Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Noodle Soup

Leftovers.  They are truly one of my most challenging culinary puzzles.  I don't love leftovers.  I'm the kind that asks for the take-out box at the restaurants and then leaves it behind after paying the check.  Or, if I do remember to bring it home, I leave it in the refrigerator so long that it starts to resemble a science experiment.  A meal just never tastes the same on its second round.  

So, you can imagine that holiday dinners are particularly challenging for me.  When I make a holiday dinner, I go all out.  Turkey AND ham, more veggies and starches than I can count on one hand.  Let's not forget the desserts too.  But all this means a lot of leftovers.  And even after I've shoved foil wrapped goodies into the hands of my departing family members, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my fully stocked refrigerator in the days to come.  

Post-Thanksgiving Fridays usually mean that I'm going to whip up some sort of frittata with my left over ham, broccoli, onions, etc.  But this year, my mind went in a different direction.  And instead of an egg-filled brunch on Friday, for Saturday's lunch we enjoyed a full-bodied turkey noodle soup.  My secret this year?  Gravy.  I know you are asking yourself what gravy has to do with soup.  For me, it's everything.  Of late, I've been using a butter-flour roux as the base for all of my vegetable soups because I like my soup to have a little more substance that a clear runny broth.  My gravy starts the same way, fortified with drippings from my roasted turkey (properly separated and strained of course).  So why not use some of that leftover goodness to build a savory soup.  Think about it.  Makes sense right?  And soup is a great way to use up left over turkey and all of those Thanksgiving veggies - pearl onions, peas, roasted carrots and, yes, maybe even brussel sprouts.  This year, my soup made use of the remaining celery and onions that didn't make it into my signature cornbread stuffing.  And to make it extra special, I added some garlic and herb pappardelle that I picked up from DeRomo's Gourmet Market.  The result was so good, even my husband (the anti-soup nazi) couldn't deny it.  This might very well be my next holiday tradition.  Mine and maybe yours?

Turkey Noodle Soup

Add 1 cup of left over gravy to a cold sauce pan and turn the burner on medium.  Add 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock to the sauce pan and whisk until gravy is heated and incorporated throughout.  Allow to simmer.   Add diced vegetables of any variety (today my soup included celery, bell pepper and onion) and shredded turkey.   How much of each you add is strictly up to you.  I like my veggies to have a slight bite so I put them in raw.   But if you prefer, you can saute them to soften them prior to adding them to the soup.  Add a bay leaf while the soup simmers if you wish.   If the soup becomes too thick for your taste, you can extra stock or water a 1/2 cup at a time.  If you want to add noodles, add them before serving allowing enough time for the noodles to cook to al dente before presentation.  (My noodles only take 3 minutes to cook, so I add them after I know the veggies are cooked through and allow only an additional 3 minutes of simmering before plating.  If your noodles will take longer to cook per packaging instructions you might add them earlier in the simmering process.)  When all is properly cooked and warmed through, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve in deep bowls.  

I don't suggest adding the noodles if you are preparing this soup a day or so ahead.  The noodles will soak up the liquid even while refrigerated.  You can always add noodles when you reheat your prepared soup.   And if you don't have gravy try 1/2 to 1 cup of mashed potatoes instead.  The potato starch also acts as a thickener.  

Kitchen Sink Recipe #2: Quick & Easy Stir Fry

There are some recipes that a home cook needs to have in their arsenal.  And throwing together a good stir fry is something that every home cook should know how to do. Why? Because stir fry is literally something that can be thrown together with just about anything that you have in your refrigerator and pantry.  It is one of the most versatile dishes. Any meat mixed with any vegetables and in the time it takes to watch one episode of a sitcom you are done. The only musts? Sesame oil, soy sauce, cornstarch, garlic and ginger. And these aren't even really "must haves". In a pinch any of these can be substituted. So, when I'm feeling tired and not quite enthused about cooking, stir fry is a good home cooked meal that I can throw together with minimal effort. And now you can too.

