Holiday cooking is all about sharing love, hospitality, food…and stress!!?

You never want to find yourself without enough for seconds. And you don’t love the thought of piles of food languishing in the back of the fridge. So, some thoughts:

About those leftovers. First, make sure all your dishes were cooled and stored well. You don’t want to get queasy from food left out on the table too long.

Since we just celebrated Thanksgiving and you may have already had your fill of turkey sandwiches

• Think of changing the taste or texture of your dish so that it’s something really different, and not a replay. Think Asian spices – ginger, soy sauce, chopped scallions. Or go Italian with oregano, fragrant basil and parmesan cheese. Or Indian with oregano, cardamom, black pepper, mustard and cumin seed.
• Got slightly stale dinner rolls, bread ends, sad slices from an appetizer tray? Make bread pudding! Scroll down for recipe.
• Chucks of turkey are great for lots of dishes.
  • If adding to a soup or stew, be careful not to overcook the poultry. Make your broth or stew first (with all the veggies), then add the poultry (diced or shredded) to warm thoroughly.
  • Dice or shred and make creamed turkey on biscuits. Yum. Make a white sauce (first a butter and flour roux, add milk or broth, white pepper, cook for 20 minutes at lowest simmer), then add the poultry).
  • Sauté chopped onion and green pepper will just becoming golden. Add diced turkey and warm through. Add several beaten eggs and you’ve got an omelette.
  • Make bone broth. Pull all the meat from the carcass and place all the bones into a slow cooker along with a couple of large carrots and celery sticks (broken in two) and an onion cleaved in half. Add a generous teaspoon of black pepper corns, 2 bay leaves, a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of vinegar (to pull minerals from the bones). Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove all the solids. Cool and store in the fridge or freeze. Don’t toss out the fat!!! It’s got loads of flavor.
  • Use leftover wild rice in soup or stews.
  • Or combine with a bit of flour, an egg beaten with a dash of milk, salt and pepper to taste, and some finely diced turkey. Shape into patties and fry in a thin film of butter. Yum!
• Make a creamy soup with leftover squash/pumpkin/sweet potatoes or cooked carrots. Some proportions to consider if you’ve got 2-3 cups of leftover veg.
  • First sauté an onion or two in butter. Add 1-2 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable broth. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Smash squash/carrots and add to soup. Add a bit of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper. If you want a cream soup, add 1/2 c milk/cream/coconut cream now and simmer gently for another 20 minutes. Be careful not to boil. Taste and add seasonings. If you’d like a curry soup, add 1 tsp curry powder along with the squash.
• Add 1/2 c leftover wild rice or brown rice, or 1/4 c cheese to you next bread loaf.
• Combine mashed potatoes, stuffing, a couple of eggs and splash of milk to make waffles!

Now for just a few holiday entertaining strategies

Cranberry-almond frangipane tart

• Bake ahead. In addition to those wonderful holiday cookies, consider making and freezing bundt cakes!  They’re easy to bake, look beautiful and freeze and thaw like a dream. There are great recipes all over the internet. Cakes can be stored at room temp for 3 days. To freeze, be sure cakes are completely cooled but not glazed. Wrap the cooled cakes first in plastic and then in aluminum foil. Allow frozen cakes to thaw overnight in frig, and then give them a couple of hours to come to room temperature. If you’re going to glaze the cake or drizzle icing over, do so when completely cooled. My favorite right now is Mexican chocolate (made with cinnamon and ancho chili powder) with a dulce de leech glaze. It disappears.
• You can also freeze cupcakes once cooled, wrapped in plastic and then in aluminum foil.
• Make and freeze soups, chilis, and stews. Store in deli container or pint-sized canning jar, just be sure to leave a good 1-1/2 inch space at top. They’re quick to thaw when company shows up.
• Think cornbread. It’s fast to make when company calls.
• Make liver pate. Mine includes freshly cracked pepper, fragrant brandy and luscious butter. It freezes like a charm and I’ve watched kids lick the spoon.
• Spices. If those jars of ground spices are over two years old, you’re note getting the best flavors into your dishes. Consider buying whole spices – peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, nutmeg – and grinding them yourself in a cheap little coffee grinder. And keep those herbs and spices in a cool, dark spot. Not out on a shelf where heat and light degrade them very rapidly.
• Oils. Store in dark and cool places. Light and heat degrade oils. If possible, store in your frig to keep them from becoming rancid. If your olive oil is more than a year old, toss. It’s bitter and probably quite rancid. Better to buy smaller amounts and can be used up quickly.

Bread pudding

• 3 1/2 c day-old (or older) bread cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 2 c whole milk
• 1/3 c sugar
• 3 large eggs 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (or add more vanilla)
• 2 T unsalted butter, diced
• 1/4 c sliced nuts, or sunflower seeds, or raisins, or combo of any and all

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place bread cubes on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.  Place in a  large bowl.

Lower temp to 325 degrees F.   Butter a 8×8 baking pan.

Scald the milk in a sauce pan. Pour over the bread cubes and let stand 15 minutes.

With an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the sugar till thick and light. This can take up to 8 minutes. Add the extracts.

Pour into the bread mixture, add whatever nuts/raisins you’d like. Stir briefly. Scrape into the baking pan. Dot with the butter.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil that has been buttered. Bake 35-40 minutes.  The custard will still look a bit moist.  Serve warm or at room temp.