Julie Van Rosendaal: 6 uses for Thanksgiving leftovers

There is no shortage of ways to use up the last of the big bird after your Thanksgiving feast, and soup will be on the menu for many this week because every turkey comes with free DIY stock.

But what about the mashed potatoes, cranberries and that half can of pumpkin puree left over from the pie?

Here are half a dozen ways to make use of the rest of the leftovers taking up space in the fridge.

Sweet Potato Muffins with Cranberries & Pecans

A batch of moist spiced muffins can be made out of anything cooked and orange — mashed sweet potato, roasted squash, leftover canned pumpkin or even mashed cooked carrots. Add some fresh or frozen cranberries if you have some surplus around too.

• 3/4 cup cold mashed sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin or roasted squash
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup melted butter or canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh, frozen or dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl, stir together the mashed potatoes, sugar, milk, egg, butter or oil and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to the sweet potato mixture and stir just until combined. If you like, stir in the cranberries.

Fill about 10 paper-lined muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden, domed and springy to the touch.

Makes about 10 muffins.

Mashed Potato Gnocchi

Potatoes are the base for classic gnocchi. When you have a batch mashed already, you’re halfway there. Add egg yolk, season with salt and add enough flour to make a soft dough, then roll into ropes, cut, roll with the tines of a fork, and you have fresh, homemade gnocchi for dinner — no one will guess they’re eating leftovers!

Serve them with browned butter and snipped fresh sage.

• 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 1 large egg yolk
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 – 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

In a medium bowl, stir together the mashed potatoes, egg yolk and salt. Add about a cup of the flour and stir until it turns into a soft dough. Add more if it’s too sticky. The dough should be soft, but still able to roll into a rope.

Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces and roll into a rope ½-inch in diameter. Cut into ¾-inch pieces and roll over each piece with the back of the tines of a fork.

To cook the gnocchi, boil it in plenty of salted water for a few minutes, until they float to the surface. Serve with butter and sage or tomato sauce, or drain and sauté in a hot pan with butter.

Serves 4-6.

Cottage Pie

A shepherd’s pie made with beef instead of lamb is called cottage pie. When you’re tired of turkey, you can repurpose everything from the veggies and potatoes to the gravy in a one-dish casserole that won’t remind you of the original.

• Canola or olive oil, for cooking
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. lean ground beef or bison
• 1-2 cups chopped leftover veggies and peas
• ½-1 cup leftover gravy
• 2-3 cups leftover mashed potatoes

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

In a large skillet or ovenproof baking dish, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion until soft, then add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until the meat is no longer pink. Add the veggies and enough gravy to moisten.

If need be, transfer to a casserole dish, otherwise, spread it out evenly in the pan and cover with mashed potatoes. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.

Serves 4-6.

Perogies

If you’re up for it, perogies make perfect use of leftover mashed potatoes — just add grated onions and cheese, or incorporate shredded turkey and chopped veggies into the filling as well for delicious turkey dinner perogies. This dough recipe comes from my friend Cheryl Arkison’s Ukranian baba.

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups recently boiled water (very hot)

In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt.

Combine the oil and the egg, beat together lightly. Stir in to the flour and salt. It will not combine well, but keep stirring and working at it until you have a coarse meal, like biscuit dough would be before you added the liquid.

Pour your hot water in to the flour and egg mixture, all at once. Immediately start stirring. It won’t look like it is coming together, but keep stirring it. Don’t beat it too hard, but stir for a minute or two and it will come together into a somewhat lumpy, ugly dough.

Cover with a damp tea towel or loosely cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 15 minutes, if not 30.

To assemble the perogies, roll the dough thin, cut circles, fill with your filling and pinch to seal. Add in plenty of boiling water, then brown in a hot pan — preferably in the drippings from the bacon you just cooked.

Date-Cranberry Oat Squares

Try using your leftover cranberry sauce in crumbly date squares. The tangy cranberries are a perfect compliment to the sweet, sticky dates or dried figs.

Base & topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour, or a combination
• 1 cup oats
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup butter, chilled

Filling:

• 1 ½ cups leftover whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 cup chopped dates or dried figs

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and mix with a fork or your fingers until the mixture is well combined and crumbly. (Alternatively, the mixture can be pulsed in a food processor until well combined.) Press half the crumbs into an 8”x8” pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

In a small saucepan, bring the cranberry sauce and dates to a simmer. Stir until the dates break down

Spread the filling over the crust, and sprinkle with remaining crumbs, squeezing as you go to create bigger clumps. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until pale golden and bubbly around the edges. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Makes 16 squares.

Crispy Potato Waffles with Garlic & Parmesan

Mashed potatoes make a delicious base for savoury waffles. These are crispy, cheesy and garlicky – perfect on their own, with bacon, or topped with fried chicken (or turkey?) and leftover gravy.

• 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup cream or milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed (or a few of roasted garlic)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

In a large bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, eggs, cream, butter, garlic and some salt and pepper until well blended and smooth. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Add the flour and baking powder and stir just until combined. Preheat your waffle iron and spray it with non-stick spray. Cook a large spoonful of batter at a time, and leave it until it stops steaming.

Cook until deep golden and crisp. Serve warm, topped with turkey and gravy or poached eggs and hollandaise. Or eat them straight up, with butter.

Makes about eight waffles.