Second-Thanksgiving Leftover Turkey Quesadillas
March 22nd, 2011 § 4 Comments
This time of year is so lovely. Everyone is chipper, the weather is pleasant, we all look forward to seeing family at Second-Thanksgiving.
What’s Second-Thanksgiving? Doesn’t everyone have Second-Thanksgiving? This isn’t a known tradition? You poor, poor people. You have been missing out on so much. Let me quickly fill you in. Here let’s go back in time a few weeks to a phone conversation I had with my mom on a Friday evening after work.
“Are you still up for a turkey dinner tomorrow?”
I stopped in my pickle and cheese snacking (aka dinner — yeah, that’s right) to answer, “Yeah, should I bring anything?” Wine, please say wine.
“No,” Score! “but you can come over early and help me cook.”
What? “What? How much are you cooking…Mom are you making Thanksgiving?”
“It’s not Thanskgiving. It’s just some sauteed green beans, creamy mashed potatoes, of course the turkey with cornbread stuffing and gravy. Then I’m working on a pumpkin bread pudding for dessert.”
“Mom, that’s Thanksgiving.”
And it was. There was even cranberry sauce.
Even though this is a family tradition, I am usually surprised by it. Really, it’s that time of year already? Somehow the pattern that starts every November doesn’t register in my mind. Perhaps it’s the fact that Second-Thanksgiving can be held at anytime outside of November or December and sometimes it’s a little less Thanksgiving like.
Just not this year. I had a long weekend. I used my Santa Claus mug the following day. My family participated in the traditional moving of the turkey and which plates should we use discussions. Even the weather was the same. The day started with short sleeves and ended wrapped in blankets.
And I was sent home with turkey leftovers. Even my cat, Myrah, fell into a turkey coma.
Turkey Quesadillas with Pineapple Salsa
tortillas
leftover Second-Thanksgiving Turkey
shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
cilantro
half a pineapple, chopped small
half a red onion, diced
large handful dried cherries
juice of 1 lime
1 chili in adobo sauce, chopped
For quesadillas: Sprinkle turkey, cheese and cilantro in between two tortillas. Cook in a skillet until brown on both sides and cheese is melted.
For salsa: Combine remaining ingredients.
I know you’re wondering why I didn’t use dried cranberries since it is traditionally Thanksgiving. It just didn’t sound right. Since it’s second-Thanksgiving I felt I had the right to choose a different round, red dried fruit.
Thanks to my Mom for being a good cook and letting me lovingly make fun of you to all the world…well, to the minuscule portion of the world that reads this, but with the possibility of all the world.
Still Such a Fool
March 16th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Not at all solemnly I pledged, last year, to always be the fool.
I fumbled a bit. I planned.
I planned not to post a St. Patrick’s day theme this year. Post one was planned. Post one was completed. I applauded myself for being ahead. But, then plan two happened and so I saved plan one to drafts and started two. But, then over impromptu drinks in honor of Fat Tuesday, a friend, Felice, started talking about Guinness Cake. About how rich and moist it was. About how happy she was that this existed. It settled onto a bar stool in my head. I had to have Guinness…cooked with chocolate.
I found the recipe I pulled last year. It sounded so good. So good, I wanted someone else to make it and frost it and give it to me.
Chocolate Guinness Pudding was what I really wanted. I found the recipe I emailed to myself last year. It seemed easier. Overestimating my desire to cook pudding after getting home from work is even easier.
The newest plan became Guinness Chocolate Floats. Never mind the multiple trips to the grocery store. Which became a Guinness Chocolate Ice Cream Shake. Really last minute multiple trips to the grocery store?
It was already Wednesday morning — this morning — and there was no post. I started moping.
“I’m so confused right now,” you cry. “Isn’t this supposed to be about Fools?”
“Calm down, you shouldn’t worry so much about supposed to. The fool wouldn’t. The fool pays less attention in order to win.”
See in all of this planning I forgot to be the fool. The stereo was silent, things mattered, I wanted to get ahead and found myself falling behind. I forgot that the fool pledges to say la-di-da just to see what happens. My pledge was broken.
I popped open a bottle of Guinness Stout (the original and my favorite of the Guinness’s though not what is called for in most recipes), turned up the Gaelic Storm, danced around barefoot and whipped up the cream. And I snacked on some dark chocolate chips.
This is what it means to be a fool which is why I, solemnly, re-affirm my pledge to always be one.
Fool with Caramelized Pineapple
2 cups -ish fresh pineapple, finely chopped
brown sugar
pinch crystallized ginger, finely chopped
2 cups -ish heavy whipping cream
tablespoon or so powdered sugar
splash vanilla
Place pineapple in a thin (aiming for single) layer in a foil lined baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with a thin layer of brown sugar. Using torch, caramelize sugar. Or, place under a broiler. Mix in crystallized ginger. Refrigerate until ready to use. Combine cream, sugar and vanilla. Whip into whipped cream.
Layer whipped cream and pineapple. Or, in bowl top whipped cream with pineapple.
Several recipes were looked at to create this one. I learned something this time around a true Fool uses custard instead of whipped cream. Cooking custard, however, is much like cooking pudding (or ice cream). If I wasn’t willing to do the latter I couldn’t do the former.
Pineapple is not at all Irish, but it is a fruit I had in my fridge.
