I have lived in four states in my lifetime, and now live in Madison, Wisconsin. If you are a foodie like me and have moved around a bit in your life like me, that means that when you move from one place to another, there are going to be regional food items you miss from your previous dwelling. This week, I will write about the items I miss about the places I’ve lived–New York (Long Island), Cleveland (Ohio) and Nashville. Here we go…

New York

Pizza, pizza, pizza. With all due respect to you people in Chicago who like your pizza to be a couple inches thick, and everyone else who thinks a large pizza is like 14 inches wide, there is nothing like real New York pizza. Not that it’s all the same, but generally you get a thin crust (not too thin), and the perfect blend of sauce and cheese, a sprinkling of oregano, and that’s it. You take a slice of that 16 to 18 inch pie, fold it in half, and eat like a sandwich. Oh, and don’t forget the shake of crushed red pepper.

Jamaican beef patties–They sell them in every pizza place in and around New York. They also sell them at Jamaican bakeries and in the frozen food section of the grocery store. They are like empanadas–savory and spicy, and with that trademark yellow crust.

Potato salad–If you have ever had the potato salad they sell in German delis in New York, you won’t ever get potato salad anywhere else. I can’t even attempt to make potato salad, ever, because nothing comes close. One question–how do they keep the potato salad looking so bright white and not off white/eggy like store bought salad in any other state?

Nathan’s hot dogs and fries–Well, you can buy Nathan’s hot dogs in most stores. But the fries. I’m not even sure what it is…it’s not like they are super crispy or anything. They are thick crinkle cut, not under cooked and not over cooked–but the perfect companion to a glob of ketchup.

Bagels–Okay so we have Gotham Bagels here in Madison, and they are real New York style bagels. But it’s not near my house, so I have to stock up when I drive past.

Deli sandwiches–Do you sense a theme here? Yes, I miss delis, and you would too if you moved away from New York. There is nothing like a sandwich on a hard kaiser roll–with real meat like roast beef, turkey or ham that was cooked there and sliced thin right there. The roast beef and turkey you get anywhere else is not the same–it’s typically injected with broth and other stuff to preserve it and make it taste processed. Ugh.

Folks, where did that year just go? Just like that, it’s Thanksgiving again. This year we are visiting family and going out for dinner, but we plan on having our own turkey dinner the week afterward. Meanwhile, I thought it would be a good time to plug my own blog here, and publish a link to last year’s instructions on cooking a turkey 101.

Here is that link:

And here is a link to what to do with your leftovers

You can also make the soup recipe I posted a few weeks ago using turkey instead of chicken

Then, of course, if you can’t button the button on your pants, you can make this healthy turkey sandwich.

I’ll have more ideas for leftovers next week, but for now I wanted to make sure you were covered with a refresher and some ideas for leftovers to start out.

I posted this last year on Grub For Guys, and plan on using some of these recipes myself this weekend. Enjoy!

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, or the entire weekend following the big Turkey Day, and you’ve got a fridge full of leftovers—especially all of that tasty turkey meat. There are only so many sandwiches you can make, and soup can be boring. So why not try a few of these alternatives that are quick, easy and pretty filling. All recipes serve two hungry people but with a little bit of math you can increase the output.

Turkey Breakfast Hash
The day after Thanksgiving, you may not want to indulge in anything with turkey, but this dish doesn’t exactly resemble the turkey and fixings you had the day before. It’s breakfast food and it’s mighty tasty. Of course, you don’t have to make it for breakfast….

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped cooked turkey
½ cup finely chopped onion
½ cup finely chopped green pepper
1 can diced potatoes, drained
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
Cooking spray
2 eggs
Ketchup (optional)

Directions
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it’s barely rippling. Add turkey, onion, green pepper and potatoes. Cook, stirring every minute or two, for about ten minutes or until onion is translucent and potatoes begin to brown. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir/cook one minute more. In a separate nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray over medium heat, add eggs and cook until whites are just set, about 2-3 minutes. Put hash on two plates, and top each with a cooked egg. Serve with ketchup on the side, if desired

Turkey Muffuletta
If you’ve ever had this classic New Orleans sandwich, your mouth is probably watering right now. It’s really the olive salad that makes it, as well as the crusty roll it’s served on. Okay, my mouth is watering now….here is the recipe for the turkey version of the Muffuletta:

Ingredients
2 large rolls or 2 large sections of Ciabatta loaf
1 cup sliced or chopped cooked turkey meat
4 slices provolone cheese
Lettuce
½ cup New Orleans style olive salad (if you can’t find this, you can probably find a recipe online, but it’s much easier to buy it in a jar).

Directions
Preheat sandwich press or a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Hollow out the roll or bread slightly, and layer with turkey, cheese, lettuce and olive salad (any order is fine). Top with other half of roll or bread, and cook in sandwich press or in skillet topped with a foil-wrapped brick for about five minutes, or until cheese has melted and bread is crispy.

Turkey Antipasto Chopped Salad
Salad isn’t always dude food, is it? But this one is, and you can even serve it on lettuce and make it look like you’re eating healthy. Either way, we think you’ll dig this version of an Italian classic.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped cooked turkey meat
½ cup chopped roasted red peppers
1/2 cup chopped green olives
1/2 cup chopped dill pickles
1/3 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped provolone cheese
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Combine turkey, roasted peppers, olives, pickles, celery and cheese in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour over dry ingredients, and toss to combine. Let flavors blend in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.

Cheesy Broccoli Rice with Turkey
Those Uncle Ben’s (or other brands, we won’t discriminate) are always good to have on hand, but if you can add turkey and some other magical ingredients, you can put together a kickass post-holiday meal.

