in other words
december1
2016
17
An Unlikely Culinary Column: What To Do With Those Holiday Leftovers?
By Karen Kain
The holidays are about fam-
ily, gratitude, fabulous dishes and fi gur-
ing out what to do with those leftovers.
I have found some great ways for you
to enjoy that extra pie, sweet potatoes,
cranberry sauce, and turkey that is all
part of the holiday celebration.
I am probably the only American
who is not a fan of cranberry sauce, and
I certainly would never eat it alongside
my turkey. I have made many different
recipes of homemade cranberry sauce,
but to date, I am not a fan. When I stum-
bled across this Gluten Free Pancakes
with Cranberry Sauce recipe I thought
it was going to be a reach for me. My
great nephew Hudson is on a gluten free
diet and he loves cranberry sauce, I love
pancakes, so I thought I would give it
a whirl. Lets not forget to mention that
cranberries are on the top of the list of
antioxidants and are referred to as a su-
per food. I am pleased to report, as Hud-
son and I sat together at the breakfast
table he said, “I can’t handle how good
these pancakes are!” I love that he gets
to enjoy healthy gluten free meals and I
have discovered that there are some re-
ally fabulous ways to enjoy cranberry
sauce besides eating it with turkey and
potatoes.
I also made some Cranberry &
Sweet Potato Tartlets. This opened up
a plethora of ideas for me. You can fol-
low the recipe below or experiment by
using left over canned pumpkin or com-
bine sweet potatoes, turkey and stuffi ng
to make your own version. I am sharing
two different recipes with you; one is a
tartlet and the second is more of what
I would call a “pop tart.” I fi rst used
pre-made piecrusts; cut into 2 ½ inch
squares, topped with cranberry sauce or
sweet potatoes. Next, I made a home-
made vegan piecrust. I used small can-
ning jars to cookie cut the dough into
circles. I spread a layer of cranberry
or sweet potatoes over the dough then
placed another circle on top. These small
bites reminded me of miniature pop tarts.
If you are making tartlets it is important
to bake them in a muffi n pan to keep the
edges from straightening while cooking.
I also made two leftover turkey
pasta dishes. The Turkey & Penne Pasta
with Goat Cheese was on an old Martha
Stewart recipe and it is delicious. This
recipe inspired me to make a dairy free,
gluten free version. Both recipes were a
hit; they are hearty, healthy and perfect
for this time of year when it is wet and
cold.
Get ready folks, the holidays
are upon us. I would love to hear about
your favorite holiday meals.
Gluten Free Pancakes
with Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
6 Tablespoons warm water
1½ Cups gluten free pancake fl our
1 Cup almond milk
¼ Teaspoon salt
¼ Teaspoon ground cinnamon
2
/ 3 Cup cranberry sauce, for the topping
Directions:
Mix the chia seeds and warm water
together with a fork. Allow to set for
10 minutes, it will develop a goopy
texture, similar to a raw egg. Mix all
the ingredients together except for the
cranberry sauce. Heat a skillet to me-
dium and coat with a butter replace-
ment. Pour an 1 / 8 cup of batter into the
pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the
edges get bubbles. Flip and cook on
the other side for 3-4 minutes, then fl ip
again cooking for a moment, making
sure the pancake is cooked through.
Serve topped with a butter replace-
ment and cranberry sauce.
Cranberry & Sweet Potato Tartlets
Ingredients:
Pie crust dough, cut into 2½ inch
squares, I used two premade crusts
Cranberry sauce and or sweet potato
leftovers, about 3 / 4 cup each
1 Egg yolk
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Sugar for sanding
You will also need a mini cupcake pan,
but a regular sized muffi n pan will do.
Directions:
Place the squares of dough in cups of a
mini-cupcake pan then add a teaspoon
of cranberry sauce or sweet potatoes
into the center. Fold in the edges. Place
into the freezer for 30 minutes. Beat to-
gether the egg yolk and cream. Brush
each tartlet with egg wash and sprinkle
with sugar. Bake at 400˚ F. for 30 to 35
minutes, until they are golden brown.
I used pre-made piecrusts for
the above recipe and cut into squares
or you can make your own crust. I also
wanted to make a gluten free option for
my great nephew who LOVES cranberry
sauce. This recipe is below.
