Is everyone out of their turkey-induced haze?

Have you all thought of new and exciting ways to eat your Thanksgiving leftovers?

Are you hating turkey by now or are you still in love with the bird?

They, being magazines, cookbooks, the internet etc. tell you to average one pound of turkey per person for the Thanksgiving meal. I, ever dutifully (and thinking about how each person would like a little packet of leftovers), obliged to the extreme and allowed two pounds per person. But with the feast that lay before my guests last Thursday: two kinds of dressing, a duo of cranberries, mashed potatoes, yams, brussels sprouts with chestnuts, balsamic glazed onions, and gravy– lots of gravy, the turkey was almost inconsequential.

Don’t get me wrong, the bird was delicious! Burnished a lovely brown and basted with butter by me, and carved then reassembled magnificently by trusted guest. But I only had two little slices Thursday night, and was left with much more than the requisite pound of leftovers.

So there were turkey sandwiches, and of course a turkey pot pie. And then there is my favorite leftover of all– turkey soup. I am an organized cook– some might say I’m even a bit dogmatic. Thursday evening, post-dinner and pre-pie, the carcass always goes in a stock pot along with some aromatics and fresh water, then it simmers away into a rich stock. I drain the pot shortly after all the guests have left, the stock goes into the fridge, and then I tumble into bed. This is my Thanksgiving ritual.

The soup that’s made from the turkey stock changes from year to year. This time around I finely chopped leeks and celery, grated a few carrots, sprinkled in some chopped dill, and shredded what was left of the turkey. And then I made rivels and let the whole batch simmer away. What’s a rivel? Not quite a noodle, not quite a dumpling. Chewy. Sustaining, Carbohydrate-laden. Homey.

Need I go on?

I liked them more than chucking in some egg noodles, or a handful of rice. If you’re going to go through the trouble of making stock, don’t you also want to complete the task by making something delicious and homemade? I can tell these rivels will become a mainstay in my recipe repertoire this season, maybe they’ll become one for you as well. Go on, enjoy some rib-sticking soup!

Rivels
from From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens by Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachel Thomas Pellman

1 cup flour
pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk

In a medium-size bowl, combine flour and salt. Add egg, stirring to combine. Add milk. Work the dough, clumping mixture together making crumbs of different sizes.

Drop the rivels into boiling soup, stirring the soup continually so the rivels don’t pack together. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes, or until rivels are plumped and cooked through.

Rivels will continue to adsorb stock, so additional stock may be needed when reheating any leftovers.