Cooking with leftover turkey
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Filed under My recipes; Noodle fest; Budget, cooking with leftovers, duck & turkey, pasta, Superb soups
The New Year’s Eve party and family reunion suffered a setback. We had the garden all laid out for an all-day and all-night party but it rained the entire day and we had to move everything indoors. All the barbecuing we had planned took place on the stove top grill instead. It was still great though. Lunch was a potluck affair with chicken pastel, braised beef, potato salad, spaghetti, and pineapple upside down cake and poppy seed cake for dessert.
New Year’s Eve dinner was stuffed roast turkey, barbecued beef brisket, chicken satay (see also the Vietnamese version) and grilled tilapia. On the side were mashed potatoes, macaroni salad and fresh sweet corn on the cob. There was fresh fruit salad and several cakes for dessert.
In cooking the turkey, I followed a reader’s suggestion and inserted chilled butter and slices of onion between the turkey breast meat and skin. I used a small sharp knife to separate the skin from the meat and in went small cubes of chilled butter and super thin onion slices. Unbelievable what that little trick managed to achieve. They turkey breast meat was tender and super moist.
We opened two bottles of champagne at midnight, watched the distant fireworks and made a light meal from the dinner leftovers.
It is January 2 and everything is back to normal. Like I did last year, I simmered the turkey carcass and picked the remaining meat to make good use of them. For lunch today, I made onion soup from the broth made from the turkey carcass and turkey, and pesto spaghetti from the meat salvaged from the bones.
To make the onion soup, I finely minced flour cloves of garlic and thinly sliced two onions. I sauteed the garlic and onions in two tablespoons of butter, poured in the broth, seasoned the soup with salt and pepper and garnished it with finely sliced green onions.
For the main dish, I made spaghetti for four (the house helpers are on their day off) — 200 grams of spaghetti tossed with homemade pesto and pan-heated leftover turkey meat. In case you don’t know it yet, frugality is always in fashion. 
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I used to put butter underneath the skin, but not anymore. I actually worked my fingers under the skin from the butt end, pushing and smearing butter all the way up to the breast.
Now, I just brine the bird and oil the outside of the skin before roasting.
I like your turkey and pesto spaghetti. You should enter it into Presto Pasta Nights.
Thanks for the idea, Nate. I’d love to but I really can’t do the hosting thing. And if I join, I’ll have to host the event someday, won’t I?
Sounds like a feast.
Aye, it was, Dex. And with 15 people sitting down for each meal, you can imagine the cyclone situation in the kitchen LOL
Happy New Year Connie! What a delicious feast! Just dropping by to wish you and your family a happy and healthy 2009!
I’m not big on turkey but the way you described that little trick sent my mouth watering… I can almost smell the flavor! sarap talaga lagi ng handaan sa inyo!
Hi Connie, I came across your blog while looking for lechon paksiw recipe which I wanted to make for my left over turkey. Great blog you have here! You’ve given me ideas on the soup and spaghetti too! Any ideas for the drippings???
Anyway, like Nate above, I brine the turkey too and it is sooo delicious and easy even I (of little love for cooking) cannot mess it up! Check out my post on The Greatest Turkey Recipe on Earth.
Looks like you had an enjoyable New Year party despite the rain
I also don’t like wasting food. I don’t mind eating left overs for the next day or recycling them into another yummy dish 
wow, looks appetizing =) yumyum!!!