Ingredients for a vegan piecrust:
1½ Cups gluten free fl our blend
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ Teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons cold butter alternative, I
used Melt
3 Tablespoons palm shortening; I used
Nutiva natural vitality shortening
4-6 Tablespoons ice cold water
1 Teaspoon apple cider vinegar
You will also need:
Cranberry sauce and or sweet potato
leftovers
3 Tablespoons almond milk
Sugar for sanding
Directions:
Use a Kitchen Aid with the pastry at-
tachment or food processor. Add the dry
ingredients together and blend. Add the
cold butter and palm shortening, then
blend until the mixture is dry and crum-
bly, similar to cornmeal. Add the apple
cider vinegar then slowly add the ice
water; I added 5 tablespoons. The mix-
ture should form a pastry ball. You don’t
want to make the mixture too wet, if it
is too dry add more water, a teaspoon at
a time. The dough should hold together
when pressed between your fi ngers, but
not too sticky. Lightly dust a pastry mat
or parchment paper with fl our then roll
out the crust.
You can make pop tarts or tartlets:
For pop tarts - I used a small mason jar
to cut circles into the dough then I spread
a layer of fi lling onto the dough, topped
with another pastry circle. Put into the
freezer for 30 minutes. Brush each pop
tart with almond milk then sprinkle with
sugar. Bake at 400˚ F. for 25 to 35 min-
utes.
If you are making tartlets – Cut
the pastry into 2½ inch squares. Put one
square of dough into each muffi n pan
then add a teaspoon of cranberry sauce
or sweet potato into the center. Fold in
the edges then place into the freezer for
30 minutes. Brush each pop tart with al-
mond milk then sprinkle with sugar and
bake at 400˚ F. for 25 to 35 minutes.
Turkey & Penne Pasta
with Goat Cheese
Ingredients:
1 Pound penne pasta
1½ Cups reserve water from the pasta
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Large shallot, minced
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
1 Teaspoon lemon zest
¼ Cup dry white wine, chicken, or tur-
key broth
1 Bunch kale, stems removed, and
chopped
2 Cups cooked turkey pieces
8 Ounces fresh goat cheese
½ Cup pitted, halved Kalamata olives
4 Teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Directions:
Cook the pasta per the directions, re-
serve a cup and a half of the liquid,
then drain the pasta and set aside. Heat
up a large skillet on medium high, add
the oil then cook the shallots, garlic,
salt and pepper until the shallots be-
come translucent, about 5 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Add the wine,
lemon zest, and kale with ¼ cup of the
reserved liquid. Cook until the kale
starts to wilt then add the turkey, goat
cheese and remaining reserved liquid.
As the goat cheese heated, I used a
wooden spoon to stir, breaking it down
to a creamy sauce. The turkey will ab-
sorb some of the liquid. Cook for an
additional 10 minutes. Once the sauce
is creamy add the pasta, olives and
lemon juice. Serve immediately.
Gluten Free Asparagus & Turkey
Penne Pasta
Ingredients:
1 Pound gluten free penne pasta
½ Cup reserve water from the pasta
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Bunch spring onions, chopped
2-3 Garlic cloves, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
1 Teaspoon lemon zest
¼ Cup dry white wine, chicken, or veg-
etable stock
1 Bunch asparagus, hard stems removed,
and chopped
1 Small zucchini, chopped
2 Cups cooked turkey pieces
½ cup pitted, halved Kalamata olives
4 Teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ Cup fl at leaf parsley leaves
Directions:
Cook the pasta per the directions, re-
serve ½ cup of the liquid, then drain and
set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet
on medium high; cook the onions, garlic,
salt and pepper for about 3 minutes, stir-
ring occasionally. Add the wine, lemon
zest, asparagus, zucchini and the re-
served liquid. Cook for 6-8 minutes then
add the turkey. The turkey will absorb
some of the liquid. Once the liquid has
cooked down, add the pasta, olives and
lemon juice. When all the ingredients are
heated through, top with fresh parsley
and serve immediately.
You can reach Karen Kain at karen-
kain8@icloud.com.
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