Beef Stir Fry

1 lb. flank steak

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp. grated ginger

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 tsp cornstarch

1/2 c. julienned carrots

1/2 c. julienned red pepper

1/2 c. green beans cut on a bias

1/2 c. baby bella mushrooms, halved or quartered 

2 tbsp. sesame or peanut oil

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/2 lemon, juiced

Cut flank steak into strips of whatever length or thickness you desire and place into a bowl.  Season with salt, pepper, ginger and garlic; adjust seasoning to your taste.  Sprinkle with cornstarch.  Stir seasonings and cornstarch into the steak to coat and set the bowl aside in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.  (I serve rice with my stir fry and use this downtime to boil my rice and prepare my vegetables.  Once the steak has rested for the desired amount of time, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat.  When the oil is very hot, add your steak.  Using a large spoon or spatula, spread the steak into an even layer in the pan and brown for 1 minute.  Stir or toss the steak and continue to brown for another minute.  Stir in the vegetables.  Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring or tossing occasionally.   Add soy sauce and lemon and continue to stir or toss, being sure to coat all of the meat and veggies.  Allow the liquids to thicken.  The stir fry is ready to serve when the meat has reached its desired level of doneness.  It can be served with rice or ramen noodles.  These proportions are sufficient to feed my family of four.  

The great thing about this recipe is that many components can be substituted, which is why I consider this to be a "kitchen sink" recipe.  With each variation, a whole new meal is born.  While beef is my stir fry mainstay, you can easily substitute chicken or pork.  And most any cut of meat works too as long as you can slice it into strips.  The veggies can be any of your choice.  Don't like red peppers or carrots?  That's fine.  I've made this at various times with broccoli florets, cauliflower, snow peas, onions, scallions zucchini and and squash.  I'm sure at one time I even used shredded brussel sprouts.  Now you can see why this recipe comes in really handy when you want to use up vegetables that are taking up space.  Don't have fresh ginger?  That's okay.  Substitute with half as much ground ginger or omit it altogether.  Don't have cornstarch?  Use double the amount of flour.  (Just don't leave this out because the cornstarch or flour is a key ingredient.  This is what thickens the sauce.)  No sesame or peanut oil?  Vegetable oil works too.  Just make sure it's really hot when you start to cook.  Not a fan of soy?  Chicken or beef broth works in a pinch.  Just eliminate the lemon juice and adjust your seasonings if the broth is bland.  Now it does occur to me that there may be vegetarians among you.  Don't worry, you can omit the meat and double up on the veggies.  But since my recipe contemplates the addition of seasoning and thickener directly to the meat, you will need to adjust by adding your seasoning to the veggies and stirring your thickener into the cold soy or broth before adding it to the hot pan.  In that case, you can skip the marinating time.  

This is a really good recipe for the beginning or apprehensive cook because it is really hard to ruin.  It is amenable to experimentation and good for those who want to develop the instinct to cook creatively (i.e. without a recipe).  As long as you bear in mind the basic components - hot oil, meat (for all of you carnivores), thickener, veggies and sauce - you really can't go wrong.

Kitchen Sink Recipe #1: Lentil Soup

One of the things I love about food and cooking is the creativity that goes into creating a good dish.  Disagree with me if you want, but I think cooking is definitely an art and chefs are truly artists.  What draws me most to cooking shows and competitions is the adroit skill of chefs who are able to look at a cornucopia of ingredients and come up with a variety of dishes.  It’s a talent that I am sure takes quite a lot of time and training, combined with a deep love and appreciation for food of all kinds, its flavors and textures.  Having grown up in a home where recipe cards and cookbooks were rarely used, I have challenged myself over the years to develop a sixth sense about food so that I too could just grab things from my cupboard or refrigerator and come up with something good enough to eat and enjoy.  “Kitchen sink” recipes are among my favorite challenges.  This is the term I use for those dishes that I whip up in an effort to use up the last bits of any foods taking up space in my cupboards or icebox.  This happens most often after parties, holidays or family visits, when I have more food on hand than usual.  Admittedly, most of my kitchen sink meals are soups and stews.  But, no two of them are really ever alike, because it all just depends on what's on hand that day.

