Guest Post: The Cooking Contessas

I asked two of my favorite bloggers, the Cooking Contessas, for some tips on what to do with Thanksgiving leftovers. If you’re anything like me, I end up just reheating the same old stuff until I’ve realized Thanksgiving has become a week long holiday! Check out what these two beautiful ladies have concocted to spice those leftovers up:

“Thanksgiving Recycled”

Happy Black Friday everyone! Well, Thanksgiving is over. The kitchen is cleaned. The crowds have gone home. And here you sit with a fridge full of leftovers asking the question we ask every year…what do I do with all of it? We’ve come up with some of our favorite recipes that take leftovers to a whole new level.

After a morning filled with shopping and scoring awesome deals, why not take a break with a yummy Turkey Cranberry Panini. Simple and delicious this sandwich is sure to please!

Turkey Cranberry Panini

• Your favorite bread…sliced or a roll, it’s up to you!
• Leftover turkey
• Leftover cranberry relish/sauce
• Swiss cheese
• Mayo and/or Mustard

Combine all your ingredients and make a sandwich as usual. Then butter the outside of your bread and grill in a saute pan over medium heat or in a panini press until bread is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted! Serve and enjoy!

After such a tasty lunch, who wouldn’t be in the mood for something sweet? Plain old leftover pumpkin pie not doing it for you? Try this Pumpkin Pie Brulee. It’s a yummy twist on one of our favorite desserts.

Leftover Pumpkin Pie Brulee (Michael Chiarello)

• Leftover pumpkin pie
• 5 tablespoons sugar

Peel crust off the outside of overturned pieces of pie and line the inside of small ramekins or coffee cups with the pie crust pieces. Spoon pumpkin pie filling equally into small ramekins or stoneware coffee cups.

Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over the filling in each ramekin.

Using a mini-torch, torch the top until sugar is caramelized. The ramekins can also be browned under a broiler. If using a broiler, stick the cups inside a pan filled with 1/2-inch of water and place under the broiler until just browned on top.

Recipe can be found on thefoodnetwork.com Simply type in “Leftover Pumpkin Pie Brulee” by Michael Chiarello

And now for what to do with all those mashed potatoes? How about whipping up a savory Shepard’s pie for dinner?

Shepherd’s Pie with Mushroom Onion Gravy (Sunny Anderson)

• Leftover mashed potatoes
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85 percent lean)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup low-sodium beef stock
• 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 zucchini, julienned
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika, plus more for garnish
• 4 ounces Havarti cheese, grated
• Mushroom Onion Gravy, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large pan on medium-high heat, combine 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. When butter has melted, add beef, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until meat is brown. Stir in tomato paste and saute for a few minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Season and remove mixture to a bowl. In the same pan, add remaining butter and oil and saute onions until almost tender, then add red bell pepper, zucchini, carrots and paprika. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

To assemble, in a 9 by 12-inch baking dish layer half of beef, pressing down to pack in, then sprinkle the cheese on evenly. Pour the remaining half of the beef over the cheese and press down. Next, add the sauteed vegetables and top with the mashed potatoes, spreading out with a spatula or the back of a spoon to even out and to form decorative peaks and valleys. Sprinkle top with paprika and bake for 30 minutes or until edges on potatoes turn golden brown.

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Thank you for letting us share some of our favorite thanksgiving leftover meals with you! Now we are off to enjoy some hot cocoa and holiday movies…after all there’s only 28 days left until Christmas!

Happy Cooking Everyone!

The Cooking Contessas

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