Is your fridge crammed with the remains of your holiday feast? Do stacks of Tupperware blot out the glow of your refrigerator light? You might be eating turkey sandwiches for days, but we have a couple Thanksgiving leftover recipes that can help you turn those unfinished side dishes into a main event.
Crispy Yam Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette
Executive Chef Donald Lockhart, Cusp Dining + Drinks, San Diego
3 cups roasted yams sliced into large, coin-like pieces
3 cups baby arugula, cleaned and dried
2 each per serving Belgian endive, sliced ½-inch thick
¼ cup cranberry sauce, with whole berries
½ cup red wine vinegar
¾ cup canola oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup canola oil for frying
On a stovetop at low-to-medium heat, preheat one cup of canola oil in a medium sauté pan until just before oil reaches its smoking point (about three minutes). On a hard surface, with the palm of your hand gently press each yam down, slightly crushing it, so that it resembles a disk shape but stays intact.
Carefully place the crushed yams in the hot oil with a spatula. When the yams begin to crisp on one side, carefully turn them over in the pan to allow them to crisp up evenly. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel and allow oil to absorb.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl on the side, whisk cranberry sauce, vinegar and canola oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss arugula, sliced endive, salt, pepper and a small amount of the cranberry vinaigrette. Arrange salad on plates or platter and top with warm crispy yams. Finish with a drizzle of the cranberry vinaigrette to slightly dress and moisten the yams. Serves four.
Butternut Squash and Date Ravioli
Chef Elise Wiggins, Panzano, Denver
Filling:
½ cup mascarpone cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan
2 dates (pits removed and diced small)
2 cups leftover butternut squash (diced small)
Maldon sea salt to taste
Fresh sheet pasta (available at Whole Foods, etc.)
Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix with a paddle until gently incorporated. Don’t overmix — you want separation in the ingredients. Then gently fold in the squash
Fill ravioli with 1 tablespoon of filling, seal and cut with ravioli cutter
Makes two dozen ravioli
Plating:
7 Ravioli, cooked through in slowly boiling water
2 tablespoons brown butter
1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped
½ ounce shaved Parmesan
3-to-5 small sprigs Italian parsley
Combine rosemary and butter at the same time. Cook gently until the butter starts to brown. Don’t overbrown the butter. Toss in cooked pasta. Place in bowl and garnish with shaved Parmesan and parsley sprigs.
