The guests are gone, you’ve washed an epic amount of dishes, and there’s still several pounds of juicy leftover turkey in the refrigerator.

Wondering what to do with all that bounty? Here’s some interesting and fun suggestions to help you make the most of all your Thanksgiving leftovers.

Pack a Thanksgiving Bento Box (or Two) for Lunch

As the folks at the Bentoism food blog can attest, modern bento boxes are becoming a  popular and fun way for people to add healthy variety to their humdrum brown bag work food as well as save money on lunch during challenging economic times.

You can start putting together your own modern bento boxes using any any segmented Tupperware type storage containers you may already own (just make sure they are leak-proof before using). Or if you prefer, you can purchase specially designed bento boxes and food bins from your local Asian market or online.

Here’s what one person did when making a Thanksgiving bento that featured leftover turkey and all the trimmings.

Also, the folks at JustBento.Com have some good suggestions for adding some Asian flair to your Thanksgiving leftover themed bento here.

Leftover Ideas For Those Who Don’t Normally Eat Leftovers

For those who don’t want to reenact their Thanksgiving meal on a smaller scale, here’s some recipes to help you transform that leftover turkey into something delicious yet new.

From About.Com Busy Cooks:

• Turkey Sandwiches With Spinach Aioli

• Sweet Potato Wontons

• Cranberry Turkey Puff Pastry

• Turkey Hummus Sandwiches

• Pumpkin Satay

• Cranberry Meatballs

• Updated Turkey Mornay

as well as 19 other Thanksgiving leftover recipes.

From CDKitchen:

• Amish Turkey Loaf

• Stuffing Melt

• Curried Turkey Pot Pies

• Baked Turkey Croquettes

• Turkey a la King

• Beer Batter Turkey

• Polenta With Turkey and Mushrooms

From Better Homes and Gardens:

• Herbed Turkey and Waffles

• New World Chili

• Turkey Panini Sandwich

From Reader’s Digest:

• Turkey Tetrazzini

• Creamy Turkey Vegetable Soup

• Turkey Pita Tacos

Enjoy!

(Photo Credits: Turkey Tetrazzini from Reader’s Digest, Thanksgiving Bento by Sake-Bento, Herbed Turkey and Waffles from Better Homes and Gardens)

Please join us tomorrow to enjoy Thanksgiving Meals Around the World: A Culinary Remembrance of Meals Past, which features 2 dozen food bloggers reminiscing about the meals and the memories they shared on Thanksgiving Day 2008.

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This post was inspired by a special recipe contest held by the folks at Pom Wonderful and by Jenn of The Foodie Blogroll.

Sophisticated, yet utterly simple, this delicious alternative to time-consuming French toast is pure pleasure and a new favorite around here. It has rich, aromatic spices with sweet little bursts of pomegranate in each bite.

Try it with the deliciously complex coriander-pomegranate bacon for an exciting new Sunday brunch idea.

Here’s a photo of the Pomegranate French Toast Frittata With Coriander-Pomegranate Bacon below.

Frittata Ingredients:

8 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
4 cups French or Italian bread, torn into small chunks
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pomegranate arils (I used Pom Wonderful Fresh Pomegranates)
Powdered sugar (optional)

PREPARATION:

Beat the eggs with the milk and the salt. Melt the butter in a large, oven-proof skillet or paella pan over medium heat.

Add the bread to the pan and toss lightly. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and cinnamon and toss again. Sprinkle the pomegranate arils on top and pour the beaten eggs over evenly. Allow to cook for a few minutes until bottom begins to set, then transfer the pan to the broiler. Cook until the top is set and lightly colored. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, then dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Ingredients for the Bacon:

8 slices thick-cut bacon (regular or peppered)
1/2 cup pomegranate juice (I used Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice)
2 tsp ground coriander

PREPARATION:

Cook the bacon over medium heat, turning frequently, until just done. Drain on paper towels. In a small pan, mix the pomegranate juice and the coriander and simmer over medium heat until reduced by half. Lay out the bacon strips on a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet and brush with the pomegranate glaze. Broil for a minute or two, taking care not to let the glaze burn. Turn the bacon over and repeat on the other side.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

You Can Read More of Doug’s Recipe Corner Here.

Please join us tomorrow to read our new article Everything But the Gobble: 20 Recipes To Make the Most of Your Thanksgiving Leftovers.

If you enjoyed today’s recipe, you might also enjoy these other interesting posts that feature pomegranates:

• Pomegranate-Infused Ginger Chicken With Sesame Scallion Dumplings
• Coconut Chipotle Mojo Shrimp With Pomegranate Relish
• Chicken Pomegranate Stuffed Shells With Gorgonzola Cream and Pine Nuts
• A Southern Springtime Breakfast: Easy Southern Fry Bread Biscuits Recipe
• Community Breakfasts: A Reason to Put on Your Saturday-Go-To-Eating Best
• Quick Bacon and Cheese Pretzel Breads Recipe

This post was inspired by a special recipe contest held by the folks at Pom Wonderful and by Jenn of The Foodie Blogroll.

Let’s start at the end, shall we? When the cooking time is over, you lift the lid, the steam rises, and suddenly you are enthralled by the combined fragrances of  pomegranate, ginger, shallots, aromatic spices and potions – and the matchless perfume of fresh steamed dumplings. You inhale… deeply… and smile.

