OK, so now you have a large turkey corpse residing in your fridge and you want to come up with something more creative than sticking some meat between two pieces of bread.
Look no further. Here are three ways to use up what's left of the Great Bird.
Cuban Sandwiches
These aren't exactly like the ones you'd get in Miami which contain roast pork, but they're still delicious. If you have a panini press use it to cook sandwiches instead of a skillet.
½ cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Italian dressing 4 6" soft hoagie or submarine rolls, split lengthwise
2 Tbsp prepared mustard (whatever kind you like)
8 oz thinly sliced roast turkey
8 oz thinly sliced Black Forest ham
8 oz thinly sliced Swiss cheese
4 large dill pickles, sliced thinly lengthwise Olive oil
In a small bowl whisk together mayonnaise and Italian dressing. Spread on hoagie rolls, then spread each roll with mustard. On each roll arrange layers of turkey, ham and cheese, then top with dill pickle slices.
Close rolls and brush tops and bottoms with olive oil. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Place sandwiches in skillet and cook for about two minutes until brown on the bottom, pressing down sandwiches occasionally with the bottom of a small saucepan while they're cooking. Flip and cook for two more minutes or until cheese is melted.
Remove from heat and cut each sandwich in half diagonally.
TURKEY TETRAZZINI
Here's a "blast from the past" - every 1970s housewife had this one in her recipe box.
10 oz mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
4 Tbsp butter, divided use
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups light cream
10 oz spaghetti
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked turkey
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 ?3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Topping:
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 ?3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a large saucepan melt two tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic until onions are translucent and most of the liquid from mushrooms has evaporated. Stir in the remaining two tablespoons of butter until melted, then stir in flour and cook over low heat, stirring, for three minutes. Add the broth and cream and stir until mixture comes to a boil; simmer for five minutes. In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the spaghetti until al dente;
drain well. Combine the spaghetti with the mushroom sauce, turkey, peas, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in 1 ?3 cup Parmesan and pour mixture into a buttered shallow 3-quart casserole (this mixture should be quite runny since the pasta will absorb a lot of sauce while it bakes - add a bit more cream or broth if it doesn't look like there's enough sauce).
Stir together melted butter and bread crumbs and sprinkle evenly over pasta, then sprinkle with 1 ?3 cup Parmesan. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until bubbling and golden on top. Makes four to six servings.
CURRIED TURKEY TURNOVERS
Serve with a vinaigrettedressed salad for a delicious lunch or dinner.
2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp curry powder or curry paste
½ cup chicken stock Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup chopped cooked turkey
1 ?3 cup frozen baby peas, thawed
2 Tbsp mango chutney (chop
any large chunks finely) 1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp milk
In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat; cook onion and celery, stirring occasionally, until softened, about four minutes. Add flour and curry powder and cook for two minutes. Stir in stock and simmer until thickened; taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in turkey, peas and chutney.
On a lightly floured surface roll out half the pastry to a nine-inch square; cut into four squares.
Place about ¼ cup of the filling in centre of each square. Brush edges of pastry with egg/milk mixture; fold in half diagonally and press firmly to seal. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Lightly brush turnovers with egg mixture and bake at 375 degrees until golden and puffed, about 25 minutes.
