Taking stock…where did the Thanksgiving leftovers go?

I was, as we all know, craving my annual post-Thanksgiving dinner turkey sandwich well before the holiday actually arrived (http://kitchen-loulou.blogspot.com/2010/11/building-perfect-turkey-sandwich.html). As delicious as this tradition is, there’s so much more to be had from what’s left after the big show. Yes, there were a couple of rounds of turkey sandwiches (if we’re being completely honest, and I think we should be, I could eat another one right now and be oh-so- happy about it).

Beyond sandwich perfection, there was turkey tortilla soup, turkey bacon bagels for breakfast and the remainder of the mashed potatoes topped a delicious shepherd’s pie for dinner tonight. Never one to miss a great culinary opportunity, yesterday I tossed the turkey carcass into a stock pot, then added onions, garlic, carrots, celery, dill, parsley, thyme, salt, black peppercorns and water. Voila, four hours later I had six quarts of turkey stock, ready to be chilled. I used the Barefoot Contessa’s chicken stock recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-stock-recipe/index.html)
with two minor adjustments, in lieu of three-five pound chicken carcasses, I used one 15 pound turkey carcass. I also omitted the parsnips because I couldn’t think of what else I would do with the rest of package. (The remnants of all the other ingredients are things I will use in other recipes.) After a night in the refrigerator the stock was ready to be skimmed of fat, packaged into quart size containers and tucked into the freezer. It makes me smile when I open the freezer just to see those containers of liquid gold all lined up on the shelf. The possibilities for deliciousness are endless.

And, before I forget, in the spirit of full disclosure, there was also the matter of the leftover sweet potatoes. Here’s the problem, my older daughter by association makes the best sweet potatoes I have ever had in my life. Ever. And I do love sweet potatoes and I do love Georgia not only for making them so incredibly delicious, but also for humoring me when I ask her to make them every Thanksgiving. Really, I can’t help myself. Oh, yes, I’m supposed to be confessing here…I warmed up the leftover sweet potatoes on Saturday and ate all of them, all by myself…without remorse. Have I mentioned they’re that good?

And that, friends, family and fellow cooks, pretty much sums it up. Now that we’ve
taken stock of Thanksgiving 2010, let the Christmas cooking begin!