Turkey Pot Pie

I'm not quite at the point yet where I despise my turkey leftovers... I hope you're not at that point yet either or this post will seem wholly unwelcome.

I can usually manage to eat one meal of turkey leftovers before I'm done with the traditional fare... the white meat, no matter how moist, continues to dry out. The potatoes go chalky. Buns stale. And the gravy runs out. At this point, I usually toss the remaining turkey into the freezer while I figure out what to do with the three pounds that remain.

Enter: Turkey Pot Pie. I figured that this was an easy-creamy-dreamy way to get rid of the last bit of turkey. I could freeze the pies for a time when my turkey-love returns. And I could cram these pies chock full of veg and feel virtuous about eating these leftovers... further justifying my breakfast of chocolate.

A year and a half later... Christmas Leftover Soup

So, it has been more than a while since I ventured on here. I basically started up the blog, then disappeared into my bubble. Well... to emerge, I hope. And what better time is there to emerge from one's bubble than after the hoopla of the holidays, when resolutions are being formulated and time seems to be abundant.

I was very fortunate over the holiday to join the ranks of many a Parisian woman, and able cook, with the addition of a Le Creuset cast iron casserole to my kitchen. I think I have been coveting this pot for more than twenty years. Covet, no more. It is now mine in all of its warmly orange tinged, red splendour.

I have been pouring over cookbooks and looking into the pantry and wandering the grocery in hopes of finding inspiration for the first ever creation to come from this pot. After watching Julie and Julia and flipping through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I thought that boeuf bourguignon would be the most appropriate first dish. Or maybe Coq au Vin. But what about my most favourite Tuscan dish of Pici al Cinghiale (a local Tuscan pasta with a wild boar ragu). There were so many directions that I could have gone...

But, after a guilty look at the contents of my refrigerator, I determined that what I would first make in that pot would be a reflection of the holiday and of family... turned into something new... something quite perfect to end 2009 and begin 2010.