november 23 weekly menu | fall table

Farm Fresh

That is, still farm fresh, from the mountain of Thanksgiving veggies I received just before the big feast.

brussels sprouts, carrots, celeriac, potatoes, shallots, winter squash – pumpkin, winter squash – butternut

What’s for Dinner?

Try as I might to use over twenty pounds of gorgeous Sauvie Island Organics vegetables in ONE feast, I have just a few items still in the waiting.  This week’s menu is devoted to making turkey leftovers feel like an original and creative inspiration rather than the dreaded and boring repeat. Lucky I’ve got those veggies to help me out!

Friday

jalapeno cheddar cornbread (Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa at Home)
turkey chipotle chili (New Seasons Market)

Saturday

mixed green salad with basic vinaigrette (Mark Bittman, The New York Times)
baked rigatoni with brussels sprouts (Mark Bittman, Food Matters)

Sunday

turkey tagine with seven vegetables (Linda Faus, The Oregonian)

Monday

turkey posole with butternut squash and swiss chard (Matt Talavera, Whole Foods Market)

Tuesday

baguette
spinach pomegranate salad (Robin Miller, Food.com)
celery root bisque with thyme croutons (Bon Appetit)

Wednesday 

turkey hash with chiles and sweet potatoes (Irma Rombauer, Joy of Cooking)

Thursday 

baked turkey tetrazzini (Laura Russell, The Oregonian)

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Friday

jalapeno cheddar cornbread (Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa at Home)
turkey chipotle chili (New Seasons Market)

I think the best way to kick off “leftover week” is to switch gears entirely.  This recipe from New Seasons Market was a bit heavy on the spiciness factor – I’d reduce the chipotles to maybe 1-2 chiles.  And if you’re short on time (or a bit tired of the kitchen!), Bob’s Red Mill has a great corn bread mix that will save you several steps. However, Ina’s recipe is super yummy!

Saturday 

mixed green salad with basic vinaigrette (Mark Bittman, The New York Times)
baked rigatoni with brussels sprouts (Mark Bittman, The Food Matters)

Four pounds of brussels sprouts was a lot!  This dish looks like the perfect way to try a new angle on these, and take a turkey break!   With just five ingredients, it looks so simple!  And although I think the figs and blue cheese sound amazing here, modify it with whatever fall fruit and cheese combination strikes your fancy.

Sunday

turkey tagine with seven vegetables (Linda Faus, The Oregonian)

So, this recipe doesn’t fit exactly with what I’ve got from my Thanksgiving haul, but again, improvising based on what you’ve got is half the fun.  I will definitely skip the eggplant and zucchini, and just up the ante on the squash and carrots.  I’m sure some potatoes would be great in here, and if you’re getting sick of turkey, use garbanzo beans instead. To fancy this dinner up, do as the author suggests and add a green salad with oranges, red onion, and a smoked paprika vinaigrette.  Yum!

Monday

turkey posole with butternut squash and swiss chard (Matt Talavera, Whole Foods Market)

Another one dish meal – this time turkey goes Mexican!  I’ll probably cheat, and use canned diced chiles, but any of your favorite chiles would work.  Definitely use more than the called for amount of squash and chard – I just keep adding, not minding if soups start to transform into stews.  One entire bunch of chard could be used here, and again, no salad necessary!

Tuesday

baguette
spinach pomegranate salad (Robin Miller, Food.com)
celery root bisque with thyme croutons (Bon Appetit)

As I predicted, I didn’t quite get to the three soups I suggested for the Thanksgiving feast.  Time to break out the ugly, under-appreciated celeriac for this delicious sounding bisque.  Given I don’t even see the instructions for the fancy “thyme croutons”,  I’m going with the New Seasons bakery ones.  And I think a dollop of non-fat Greek yogurt will do just fine instead of the finishing cream.  I need a cream moratorium after last week! (Did we really polish off three pies?!?)

Wednesday

turkey hash with chiles and sweet potatoes (Irma Rombauer, Joy of Cooking)

Perfect for those still lingering onions (or shallots), potatoes and squash.  Top each portion with a fried egg if “brunch for dinner” sounds good!

Thursday 

baked turkey tetrazzini (Laura Russell, The Oregonian)

I’ll purchase kale for this one, and the result will be a fairly easy, one dish comfort food meal.  I’ll replace the mushrooms with carrots (still trying to put to good use many, many pounds!), and also add some of my onions and/or shallots that will give it great additional flavor.  And lightening the recipe up with milk instead of half-and-half I don’t think will hurt a thing – sure to be a kid hit!

“What the Kale?!?”

Don’t panic and get out the compost bin if all of the sudden you have a giant veggie delivery coming your way, and you still have a fridge full.  Here are a few suggestions for preserving the bounty!  (Soups and stews freeze wonderfully in those gallon zip lock freezer bags.)

• classic turkey soup (Whole Foods Market).  This recipe quickly and easily gets rid of that mammoth turkey carcass, and results in a delicious and comforting turkey soup.  I usually make it to the point just before adding the noodles, and then freeze it.  Bring it out on one of those “what the heck is for dinner?!?” winter nights.  Or split it into a couple portions before freezing, reserving it for a sick friend – they’ll never forget it!