Last week, in my effort to create more clean and organic lunches for my Anna, I bought a package of baby carrots and one full bunch of celery.  Anna does not eat sandwiches and I've been at a loss for lunch options that don't look like tired crudite party platters.  Anna certainly likes crudites but frankly she lost interest in both veggies after lunch day two.   So, by the end of the week, I had a small cache of carrots and celery and no bunnies around to consume them.  Now, if you are a cook, you'll know that carrots and celery are two of the three ingredients of a mirepoix.  Throw in an onion (which is always a staple in my kitchen) and you have Emeril Lagasse's "holy trinity", the primary foundation of most good stocks, soups, stews or gumbos.  Lucky for me, I also had a bag of lentils just waiting for me in my pantry.  Before I knew it, a lentil soup was born.   And topped with some shredded roasted chicken and slivers of sliced spinach (which I also needed to clear out of the fridge), we had a very tasty and filling dinner.  Funny thing is, my daughter loves this soup, so much so that she is now begging me to send it in her thermos for lunch.  So, interestingly enough, those carrots and celery did wind up serving their original purpose.  Healthy clean organic lunch accomplished!

Lentil Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced sweet onion

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

2 large cloves of minced garlic

3 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground pepper

3 tsp dried fresh basil

2 cups (or 1 15 oz. can) diced peeled tomatoes

1 lb. lentil beans

2 qts. (or 2 32 oz. boxes) vegetable or chicken stock

Step 1: Sweat the vegetables

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top.  Let the oil warm, but do not allow it to overheat.  If your oil is popping, it's gotten to hot.  Do not allow it to burn.  Back the heat off if needed.  (Remember that different stove tops produce different temperatures.)  When the oil is warm, add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  (Tip:  I diced my veggies fairly small to complement the size of the cooked lentils.)  Season the vegetables with salt, pepper and basil.  (Note that my recipe calls for dried fresh basil.  This isn't a typo.  My basil is grown fresh in my garden but is air dried for about a week before I use it.  It retains a scant amount of moisture and rehydrates in soups and stews.  You can, however, use true dried basil in lieu of dried fresh basil.  Just remember that the flavor of true dried herbs is more concentrated than fresh herbs so you should adjust quantity to suit your taste.)  Stir to coat vegetables with the oil and seasonings and allow the veggies to sweat until onions and celery become translucent.   While veggies are sweating, rinse and drain your lentil beans.

Step 2:  Boil then simmer

Once translucent, add the tomatoes, lentils and stock.  (If you use canned tomatoes, you can use the seasoned variety.  In fact, this time around I used canned tomatoes seasoned with garlic, basil and oregano.  Accordingly, I reduced the amount of fresh basil and garlic.  If you use seasoned canned tomatoes, be sure the seasonings that your tomatoes are packed in complement the other seasonings in your dish.  Adjust other seasonings as needed!  The above recipe presumes you are using unseasoned tomatoes.)  Stir all ingredients to incorporate and allow to come to a boil.  Once you achieve a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium low, cover and allow to simmer for 35 – 45 minutes until the lentils are tender.  Check lentils for doneness before pulling them off the heat.  If they have too much bite for your taste, you can simmer them a bit longer.  Or, for a thicker consistency, you can blend the soup briefly with an immersion blender. 

For added color, flavor and texture, you can top the soup with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream and a chiffonade of spinach, basil or other leafy greens.  For an additional protein, I topped the soup with shredded chicken but you could use cubed or shredded ham.  (Heck, if this were the holidays and if I had a leftover ham hock, that hock would have been sitting in the soup while it was simmering.  Something to think about this upcoming Thanksgiving!)