Leftover Love: Makeover meals for your Thanksgiving leftovers

11/23/23 • 22 min

Oh my! What are we going to do with all this food?? If you are looking upon your Thanksgiving Leftovers with a little bit of dread, Anne Milneck—chef and owner of Red Stick Spice Company reveals her skill as a meal makeover artist in this episode of Smidgen. Now, keep in mind: we are pro-leftover on Smidgen; this is not about simply eating down the Thanksgiving meal. Rather, this episode is all about fully transformed meals, using food from Thanksgiving. Each of the recipes Anne discusses are great dishes on their own—the fact that they help making a dent in the leftovers crowding the fridge: a bonus.

Read Anne's blog post on leftovers here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/leftover-love/

How do you deal with leftovers on Thanksgiving?

You don’t have to face your post-Thanksgiving fridge with dread. Here are 5 great recipes to makeover your Thanksgiving leftovers.

A South Louisiana staple: Turkey & Sausage Gumbo

Have you ever said, “Will it waffle?” then this is for you: Cheesy Waffled Mashed Potatoes

Ooh la la ooey gooey goodness: Turkey & Brie Panini with Cranberry Sauce

Nothing like a good sweet potato. Try these Sweet Potato Pancakes—yum!

Cranberry lovers unite! Rosemary Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Sauce

-... and if you heard Anne mention the Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry Sauce—recipe is here.

Producer note: This stuffing is amazing! Do yourself a favor and give it a try: Ciabatta & Sausage Stuffing

Y’all interested in a make-ahead roux? Anne has you covered: Make-Ahead Roux

Want to share Smidgen podcast with a fellow Thanksgiving leftover lover? Please do! Easy link to share: https://pod.link/1465606357

How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, including Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Read Anne's blog post on leftovers here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/leftover-love/

How do you deal with leftovers on Thanksgiving?

You don’t have to face your post-Thanksgiving fridge with dread. Here are 5 great recipes to makeover your Thanksgiving leftovers.

A South Louisiana staple: Turkey & Sausage Gumbo

Have you ever said, “Will it waffle?” then this is for you: Cheesy Waffled Mashed Potatoes

Ooh la la ooey gooey goodness: Turkey & Brie Panini with Cranberry Sauce

Nothing like a good sweet potato. Try these Sweet Potato Pancakes—yum!

Cranberry lovers unite! Rosemary Thumbprint Cookies with Cranberry Sauce

-... and if you heard Anne mention the Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry Sauce—recipe is here.

Producer note: This stuffing is amazing! Do yourself a favor and give it a try: Ciabatta & Sausage Stuffing

Y’all interested in a make-ahead roux? Anne has you covered: Make-Ahead Roux

Want to share Smidgen podcast with a fellow Thanksgiving leftover lover? Please do! Easy link to share: https://pod.link/1465606357

How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.

Previous Episode

What's the best way to cook turkey this Thanksgiving?

Spatchcock your Thanksgiving turkey for gorgeous crispy skin and juicy turkey meat. Smidgen host Anne Milneck of Red Stick Spice Company details on this episode why everyone should consider taking a note out of Kenji Lopez-Alt’s book (or podcast appearance) and spatchcocking this year’s Thanksgiving turkey. What do you get?

CRISPY, crispy golden lovely delicious skin
Plump, juicy turkey (NO dry bird—you’re not relying on all the great Thanksgiving sides to carry the meal. Enjoy the bird, too!)
Relatively quick cooking time (a 14-16 lbs in 90 minutes, OH YEAH!)

Anne explains why this year is a perfect time to try this technique and have wow results for your family and other Thanksgiving guests.

What’s the best way to cook turkey this Thanksgiving?

There’s a step-by-step guide on the Red Stick Spice Company website showing how to spatchcock your Thanksgiving turkey here: https://blog.redstickspice.com/why-we-are-spatchcocking-our-turkey/

Anne recommends several spice blends to try on your turkey when spatchcocking and a variety of salts:

This is the time of year to try Gobble Gobble Blend: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/gobble-gobble-blend

Italian Herb Blend: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/italian-seasoning

When you dry brine, use our Dry Brine Blend: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/dry-brine

Customer favorite Butcher Salt is also a great choice: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/sea-salts-products-butcher-salt

Want to share Smidgen podcast with a fellow Thanksgiving cook? Please do! Easy link to share: https://pod.link/1465606357

Anne recommends the countdown to Thanksgiving method, covered previously on Smidgen. Want to know how to prepare? Listen to these short, technique-packed episodes: 5 Days before T-Day; 4 days; 3 days, 2 days; 1 day until Thanksgiving. What do you think of this sequence?

How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.

Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app. Follow Red Stick Spice Co socials, including Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.

Next Episode

5 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen Friends are Going to Love

We’ve all said it: we don’t want more “stuff” and we want to keep our Holiday budget intact. But we also don’t want to go empty handed to our friend’s house this season. Anne Milneck—chef and owner of Red Stick Spice Company has a delicious solution on this episode of Smidgen. Have fun and a joyful kitchen as you make these 5 wonderful gifts from your kitchen to share with the people you love.

What are the best homemade Christmas gifts?

From scratch granola, shortbread, sumptuous dessert sauces, savory quick pickles, and comforting quick breads are recommended gifts—Anne wrote a blog post highlighting each of these most-wanted hostess gifts. Read the blog post here.

Bonus! Anne has some ideas about gifts to give to your favorite home cook, too!

Make your own Chile Crisp Kit, for the chili lover in your life: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/chile-crisp-kit
Sourdough starter from Magnolia Hill-- what is better than homemade bread? https://www.redstickspice.com/products/home-on-magnolia-hill-sourdough-starter
Cocktail makers and mixologists are going to love Elderberry Creamed Honey from Cockeyed Farms: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/cockeyed-farms-16oz-american-elderberry-creamed-honey
Snackers will love candied jalapenos from Grinning Jupiter: https://www.redstickspice.com/products/candied-jalapenos

Want to share Smidgen podcast with someone who might appreciate knowing these gifts from the kitchen? Please do! Easy link to share: https://pod.link/1465606357

How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.