Ingredients
1 box broccoli rice au gratin
1 Tbsp. butter
1 cup chopped cooked turkey meat
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Black pepper to taste
½ cup cubed Velveeta cheese

Directions
Cook rice according to package directions on stovetop, including using the butter, which we have included here. Cooking times vary, but I used the 5-minute variety. When the mixture begins to boil, add the turkey, cream of mushroom soup and black pepper. Let simmer until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Then add the Velveeta and stir until it melts. Serve immediately.

Day After Thanksgiving Pizza
Okay, so this isn’t pizza so much as it’s turkey and fixings served on a pizza crust. But it’s really good, trust us.

Ingredients
2 small pizza shells (such as Mama Mary’s)
½ cup leftover mashed potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup cooked chopped turkey meat
½ cup canned sweet peas, drained
1 12 oz. jar turkey or chicken style gravy
Black pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees. Bake pizza crusts until golden, 5-7 minutes. Warm potatoes in microwave for 1 minute or until cooked through. Spread each crust with ¼ cup mashed potatoes and set aside. Meanwhile, heat gravy in a medium saucepan over medium heat and add turkey, peas and black pepper. Heat until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Pour half of mixture over each pizza crust and serve.

I posted this on Bullz-Eye’s Grub For Guys section two years ago, and it’s a must-read for any of you guys that are thinking about cooking a turkey Thursday for the first time. Best of luck with that if it’s the case, and I hope you all have an awesome and safe Thanksgiving. We’ll be back on Friday with tips for what to do with turkey leftovers.

If you guys have never made a turkey, it may seem like a very daunting task. But trust me, it’s really pretty easy, even for a novice cook. Let me be your guide this Thanksgiving and I hope you’ll give this a shot, whether you’ve cooked a big bird before or not.

Basic Roast Turkey with Stuffing
1 12- to 15-pound fresh turkey (bigger if you’re having more than 10 people)
1 bag stuffing mix (I like the white and wheat combo)
1 onion and a few celery stalks
Chicken broth (amount may vary) and butter or margarine
Vegetable oil or olive oil
Cooking spray or melted butter
Spices such as thyme, paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper

A word about turkeys:
I’m calling for fresh turkey in this recipe — it saves time and trouble in the long run — because you don’t have to defrost it. Fresh birds can be found in the refrigerated meat section of the grocery store or butcher shop. If you buy a frozen turkey, allow three days to defrost in your refrigerator (yes, really, move it from the freezer to the ‘fridge on Monday of Thanksgiving week).

DIRECTIONS
First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Cook stuffing according to package directions in a large saucepan using butter or margarine and chicken broth. Sauté chopped onion and celery in oil in a separate skillet over medium heat for about five minutes, and then mix into the cooked stuffing. Set aside.
Open the turkey over a sink (trust me, you don’t want juice all over your kitchen floor). Remove the neck and gizzards from the cavity and set aside for gravy (or throw them out like I do; my feeling is, frankly, blech!). Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. Place in a large roasting pan, breast side up, and coat top with cooking spray or margarine. Sprinkle liberally with spices. Stuff with stuffing at both ends (from the breast side and the butt end), as much as you can fit in there, leaving a little room for expansion. To keep the stuffing from escaping the bird, close the openings using turkey “pins” (at this time of the year, they can be found in the grocery store near the turkeys or the roasting pans).

You should start early in the day, depending on when you plan to serve dinner. Roast for about 15 minutes per pound; this translates into three hours for a 12-pound turkey to almost four hours for a 15-pound bird. Put in the oven for the first 30 minutes uncovered to brown the turkey, and then cover with the lid of the roasting pan or use foil. After about an hour, the juices will start accumulating in the pan. It’s important to then start basting the turkey with the juices every 15 minutes or so to avoid drying out. The turkey is done when a meat thermometer placed in the center cavity (in the stuffing) registers 165 degrees; if the thermometer is placed in the thigh meat, the temperature should be 185 degrees.

Let rest about 10 minutes on a serving platter before slicing. While waiting, remove all the stuffing from the cavity of the bird (it’s a perfect medium for bacteria to grow in).

Gravy
Pan drippings from the roasted turkey
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
2 to 3 Tbsp. cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
Pour juice from roasting pan into a medium saucepan and add about a cup of chicken broth. (If you want, at this point add the neck and gizzard.) Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer (cook the neck and gizzard until the gizzard is fork-tender). Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add slowly to the gravy to thicken. Take off heat immediately.

Mashed Potatoes4 to 5 pounds potatoes, rinsed, and peeled (use red, white or Yukon Gold)
Milk (skim or low-fat is fine)
Butter or margarine
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
(Cooking mashed potatoes is done by “feel” – you’ll just know when it’s right. Remember, it’s best to add in small amounts at a time – you can’t “undo” a recipe.)

Cut potatoes into even-sized chunks and place in a large pot, covering with water by about two to three inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain most of the water out, but leave a small amount. Remove from heat and add a little milk (start with ½ cup or so) and a few tablespoons butter or margarine. Mash with a potato masher or large fork until blended, and it is the consistency of your mom’s mashed potatoes (okay, that’s a stretch!), adding in milk or butter a little at a time. Add salt and pepper to taste, and smother at the dinner table with the gravy you made.

Just don’t do this:One of the Bullz-Eye editors routinely discards the “innards” when he cooks up the turkey, but one year decided to be “funny” and saved the heart. He snuck up on his wife carrying it in his hand, and used a finger to move it a little, while saying thump-thump, thump-thump. He never made that mistake again.