Everyone's got that Thanksgiving leftover that lingers...and lingers...and lingers. For some it's the turkey: the first three sandwiches were good, but by the time you get to the fourth you are so ready to never eat poultry again. For some it's the veggies, which always lose some luster upon re-heating. But more often than not, it's whichever dish turned out - shall we say - less than optimal.
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| This is a yam. But most people in the U.S. call it a Sweet Potato. Real sweet potatoes have a more dusty brown outside, and a creamy white inside, and taste a little less sweet. I love real sweet potatoes. But they don't make good Sweet Potato Casserole, or bread, or pancakes, so...yeah. Stick with these. |
I said, "Turn it into something else."
He said, "Like what?"
I said, "I dunno, like quick bread, or muffins."
He said, "That's baking. I don't bake, I cook."
He gave me 1 & 1/2 Cups leftover sweet potato casserole the moment I got home. It was a dare, a thrown gauntlet to my kitchen know-how. I divided it into two portions, and made two things. I got the pancakes, he got the bread. I delivered it to his office, and ten minutes later I got a text saying: "DAMN, that's good bread!!!"
Two hours later, another co-worker said, "That was good bread, by the way."
Another hour after that, yet another co-worker said, "Hey, that was some gooood bread!"
Z.D.: 1, Leftovers: 0. So here you go:
Leftover Sweet Potato Casserole Bread
Ingredients:
- ½ Cup granulated sugar
- ½ Cup packed brown sugar
- 1/3 Cup unsweetened real cranberry juice (NOT cranberry cocktail)*
- 1/3 Cup shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Cup leftover sweet potato casserole
- 1 & 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 & ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground cardamom
Directions:
- Pre-heat your oven to 350º F, and grease and flour one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment,** cream together the sugar, juice, and shortening at medium speed. When mixture is mostly smooth, add in eggs, vanilla, and casserole. (A few visible flecks of shortening is fine, it makes for a more varied crumb.)
- Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir into wet ingredients until just combined.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out dry, about 55 - 65 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes, then loosen with a knife around the edge and turn out onto a baking rack.
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| Not my bread, my camera isn't working right now. But I pulled this image off the interwebs because I wanted you to see the dark brown exterior. This recipe makes a loaf with a dark, molasses-colored (and flavored) outside. |
Leftover Sweet Potato Casserole Pancakes
Makes 2 giant pancakes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 Cup leftover sweet potato casserole
- 1 large egg
- 1 Cup buttermilk (scant)
- 1 Cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
Directions:
- Whisk together casserole, egg, and buttermilk until thoroughly mixed. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Pour in wet mixture, and stir until almost combined (you want this lumpy).
- Heat a 10" non-stick skillet over medium heat, and grease with unsalted butter. When the foam subsides, pour in half the batter to make one 10" pancake. Cook until edges are dry and middle is bubbling, about 3 - 5 minutes.
- Flip the pancake, and reduce the heat by about a quarter. Cook until the other side is a deep golden brown, about 2 - 4 minutes. Place on the rack of oven turned to the lowest heat to keep warm while repeating with remaining batter.
Of course you don't NEED to make two giant pancakes, you could make six regular sized ones. But by now you're probably ready for a break from cooking, and giant pancakes are kind of a fun way to mix things up. This way you only need to go through the flipping twice. Hey, you haven't had your coffee yet: it's Ok to be lazy.
Got more holiday leftovers? Or more coming your way later in the month? I can come up with some good ideas of how to breath some tastiness back into those babies. So go ahead: hit me with your best (and most delicious) shot!
*If you don't have real cranberry juice, you can substitute freshly squeezed orange juice, but the finished bread won't have the same molasses-like nummy-ness.
**Yes of course you can mix this by hand with a whisk, or even a couple forks. A stand mixer's just faster.