of meat  - or turfurkey in my case with gravy makes the perfect lunch. There was a tiny bit of wild rice stuffing and all the flavorings were perfect just plain. The same things with the leftover veggies. My mix of onions , Brussells sprouts and carrots were just great on their own with a dash of salt.Yams don;t have to be redone. THey don;t have to be done in the first place. I never understood the American obsession iwth turning them into a kind of main course dessert. Why drown them in cinnamon and marshmallows when they can be airfried  with some olive oil and salt or microwaved and slathered with butter or Melt,a lant based butter. The same philosophy with Brussels srpout. Just top them with melted buttter and Parmesan cheese. That's it. They don;t need to be drenched in a puddle of cheddar cheese. Keep it simple.

Why go crazy redoing your Thanksgiving leftovers. Have them plain , just heated over. They're the best .that way.

A Very Vegan Thanksgiving

 Whether you;re a vegan or a non vegan, hopefully you had a day full of turkey stuffing, gravy sides and pie.

Apart froma thawing out glitch this was the tofurkey during its' thaw.

After an hour and fifteen minutes in the oven it turned out to be a crisoy, crunchy flavorful bite.

Did everyone have a delcious holiday , full of good food and good cheer? Nothing beats a full plate and good conversation. It's the best.

A Classic Thanksgiving Restaurant

 Imagine having a Thanksgiivng meal every day.If you;re in Texas you can thanks to a chain called Luby's/ This century year old family festaurant is known for its' Southern and American classics

Priya Krishna wrote about this staple of Texas life in today's New York Times Food section. The chain is famed throughout Texas, with locations throughout San Antonio, Dallas , Houston and Corpus Christi,They were founded in 1929 when WilliamLuby opend the first one  in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day..it has had a huge following ,ranking next to other beloved Texas chanisn like BBQ and Whataburger.Yet it almost didn't make it through the pandemic. In 2020, the company closed several locations and announced plans to liquidate and dissolve it's assets. fans were devastated ,placing on line eulogies about its' most favorite dish the Lu Ann Platter (a select entree, two sides and a roll).Thankfully Chicago entrepreneur Calvin Gin bought it a year later  He was going to do some changes, including cutting back on the famed tear round holiday meal. Employees told him not to do it. He didn't after seeing its' popularity.

What makes a Luby's turkey dinner so special?It does taste like a home cooked meal. Theyre are mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes next to even fluffier dinner rolls. Their pecan pie is  as  customer and fan Janie Garza, is not too sweet or too soggy. Every Thanksgiving she buys a take out meal for her family form the restaurant. Other fans like San Antonio's Sam Kinsey, who is eighty-six has beign going to the San Antonio Luby's since 1940's. They recognize him as one of th e old timers and sneak him in in the beginning of the line. He even eats a double meal on Thanksgiving Day, One at wherever he's invited and another on at the restaurant. Luby's however has other Southern specialties. They have the old fashioned and rarely eaten nowadays grilled liver and onions along with fried fish  and chicken fried steak. There's also pot pies and jumbo pork chops. The sides are down home too , with fried okra and baked mac and cheese.

If you want Thanksgiving everyday head to Luby's. They have turkey and stuffking along with cranberrie sauce and yamsn whenever you want them. It can be any time of the year.

Pie Charts

Here's the early question of the week - what is your favorite Thanksgiving Day pie?Is it the earthy and spicy  pumpkin? Rich , juicy apple?Or the candy like pecan?  Let us know.

I'll let you in on a secret - mine has always been and will always be a good homemade pecan pie. There's something about that outermost layer that's crunnchy and nutty and sweet. It's even better when there's a huge blob of whipped cream atop it.

Thanksgiving Subs Ins

 You're in the middle of creating that perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Everything seems to be going well  except you've either run out of or forgot a crucial ingredient? The stores are closed? What do you do? Sub it. Try to find substitutes that can fill in for the real thing.

