Ahhh the day after an indulgent Thanksgiving day…leftovers galore and no one wants to cook…besides leftover stuffing is delicious.  Our 17 lb Vermont turkey was rinsed, patted dry, rubbed inside and out with Grandma Ruth’s poultry seasoning, stuffed with a pierced whole lemon, medium quartered onion, any leftover parsley fronds and roasted in a 325 degree oven upside down for 15 minutes/lb.  No basting, no peeking in the oven!  When my meat thermometer reads 175 degrees, I remove the bird from the oven and let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes, during which time the temperature continues to climb until it reads ~185 degrees before beginning to cool.  Meanwhile, I proceeded to bake the green bean casserole, turkey stuffing, and roasted potatoes in the vacated oven until all is bubbling hot and golden brown.

After a relaxing day of skiing, the rest of the household have returned to snack on champagne and spanakopita, knishes, beer cheese, chopped liver, brie and asparagus spears dipped in lemon aioli …while inhaling the delicious scents of turkey roasting, gravy simmering and cheering on their fav football teams.

Finally the evening has arrived, the turkey carved, everyone gathered around the dinner  table and miraculously all the baked dishes are cooked to perfection, joining the cabernet cranberry sauce, berry salad, roasted beets, and pan roasted brussels sprouts basted in maple syrup and garnished with crispy bacon and pecans.  The turkey is perfectly moist with golden crispy skin. Everyone has their favorite dishes to indulge in.  And the tryptophan in the turkey works its magic, leaving us all drowsy and not yet ready for dessert.  So we all adjourned to nod off in front of the fireplace while we contemplated which pie to finish the festive day with….rum pumpkin or apple.  Or perhaps that homemade maple pecan fudge?

Aren’t holidays grand?  And Thanksgiving Friday is always about the turkey soup…mmm  that aroma fills the house all day long as it simmers away!

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Soup

• roasted turkey carcass, bones, skins, neck bone and gizzard, any pan drippings from the roasting
• 1 large onion quartered
• 2 large carrots
• 3 stalks celery
• 1 small green pepper
• 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley

Put everything into a 12 qt soup pot, fill with water to 2 inches below the rim.

Slowly bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and skim any scum that floats to the surface for the first 15 minutes or so.  Partially cover and simmer for 4 hrs.

Remove all the stuff in the soup and discard.  Skim excess fat off the top.  You are left with a delicious turkey stock.  At this point, you can add fresh chopped veggies of your choice, chopped leftover turkey if you wish or simply sip the rich turkey soup in a mug.  I’ve also added chinese wontons, squirted hot sesame oil on top and served it as a wonton soup topped with slivered fresh scallions.

Back in the day, my mother would boil up a huge pot of chinese egg noodles, pan fry scrambled eggs which she then slivered, slivered leftover turkey meat and we’d all chow down on individual bowls of hot noodles drowned by ladles of hot turkey stock, spritzed with salty soy sauce and sprinkled with our choice of slivered eggs, turkey and scallions…wow, that’s comfort food, Asian fusion style!