Not a bad way to start a meal, don’t you think?

This recipe is easy, but produces a rich and complex sauce that infuses the chicken with magnificent Asian flavors and the mellow sweetness of pomegranate. The dumplings are a link between the “chicken & dumplings” tradition of the West, and the steamed buns of the East.

(Special thanks to Kian of RedCook for his inspiring Hong Shao Rou / Red Cooked Pork recipe!)

Here’s a photo of the Pomegranate-Infused Ginger Chicken With Sesame Scallion Dumplings below.

Ingredients:

Note: you can use chicken breasts in this recipe, but reduce the cooking time by ten minutes.

3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
4  lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
2 Tbsp minced shallots
4 cloves garlic, minced
White parts of 3 thin scallions, chopped (reserve green parts for dumplings)
3 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp grated orange zest
3 tsp ground star anise
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 cups pomegranate juice
3/4 cup pomegranate arils (I used Pom Wonderful Fresh Pomegranates)

Dumplings:
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1-1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 tsp salt
Green parts of 3 thin scallions, cut into fine shreds (about 2 Tbsp)
Water

Garnish:
Chopped cilantro
Grated orange zest

PREPARATION:

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the sugar and stir, using a wooden spoon, until sugar darkens just slightly. Turn heat to high, add the chicken pieces, and stir well to coat. Cook chicken for a few minutes until the outside of the chicken pieces turn opaque.

Reduce heat to medium-high and add the shallots, garlic, scallion, ginger, orange zest, and star anise. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes until shallots and garlic have softened a bit.

Add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and pomegranate juice. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to simmer. After 30 minutes, stir in the pomegranate arils and return to simmer.

After adding the pomegranate arils, prepare the dumplings: toast the sesame seeds in a heavy pan over medium high heat until lightly colored, stirring regularly so they toast evenly. Allow them to cool slightly and coarsely crush them in a mortal or spice grinder.

In a mixing bowl, combine the seeds, flour, salt, and scallions, and gradually add enough water to make a soft, wet dough (you want it soft enough to dollop with a spoon.)

While the chicken is simmering, drop large spoonfuls (about 2-3 tablespoons) of the dough onto the surface of the sauce, then allow to steam (without removing cover) until dumplings are cooked through (about 7-10 minutes, depending on size.)

Serve the “chicken & dumplings” immediately, sprinkled with chopped cilantro and additional orange zest. Serves 4 - 5.

Enjoy!

Please join us tomorrow to find out more about our new and delicious recipe for Pomegranate French Toast Frittata With Coriander-Pomegranate Bacon as part of this week’s special focus on pomegranates.

If you enjoyed today’s recipe, you might also enjoy these other interesting posts that feature pomegranates:

• Coconut Chipotle Mojo Shrimp With Pomegranate Relish
• Chicken Pomegranate Stuffed Shells With Gorgonzola Cream and Pine Nuts
• Cooking With Zest: Recipes That Make the Most of Fresh Lemon, Orange, and Lime Fruit Zest
• Chipotle Mojo Chicken Tacos With Marinated Mushrooms and Peppers Recipe
• Green Pea and Lemongrass Paradise Pasta With Pan-Seared Asparagus Recipe

Late November in the Northeast can be surprisingly cruel. The last vestigal warmth trickles slowly out of the mid-month days and a sudden shaft of glacial cold slashes down from Canada, catching all unprepared. Oddly, by mid-December, it may again be almost pleasant, but the weeks before are often bitter and sobering.

Early Thanksgiving morning in the city can be strangely quiet. The shopping days are done. Those who cook are already long about in warm kitchens; those who don’t, sleep in. Football will be watched. Reservations will be fulfilled. Guests will drive; arrive. But not yet. It’s warm within, cold without. It’s early. There’s time.

The sun seemed pointless that morning. A simulacrum. The streets were empty as I headed to my car, caught a glimpse, turned. A ragged, filthy dog. Cantering toward me, lost, mindless. Just running.

I stopped and called. The dog stopped.

Not much more than a pup, really. No collar, abandoned. Dirty fur matted with ice. Confused, but grateful for the small gift of notice. Too sad. But the world was a blizzard of sad stories. And this – just another, smaller one.

The dog ran off, toward the intersection. It wouldn’t be long now. Hopefully quick and painless. I heard a sound. Not a rising screech of rubber, something unexpected:

I was whistling. The dog stopped.

And came back.

I wrapped her in a lap blanket, put her in my car. I drove – she slept – across states – to my home. Warmth. My wife. Warmth and Home.

A meal and a bath. A long nap on a soft pillow. So, so happy. No longer lost, our Thanksgiving spaniel.

Our now-shiny Penny.

Our unexpected treasure.

Penny has shared our adventures for fifteen years now. Her wild, exuberant, tennis ball chasing days are over: she’s old and can’t get around too well now, but she’s still the happiest, sweetest-natured dog anyone could ever hope for.

We never knew how old she was when we found her, so we decided to make Thanksgiving her birthday (not coincidentally because it’s also a day of special treats.)

She most likely won’t be with us next year, so on this day I just wanted to say Happy Birthday – and thank you – to Penny, our special friend, who was plucked from the blizzard of sad stories – and showed us how to be truly happy.

Please join us tomorrow to find out more about our new recipe for Pomegranate-Infused Ginger Chicken With Sesame Scallion Dumplings as we return to our regular food blogging.

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