The worst thing  is being out of flour . We do tend to use a lot it before Thanksgiving , especially for our pie crusts. Yet' it's also a crucial ingredient in gravy. If your gravy needs it and you've run out of it not to worry. Cornstarch can do the trick. You can also use arrowroot and tapioca powders too. however be aware that those can cause a gravy to become stringy. Another idea is roast veggies like carrots, onions,carrots, whole onions or red peppers. Puree them and use the mash to thicken the gravy (your best bet here is the onion because it will add the most to the sauce). What happens when you didn't buy enough potatoes to maked mashed? Add about a cup of potato flakes to it to stretch it. If not try adding spinach or kale to make that Irish favorite colcannon. You make be creating a new holiday tradition with this dish. Another idea is using those sweet potatoes in the recipe. It's an interesting and tasty way to make sure that everyone get a scoop of mashed.If you;ve run out of butter then sub in olive oil. It gives a silky texture to gravies and mashed potatoes.

What happens when that salad isn't going to be enough for the Thanksgiving meal? How do you stretch a bowl of greens and tomatoes? Add anything. Nuts like almonds and walnuts work. You can easily make croutons by air frying any bread. Just cube the slices , coat in olive oil and season with either garlic or onion powder. Air fry for about five minutes at 350 degrees Farenheit. Also if you have any jarred veggies, add them. Any salad can benefit from peppers , olives or artichoke hearts. Another troubling thought is running out of whipped cream at dessert time. Many love a big blob of it on their pies. Yet what happens when everyone wants a lot and it runs out? Not to worry. You can use ice cream as a side or if you want a fresher take. try Greek yogurt if you have it.It;s just whipping cream with the addition of vanilla and sugar.Use a hand mixer  and whip the yogurt and vanilla until soft peaks start to form. Gradually blend in the sugar. Continue to whip until the peaks are very stiff.

Don;t worry if you run out of something on Thanksgiving. There's always a substitute to fill. You'll still have a great holiday meal.

A Boozy Thanksgiving

 Alcohols seems to make everyting and everyone feel better. Imagine adding it to your Thanksgiving menu . A basting or a cup of bourbon, whiskey or whatever can add to the recipe. It can liven up dinner or dessert.

Bourbon is  perfect for any Thanksgiving dish. Thanks to its' sweet and spicy flavor it can be used in both main and dessert recipes. A bourbon maple glaze is a great addition to  a turkey and will make for a memorable bite.It's taking aquarter cup of the drink and mixing it with a quarter cup of maple syrup. The glaze is cooked with a stick of unsalted butter and ahalf cup of apple juice along with a quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper. it'sten brished on the cooked turkey slices . You  can also sub in whiskey for the bourbon. Another idea is a cognac gravy This is combining veggies like leeks, onions and celery witflour and  four cups of chicken broth. A cup of cognac is added to this and the already cooked turkey parts are added to this.If you feel that a bourbon or whiskey glazed tur

key may be too much, then simply add the alcohol to the gravy.It 's mixing a cup of Sauvignon Blamc with a quarter cup of bourbon and then stirring it into heavy cream based roux .This will alsohave turkey giblets, neck and drippings. it whisked together to form a tasty gravy that would also be good over mashed potatoes.

What about those sides? Can they get boozed up too? Yes . Sweet potatoes are another great pairing with bourbon. Both have a sweetness that can bounce off each other. Think a sweet potato casserole made with warm fall spices like cinnamon, and clove. Vanilla and light brown sugar also compliment the yam's flavor.Eggs give it body and texture. It's topped with a sweety crunchy crumble of, raw pecans, brown sugar,c cinnamon and melted butter. You could also makea brown butter bourbon cauliflower side too. This is roasting cauliflower florets in olive oil. While this is roasting make the butter sauce.It's cooking the butter until it's brown. Two tablespoons of bourbon and one tablespoon of maple syrup are added to this along with half a cup of walnuts. Of course bourbon is a great addition to pecan pie.It's almost mandatory in this Southern classic. It's a simple recipe that also involves bot light and dark corn syrup mixed with three eggs and half a cup fo melted butter. One and three quarter cups of pecans gives the pie its' nuttiness and crunch.

Add some das to your holiday meal. A few tablespoons of bourbon, whiskey or cognac can elevate any dish. Try it for a fun , boozy Thanksgiving Day.

A Good Homemade Soup

 Here's the question of the week - what's your favorite homeade soup?

This is my new favorite.It's taking soup veggies (which you can get at any grocery store) slicing and sauting them in a mix of butter and olive oil. Garlic is added for more flavor as are salt and pepper. After twenty minutes of gentle sauteing add the broth. The result is a tasty homeade, fresh tasting vegetable soup. This is much better than the canned version. It's worth making and freezing for the winter ahead.

Will this be your favorite? Make it and let us know.