The High Holidays are an ideal time for families to get together to enjoy a traditional dinner. The dining room table is impeccably set, and what seems like a never ending parade of delicious dishes is presented. The Rosh Hashanah meal is as enjoyable as the Holiday itself.Now, fast-forward to the days after the holiday is over. What can you do to enjoy the leftover brisket, turkey or chicken, the vegetables and all the potato dishes that are now packed into plastic containers and baggies? Zapping them in the microwave is not the answer! Leaving leftover food forgotten at the back of the fridge is unproductive. With a little imagination, great recipes and a few helpful hints, you can make the most of everything you have left from your Rosh Hashanah dinner.
This is the most amazing use of leftover food ever! You can include together leftover brisket, boned turkey or chicken. Along with the meat, you can toss into the processor any carrots and roast potatoes that were cooked with the brisket. For a fancy touch, reserve some mashed potatoes and pipe a trim on the top of the Shepherd’s pie. Decorated or not, no one will ever guess this dish was made from leftovers.
4 cups ground cooked brisket, or turkey and brisket (instructions following)
1 cup gravy or leftover chicken soup
Montreal steak spice to taste
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
4 tbsp. margarine divided
12 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft (about 15 minutes)
4 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
salt to taste
white pepper to taste
canola oil spray
Using a food processor, pulse 2 or 3 slices of meat at a time (adding roasted potatoes and carrots if available) until finely chopped; do not over process. Remove to a large bowl and splash with some gravy or stock and sprinkle with Montreal steak spice. Mix well. Repeat until all meat is ground. Mixture should be moist and look somewhat like fresh ground meat.
Sauté onion in 2 tbsp. margarine until soft and mix into ground meat.
Mash or rice potatoes while they are still hot. Make them as smooth as possible. Add eggs, salt and pepper, flour, baking powder and 2 tablespoons margarine and combine. In a 9×11 baking dish sprayed with canola oil, layer first half of the mashed potatoes, all the ground meat mixture and the remaining mashed potatoes. Bake for one hour in a 350-degree oven or until heated through and lightly browned on top. This dish freezes well after it is assembled. Allow extra time to bake if frozen.
Alternative Shepherd’s Pie Suggestion: If you have a large leftover portion of potato kugel, omit the mashed potatoes when preparing the shepherd’s pie. Instead divide the crunchy top portion of the kugel in half horizontally from the softer bottom of the kugel. (Don’t worry if the kugel breaks into pieces.) Layer a greased 9×11 baking dish first with the bottom half of the kugel, all the ground meat mixture, and then the top crunchy layer. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until heated through.
Nothing goes better with Shepherd’s Pie than a heaping serving of crunchy coleslaw. And the best coleslaw hands down is Super Coleslaw from The Pleasures of your Processor by Noreen Gilletz, now titled The Food Processor Bible (Whitecap Books). I usually double this recipe so that I have enough for the High Holiday meals and well as to go with the shepherd’s pie. If you have extra coleslaw, it is excellent as a main dish salad. You can add some salmon or tuna, chilled cooked snow peas, nuts or crunchy Asian salad noodles. Consider adding leftover coleslaw to your favourite sandwich or wrap for a crisp, fresh flavour at lunchtime.
Coleslaw Mixture
1 head cabbage (about 3 lb.)
3 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed
2 cloves garlic, peeled
3 green onions (shallots), cut in 2-in. pieces
1 green pepper, cut in 2-in. chunks
Marinade
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar (see note)
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Slicer: Cut cabbage into wedges to fit feed tube. Discard core. Slice, using very light pressure. (If you prefer a finer texture, you may use the grater.) Empty into a large bowl.
Grater: Cut carrots to fit feed tube crosswise. Grate, using firm pressure. Add to cabbage.
Steel Knife: Drop shallots and garlic through feed tube while machine is running. Process until minced. Add green pepper and process with 2 or 3 very quick on/off turns, until chopped. Do not overprocess. Add to cabbage mixture.
Combine ingredients for marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour hot marinade over coleslaw mixture and toss well. Transfer to a large jar, cover tightly and refrigerate. Yields about 12 to 16 servings. Do not freeze.
Note: This coleslaw will keep about 3 to 4 weeks in the refrigerator without becoming soggy. For calorie counters, eliminate all or part of the sugar. Add artificial sweetener to taste to the boiled marinade. If you boil the artificial sweetener, it may produce a bitter after-taste. Coleslaw will not keep as well if made with artificial sweetener.
Thank you to Noreen for this wonderful recipe. This recipe will also appear in the upcoming book The NEW Food Processor Bible, 30th Anniversary Edition (Whitecap Books)
Moist and bursting with chocolate flavour, this cake is a great way to use up the apples you have “hanging around” after the Holidays.
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 cup margarine
4 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce*
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
Dice half of the chocolate and reserve. Add remainder of the chocolate to margarine and heat in microwave for one minute. Mix until chocolate is melted. Cool. Add eggs and sugar and blend well. Mix in applesauce and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients. Mix in diced chocolate.
Spray a Bundt pan (or an angel food pan) with canola oil and pour in batter. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until cake springs back to touch and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and gently remove from pan to serving platter. If you wish, garnish with melted chocolate, drizzled over top, or sprinkle with icing sugar.
*To prepare homemade applesauce: peel and core 3-4 medium apples, cut into wedges and place in a microwave-safe bowl along with 2 tbsp. water. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 minutes or until apples are soft. Mash until smooth or pureé in processor or blender.