Archive for the ‘Holiday Leftovers’ Category

Photo and Recipe by Carolyn Davidson Hicks

This is more of a concept recipe than anything else! We took some slices of left over Christmas ham, warmed them up. We scrambled 4 eggs then in a pan with butter, we poured the egg mixture in and folded them gentle as they cooked. We place half over several slices of ham, and topped with tomato slices, a blend of Romano, Parmesan and Asiago cheese and Chives!

Ever thought about Fruitcake? Why buy it, you keep it around for a year or two and finally toss it out! Well, after the Holidays, here’s some great idea’s I came up with to use your old Fruitcake to reconstruct it into a whole new dessert!
1. When crumbled, it makes a great addition to bread pudding!
2. Slice thin and serve in the middle of an ice cream sandwich between the ice cream and the cookie!
3. Crush in a blender and you can use it to top almost any dessert!
4. Slice thin and treat it as you would French Toast, you’ll have a great breakfast!
5. Blend it up and cook it down in some heavy cream to create a new sauce for pork, chicken, almost anything!
6. When crumbled, use it as an ice cream topping!
7. Finely crumbled, it makes a great ingredient in any cake, especially Rum cake!
8. Cut out stars, moons, xmas trees, santas, whatever and brush down in thin icing and cookie confetti for some awesome cookies!
9. Use a melon baller and make little balls, coat in confectioner sugar and serve with party toothpicks at any gathering.
10. Deep fried! Cut in to planks, dip in batter with a little vanilla in it for flavor and deep fry…

Think of this sandwich much like a French Toast Sandwich but with a whole new twist to your Thanksgiving Leftovers!

INGREDIENTS

¼ cup milk
2 eggs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
4 pieces thinly sliced white bread
4 thin slices cooked turkey
4 thin slices cooked ham
4 thin slices Swiss cheese
Confectioners’ sugar, to garnish
Red currant jelly or tomato slices, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lightly beat milk and eggs in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. For each sandwich, lightly butter 2 slices of bread on both sides (using about ½ tbsp. of butter for each sandwich). Place 2 slices each of turkey and ham and cheese between 2 slices of bread. Trim crusts (optional), secure with toothpicks, and cut in half on the diagonal.

2. Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a 12″ nonstick skillet over medium heat. Dip sandwich halves in milk and egg mixture to coat. When butter foams, place sandwiches in skillet and fry until golden brown on bottom, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 tbsp. butter to skillet, turn sandwiches, and fry until browned on other side, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to plates, sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, and serve with jelly or tomato slices!

1 pound smoked turkey meat
1 pound baked potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, or leftover stuffing (about 2 cups)
2 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil
1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and diced (Jalepeno optional)
3 shallots, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, including basil, sage, tarragon, and/or flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (grated on a Microplane)
1 cup rich turkey or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce, or to taste
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil for frying the eggs (optional)
2 large eggs for frying (optional)

Step 1: Dice the turkey into 1/2 inch cubes. Dice the potatoes or stuffing the same way.

Step 2: Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the poblano, shallots, celery, herbs, and lemon zest and cook until lightly browned, 4 minutes. Add the turkey and potatoes or stuffing and cook until lightly browned, 2 minutes more.

Step 3: Increase the heat to high and add the stock and hot sauce. Boil until most of the stock has evaporated or been absorbed—5 minutes, stirring to prevent the ingredients from scorching. Add salt and pepper to taste—the hash should be highly seasoned. Transfer the hash to plates.

Step 4: If topping the hash with eggs, wipe out the hash pan and heat 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil over high heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and fry to taste, about 2 minutes on the bottom and 1 minute on top for over easy. Slide the eggs onto the hash and serve at once.

Photo By Carolyn Davidson Hicks

Butter, for coating the muffin pan or Ramekins
3 cups prepared stuffing
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 large egg per Ramekin or well in muffin pan
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Finely chopped fresh chives or thinly sliced scallions, for garnish (optional)

We recommend Ramekins as they are individual servings and you won’t have to worry about removing them from a muffin pan to serve!

Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat a 12-well muffin pan generously with butter and place it on a baking sheet; set aside. Or, coat your Ramekins as an easier choice to serve a group and not have to pull the meal out of a muffin pan. Your family and friends will love the individual dishes!
Mix all ingredients. Divide the stuffing mixture evenly among the wells of the prepared pan (about 2 heaping tablespoons per well). Using your fingers, press the mixture evenly into the bottom and up the sides of each well. Bake until browned around the edges, about 12 to 15 minutes. (Ramekins are a great option for this recipes)
Transfer the baking sheet with the muffin pan or Ramekins to a wire rack. Crack an egg into each stuffing cup and season with salt and pepper. Evenly sprinkle the eggs with the remaining cup of cheese (optional). Return to the oven and bake until the eggs are just set, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer the muffin pan or Ramekins to a wire rack and let it sit for 5 minutes. Run a small knife around the perimeter of each well to loosen and remove the stuffing cups. If you use Ramekins, you can skip this step. Serve immediately, topped with chives or scallions.

Photo By Carolyn Davidson Hicks

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Photo By Carolyn Davidson Hicks

1/2 pint of fresh oysters
Cornbread dressing (follow directions on the package) left overs after a holiday works great!
Ramekin’s 4 oz to 12 oz sizes or a 9 x 12 baking dish
A couple of celery stalks
1 small onion diced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese enough for 2, 12 oz Ramekins. Adjust according to size of dish and amount of dressing. Allow enough to top each one as well as adding to the mixture
3/4 to 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 egg beaten

We used two 12 oz Ramekin’s for this recipe but it is easily adapted for more. Spray Ramekins with Parkay. Depending on the amount of left over dressing you have, you may need more Ramekins or a baking dish. Sautee onions and celery until tender and then add the dressing and cream, fold into mixture.  Then add oysters and softened butter and shredded cheddar cheese. fold once more. Fill Ramekins. Once Ramekins are filled, place in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes at 350 degree’s. Sprinkle the tops with a little cheese and allow to melt before removing from oven! Casserole should be thick and creamy.

Garnish with Chives!

Note: The heavy cream softens the leftover dressing and allows other ingredients to be added and folded in. Adding the egg will also allow the mixture to rise a bit and remain moist as a  casserole!