Matzo Topped Turkey Pot Pie

Our first night Passover dinner always includes turkey. My grandmother served turkey on Passover, my Mom did too and so I follow our family tradition.

Also, because we are a family where some of us eat dark meat and some eat white, I roast a whole turkey (instructions here).

I change the seasonings and basting fluids from time to time. Sometimes I flavor the bird with Balsamic vinegar-ginger-pineapple and sometimes with sweet white wine and thyme, sometimes a simple sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic and parika and a cup or two of orange juice.

My daughter Gillian is our family carver. She is so adept at carving turkey that in another century she would have had a job at some royal household or other.

There is always leftover turkey.

That means we have turkey pot pie at some point during the holiday.

Here’s my recipe for Passover Turkey Pie. Matzo crust of course!

Matzo Topped Turkey Pot Pie

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick

• 2 medium all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

• 4 cups chopped cooked turkey

• 1-1/2 to 2 cups leftover chopped cooked vegetables

• 2-1/2 tablespoons potato starch

• 3 cups stock

• matzo

• 1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the turkey and vegetables and stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. Sprinkle the potato starch on top and mix it into the ingredients. Pour in the stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Spoon the ingredients into a casserole dish. Depending on the size of the casserole, soak one or two sheets of matzo in cool water briefly to soften the pieces. Press out extra liquid with paper towels. Place the matzo on top of the ingredients. Brush with beaten egg. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until crispy on top.

Makes 4-6 servings

Turkey Bones Soup

Okay, okay, this is not gorgeous food.

But trust me, this is good soup. Good for the taste buds, good for the soul. And it’s a useful, delicious way to use the Thanksgiving turkey carcass.

Think of this as a special ugly duckling. I mean turkey.

Turkey bones Soup

• turkey carcass, bones, etc, scraps

• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1-inch thick

• 2 stalks celery, peeled, leaves included if available, and sliced 1-inch thick

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 1 parsnip, peeled and sliced 1-inch thick

• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes plus the liquid

• 10 cups water

• salt and pepper

• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1 cup short macaroni such as elbows

• 1 cup frozen peas

Place the turkey pieces, carrots, celery, onion, parsnip and tomatoes in a soup pot. Cover with the water, add salt, pepper and dill and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat. and simmer for 3-1/2 hours. Add the macaroni and peas and cook for another 15 minutes.

Makes 8-10 servings

Mayonnaise or Ketchup? Turkey Sandwich.

I came from a mayonnaise family. My husband Ed’s family was all about ketchup. Honestly, his parents used to buy bottles of Heinz in bulk long before anyone ever heard of Costco and BJ’s. And so did he, based on what I spotted in the cupboards of his single-guy apartment the first time I looked.

Opinions run high on stuff like this, just like with politics.

Imagine Michelle Bachmann discussing Hellman’s versus Heinz with Al Gore.

It’s not really such a big deal though because when it comes to something like a roast beef sandwich we can each put whatever we want on the bread, right?

But no, right after we were married and might be making sandwiches on a Sunday afternoon, we would each slather the bread and then taunt each other about how the sandwich we were eating was so much better than the other one’s.

Over the intervening years for one reason or another we have each cut down on our favorite condiment. Although I still love a summer tomato sandwich with mayo. And he still pours a blob of ketchup on his plate when I serve grilled steak.

He has tried to convince me that olive oil tastes better on that summer tomato sandwich, but I am not convinced.

I think there ought to be a law against eating ketchup with a good grilled steak.

We both agree that you have to use mayo, not ketchup, for egg salad, but that ketchup, not mayo, is best for meatloaf.

And of course, we can always choose that loving combo of — ketchup PLUS mayo. 

A nice compromise. It often works to the good.

Like on a hamburger.

Or in this turkey sandwich recipe, which you might want to consider for your leftovers after Thanksgiving.

Turkey Sandwich

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel

6 sesame seed buns

6 pieces of lettuce or a bunch of watercress

sliced, leftover turkey

2 avocados, sliced, optional

12 tomato slices

6 slices Monterey Jack cheese, optional

Combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, jalapeno pepper and lemon peel in a bowl, mix well and spread equal amounts of this mixture on one side of each of the sesame seed buns. Cover with lettuce or watercress. Top with slices of cooked turkey, optional avocado, tomato and cheese. Cover with the remaining bun half.

Makes 6 sandwiches