Beyond Sandwiches

Every Thanksgiving you make too much food. It’s the nature of the feast. Turkey sandwiches from leftovers--best eaten while watching college football--are practically a national tradition.

But the second or third day of turkey leftover calls for more creative inspiration. Think of your Thanksgiving leftovers as convenience food and you’ll find you have the building blocks of a weekend’s worth of easy and tasty meals. The following recipes should do nicely.

Cranberry Borscht

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Borscht is traditionally made with beets and beef broth. After some experimenting in the kitchen, however, we found that cranberry sauce makes a wonderful and interesting substitute for the beets.

2 tablespoons butter

2 leeks, cut in half lengthwise and sliced, white part only

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 cups cranberry sauce (or 1-pound can)

2 (10 1/2-ounce) cans beef consomme or beef broth

3 cups water

Salt, pepper

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

* Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until shallot is translucent and leeks are completely softened, about 10 minutes.

* Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and red wine vinegar, and cook 1 minute. Add cranberry sauce, beef consomme and water, then bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.

* Puree soup in blender or food processor, in batches as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, and garnish each bowl with mounding tablespoon of sour cream and some chives.

4 servings. Each serving: 384 calories; 793 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 67 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 1.52 grams fiber.

Turkey Corn Chowder

Active Work Time: 20 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Corn, roasted peppers and potatoes give the usual post-Thanksgiving turkey soup extra flavor.

2 tablespoons butter

1 small red onion, chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

6 cups chicken stock

2 leftover turkey leg bones, optional

2 leftover turkey wings or wing tips, optional

1 large baking potato, diced

2 (14 3/4-ounce) cans cream-style corn

1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced

2 to 3 cups leftover turkey meat (white or dark), cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt, pepper

* Melt butter in saucepan and cook onion, carrot and celery until softened, about 10 minutes.

* Add chicken stock, bones and wings then bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Add potato and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove wings and leg bones. Add corn, pepper and turkey. Simmer 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

6 servings. Each serving: 273 calories; 1,304 mg sodium; 57 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 1.08 grams fiber.

Sweet Potato Pie

Active Work Time: 5 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 50 minutes

Use leftover sweet potatoes to make pie. If your potatoes have marshmallow on them, the pie will be sweeter. If you use apricots or pineapple in your baked sweet potato recipe, your pie will have its own distinct flavor. Call it a secret ingredient.

3 cups leftover sweet potatoes or 3 (16-ounce) cans candied yams, drained and mashed

2 eggs

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons minced candied ginger

1 (8-inch) prepared pie crust

* Beat sweet potatoes, eggs, condensed milk and ginger until smooth and fluffy. Pour filling into pie crust and smooth top.

* Bake at 325 degrees until crust is brown, 40 to 50 minutes. If crust is too brown at 30 minutes, cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.

* Cool on rack 1 hour.

6 servings. Each serving: 500 calories; 182 mg sodium; 79 mg cholesterol; 25 grams fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.09 gram fiber.

Cranberry Gastrique

Active Work Time: 5 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes

A gastrique is a sauce made with something sugary and something acidic. In this case the sauce uses leftover cranberry sauce and apple cider vinegar.

1 cup cranberry sauce, preferably jellied

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons butter

Salt, pepper

* Heat cranberry sauce, vinegar and garlic in saucepan over low heat 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Stir in butter before serving. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

1 1/2 cups. Each 1-tablespoon serving: 21 calories; 19 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 0 fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.04 gram fiber.

Stuffing Terrine

Active Work Time: 25 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 1 1/2 hours

Instead of eating days-old stuffing again, make a stuffing terrine. You will need 2 (9x5-inch) loaf pans. If you don’t have 8 cups of stuffing, make a smaller terrine or fill out the layers with more vegetables.

2 eggs

1 cup milk

8 cups leftover stuffing

Nonstick vegetable cooking spray or butter

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup grated carrots (about 2 carrots)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped, or 1/2 cup diced roasted red and yellow bell peppers

1 cup leftover turkey meat, shredded

10 to 12 sage leaves

6 ounces baby spinach

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

* Mix together eggs and milk, pour over leftover stuffing and mix lightly to incorporate.

* Spray loaf pan with vegetable cooking spray (or grease with butter) and line bottom with parchment paper or wax paper. Press 1/2-inch layer of stuffing in bottom of pan.

* Heat 2 teaspoons butter in skillet, add carrots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Arrange carrots in loaf pan on top of stuffing, spreading evenly, but leaving uncovered 1/2-inch border around edge of stuffing.

* Place a 1/2-inch layer of stuffing in pan and press down firmly.

* In same skillet, heat 2 more teaspoons butter, add red bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add shredded turkey and sage and cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Arrange this mixture in loaf pan, again leaving uncovered 1/2-inch border around edge. (If using roasted pepper, cook pepper and turkey at same time 2 minutes.)

* Press another 1/2-inch layer of stuffing into pan.

* In same skillet, heat remaining 2 teaspoons butter, add mushrooms and cook, stirring to prevent sticking. After 3 or 4 minutes, add spinach and cook until spinach is thoroughly wilted. Arrange spinach-mushroom mixture on top of stuffing, again leaving uncovered 1/2-inch border.

* Top pan with remaining stuffing and press down very hard. Cover terrine with aluminum foil.

* Bake at 350 degrees until internal temperature is 165 degrees, about 45 minutes.

* Remove terrine from oven. Fill empty loaf pan 1/2 way with hot tap water and place on top of terrine, allowing 30 minutes to firm.

* Invert terrine on plate or cutting board, slice with serrated knife and serve with Cranberry Gastrique or leftover gravy.

8 servings. Each serving: 444 calories; 1,376 mg sodium; 116 mg cholesterol; 24 grams fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 17 grams protein; 0.45 gram fiber.