What’s better than Thanksgiving dinner?
Thanksgiving leftovers.
Every year at about 9 or 10 o’clock on Thanksgiving night, I head for the fridge to haul out the leftovers. For some people it’s time for a turkey-cranberry sandwich. For me, it’s time for a dish of leftover stuffing followed by a piece of pie. Any kind will do, because this is a pig-out sans the guilt. It’s a time-honored tradition.
But there could be a problem. Since I’m invited to my sister’s for dinner, I have to plan ahead. So I cook a turkey breast the day before. Wrapped in tinfoil, it will last in my refrigerator for the entire holiday weekend. Since my contribution to the family feast is homemade cranberry sauce, I always make enough to ensure I have an extra bowl to keep at home.
The secret to delicious cranberry sauce is to substitute half orange juice for the amount of water listed on the package directions, then after it has boiled and cooled, give it a few pulses in the food processor. Don’t even consider the jellied stuff in a can. It doesn’t resemble the real thing.
Now for the piece de resistance: Stuffing. To solve this issue, I make sure to leave my sister’s house with a zip-lock bag of it. One year I got nervous. My brother brought a girlfriend who was pencil-thin, but she ate like a lumberjack and had at least three helpings of stuffing!
What if there was none left?
Fortunately, my sister had a 20-plus pound turkey and made enough for leftovers. This is not the old, boring bread stuffing some people serve. This is the kind our mother made, with homemade toasted croutons and ground giblets. Once you put a glob of this onto your dinner plate and smother it in gravy you remember why Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday.
I absolutely love stuffing. But a word of caution: Be careful who you say this to. I once commented to a friend from Britain that I love stuffing. She laughed and replied, “Well doesn’t everybody?” She then told me the slang meaning. It’s definitely a term that cannot be used in polite society.
Ann Blask is a freelance writer from Orchard Park, N.Y. Her work has appeared in numerous national magazines, including Frequent Flyer, Travel Holiday, Travel + Leisure, Delta Sky, and New York Alive.
(Photos by ChinDeep)
As someone who is always the guest and never the hostess, these are great tips!
PS I love stuffing too (both kinds). 😉
I am one of the brother’s girlfriends, however, I’m not of the pencil thin world, and I’m also not a big stuffing fan! That leaves me out!!!
The stuffing is my favorite, although I usually don’t imbibe in BOTH versions after eating a thanksgiving dinner!! I will eat stuffing, gravy and possibly some candied sweet potatoes. No fruit pies, no Turkey… just the exquisite side dishes that I crave each November!!
And here I thought you were making those candy sweet potatoes just for me! I didn’t know they were one of your post-dinner favorites! When am I going to do this year!!??!
Stuffing yes! Giblets no! Pie of any kind … Always!!
I remember that pencil thin guest and was happy that I was seated at the kids table with our own serving bowls.
Now that I I am old enough to know what giblets are I won’t dare touch stuffing if that’s one of the ingredients! Thankfully my brother doesn’t use them and his is the best I’ve ever had!
Thankgiving leftovers are the best ever just make sure to make extra gravy and maybe hide some from the guests.
Auntie Anna! Joanne a lumberjack? And we ALL love stuffing? Maybe this quarantine is bringing out the real you. Love it!
I’m the sister that makes the aforementioned stuffing. Sadly, there is usually none for left for us to enjoy afterwards. But, we do manage to have turkey dinners sans stuffing for days afterwards most years, and finally, my fabulous turkey soup made from the carcass. This, if you’ve never made it, is a real treat. Preferable,even, to chicken soup. It’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving things.
This year, though, 2020-year-from-hell, with only a handful of guests, I think I might actually have some leftover stuffing for the first time. 🙂