Turkey Help?

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the day with my family, and then spent the rest of the weekend with family, our pups, and getting ready for the busy month ahead.

If you still have turkey leftover from your feast, and your family is tiring of turkey sandwiches, here is an idea for something different. I came across this recipe while looking for savory hand pie ideas for a client who was attending a Thanksgiving “pie party” (everyone was supposed to bring pie, either savory or sweet).

The original recipe called for chicken, but I think this is a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers.

Turkey Hand Pies
Makes 10 hand pies
1 heaping cup of shredded turkey meat*
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery (about 1 large stalk)
1/3 cup chopped carrot (about 1 carrot)
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups chicken broth
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cream Cheese Pastry Dough (see below)
1 large egg, for egg wash

Note: If you’ve already eaten all of your leftover turkey, you can get about the right amount of shredded meat from a 3-pound chicken or a bone-in skin-on turkey breast.

Melt butter in a medium-sized hot skillet and add the onion, celery, and carrot. Sauté over medium heat for 2–3 minutes. Stir in the salt and flour, and cook for 1 minute more. Add the chicken broth and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 heaping cup shredded turkey (or chicken) and the Parmesan cheese. Cool in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Butter or line a baking sheet.

To form the hand pies, work with half of a disk of dough at a time, rolling it out on a floured surface. Using an overturned bowl (about 5 inches in diameter), cut out circles from each piece of dough. After cutting out all your circles, gather all dough scraps, reroll, and cut out a final time. Place ¼ cup filling on one side of a dough circle. Wet the edges of the dough with water. Fold the dough over to form a half circle. Pinch the edges of the dough together, then crimp with a fork. Repeat the process until all of the filling is used. The hand pies can be frozen at this point.

Place the pies on the prepared baking sheet and chill for a few minutes. Prick each pie on top with a fork. When ready to bake, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the egg wash over each pie. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Pies can be cooled and frozen to reheat in the microwave.

Cream Cheese Pastry Dough
Makes enough for about 10 hand pies or 1 double-crusted 10-inch pie
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup heavy cream
1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons, plus more for rolling out the dough
½ teaspoon coarse salt

Process the butter, cream cheese, and cream in a food processor, electric mixer, or by hand to thoroughly combine.

Add flour and salt. Process just until combined and the dough holds together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into two pieces. Flatten into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. If the dough is chilled overnight, take it out 15 minutes before rolling out.

Rub flour all over a rolling pin. Working with one disk at a time, place the disk on a clean, well-floured surface. Applying some pressure with the rolling pin, roll gently from the center of the dough to the top and bottom edges. Rotate the disk and roll to the top and bottom edges again. Reflour the work surface and rolling pin, turn the dough over, and continue to roll the dough from the center out to the edges. Turn over and roll again, rotating the disk to ensure even rolling until the dough is about 12 inches in diameter, thin but not transparent.

Recipes are from the cookbook Mad Hungry, by Lucinda Scala Quinn (Artisan Books).