There's only so many things you can do with turkey leftovers before your tastebuds rebel at the sameness. Sure I like turkey soup, sandwiches, pot pies and such. Tetrazini hasn't been a favorite but I've resorted to it a few times. Tamales have been a pretty successful freezer leftover for me too.
This year, I tried to cuisine shift some of the leftovers, again in a Latin direction.
I resorted to Dona Maria Pipian sauce and some Goya Recaito.
I was thinking of a green rice and thought the recaito would help me get there. A cup of long grain rice, about 1/2 cup minced onion, a clove of garlic, some lime zest, 1/4 cup recaito into some rendered turkey fat. Smelled pretty good. Sauted until the rice was all chalky, and then added water and cooked. Finished with juice from half of the lime. It was much paler and milder than I anticipated and I would probably triple the amount of recaito I used next time. It was a pleasant rice dish, but not quite the flavor intensity or color I was thinking of.
Used some turkey stock to mix up the pipian sauce. Sliced up some turkey leftovers and combined them with some of the sauce. A little visit to the microwave to bring up to temp. I'd have used more sauce myself, but I've got kids to think about so I coated the turkey lightly and had pipian on the side to add more of for those who wished.
Toasted some corn tortillas on cast iron until they bubble and speckle.
Load up the tortilla with some turkey.
Some cabbage, hot sauce, a little squeeze of lime.
Tastes pretty good even with a traditionally flavored sage turkey. Kids ate it well and liked it. Always a plus. And any change in the leftovers is a welcome one.
Other thoughts. Now I've got pipian and recaito to use up. I'll probably portion the pipian into a half cup block and the recaito into 1/2 cup amounts for the freezer.
Daisy Martinez has a pretty good recaito recipe if you want to make your own. http://www.daisycooks.com/pages/recipes_detail.cfm?ID=5
