Thanksgiving Leftovers!!

We are almost a week out from the big Thanksgiving Day Feast, but I am willing to bet many of you still have leftovers in your fridge! Whether it be turkey or potatoes or whatever, this is your chance to get creative with your leftovers and look at them in a whole new way! Following are two recipes to inspire you. Turkey Tetrazzini is a classic casserole that will clean up those scraps of turkey in no time. Shepherd's Pie is an easy way to use up those leftover mashed potatoes! These dishes are so good that I doubt you will have leftovers of either of these though!

Featured Recipe. . .

Turkey Tetrazzini
16 oz dumpling egg noodles, cooked
1 qt. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
½ cup butter ¼ cup flour
1 ½ cups milk ¼ cup cream

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 T balsamic vinegar

2-3 cups cooked turkey, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup bread crumbs

3/4 cup Whitehall Specialties Fine Shred Parmesan Blended Topping

1/2 cup Whitehall Specialties Imitation Mozzarella Cheese Shred

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Boil peas with pasta. Drain well, rinse with cool water and set aside. Sauté the mushrooms in 3 T butter over medium heat until all the liquid they create evaporates, about 7-10 minutes. Set aside. In a large skillet, melt ¼ cup butter. Stir in the flour and cook the mixture over moderate heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until thickened and bubbly. Stir constantly. Gradually whisk in the milk, cream, broth, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the pasta and peas, sauce, mushrooms, and turkey. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in half of the Whitehall Specialties 689 Fine Shred Parmesan Blended Topping and all of the Whitehall Specialties 106 Imitation Mozzarella Cheese Shred. Transfer to a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Whitehall Specialties 689 Fine Shred Parmesan Blended Topping, bread crumbs, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Dot the top with 1 T butter. Bake 40-45 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and browned.

Featured Recipe. . .

Shepherd's Pie
1 T butter
¼ cup sweet onion, diced
½ lb. ground beef or venison
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
2 cups classic mixed vegetables
1 T sugar
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1 cup Whitehall Specialties 506 Imitation Cheddar Cheese

Melt butter in large skillet. Add onions and sauté over medium-high heat until slightly browned and caramelized. Add ground beef, salt, and pepper. Fry until browned and cooked thoroughly. Add mixed vegetables, and sugar. Simmer until heated throughout. Place meat mixture in the bottom of a deep dish pie plate. Spread leftover mashed potatoes on top of meat. Sprinkle potatoes with Whitehall Specialties 506 Imitation Cheddar Cheese Shred and additional pepper and salt, if desired. Bake in a 375 degree oven until hot, about 20-30 minutes. Switch oven to broil. Broil a few minutes to further melt and brown the Cheese.

Thanksgiving Desserts

Cheddar Apple Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake

Every Thanksgiving, we eagerly anticipate the carving of the great Thanksgiving bird. The turkey, with all the trimmings, is the center of attention that day, and perhaps rightfully so, but don't forget about dessert! There is nothing quite as satisfying as topping off that fabulous feast with an equally impressive finale'! This Thanksgiving, let your desserts steal the show! In the recipes below, traditional Pumpkin and Apple pies receive a "cheesy" new twist! Try them for yourself and wow your dinner guests!

Featured Recipe. . .

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust:
¼ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 T crushed pecans
¼ tsp cinnamon

Filling:
15 oz can pumpkin
8 oz 850 Imitation Cream Cheese
¾ cup sugar
½ cup baking mix
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
3 eggs

Garnish: Whipped Cream, Caramel Topping and Pecan Halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, crushed pecans, and cinnamon. Sprinkle on the bottom of the pie plate. Mix together pumpkin, Whitehall Specialties 850 Imitation Cream Cheese Product, sugar, baking mix, vanilla, and spices, beating until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing just until blended. Bake about 45 minutes or until done. Place on cooling rack for about an hour. Refrigerate at least three hours or overnight. Garnish with whipped cream, caramel topping, and pecan halves.

Featured Recipe. . .

Harvest Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust

Crust:
2 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 cup 0339 Cheddar Cheese Style Product, shred
¼ cup cold butter, cubed
½ cup shortening
6-8 T cold water

Filling:
4-6 Granny Smith Apples
2 Macintosh Apples
2/3 cup sugar
3 T flour
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 T lemon juice
1 T butter, cut into bits

Garnish: ½ cup 0339 Cheddar Style Cheese Product, shred

For crust, stir together flour, salt, and Whitehall Specialties 0339 Cheddar Style Cheese Product (finely shred) in a large bowl. Add butter (cut into cubes) and shortening. Using a pastry blender, cut into the flour mixture, until a coarse meal forms. Add cold water, 1 T at a time, blending with a fork after each addition until mixture reaches a dough-like consistency and starts to follow the fork around the bowl. Divide dough in half. Flatten each portion to a round disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour before rolling out. When dough is ready to roll out, do so on a floured surface, making each portion large enough for a 9-inch pie plate. Core, peel, and slice apples. Toss apple slices with sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice until evenly coated. Line pie plate with one of the dough rounds. Fill with apple filling. Dot apples with the butter, cut into bits. Cover with remaining pie dough. Trim excess crust, fold under, seal and flute the edges. Cut decorative vents in the top of pie. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake an additional 40 minutes, until crust is golden brown and apples are tender. If crust is browning too quickly, cover with aluminum foil or a pie shield. When pie is finished baking, sprinkle the top of crust with an additional ½ cup Whitehall Specialties 0339 Cheddar Style Cheese Product Shred and bake just long enough to melt cheese. Cool to room temperature before serving.

Customized Cheese Products

Whitehall Specialties' commitment to Research and Development includes a dedicated Customization Team that designs custom cheese products, tests new ingredients, explores innovative processes and prepares customized samples for clients. The picture above features two different formulations of a pizza cheese, each with varied levels of browning ingredients, as shown. The desired level of browning is just one example of many cheese characteristics that may be requested by a customer. Others may include a particular melt, stretch, chew, color, flavor, or shred, to name a few. After a test sample has been made, we are then able to assess cheese performance in the Test Kitchen before sending a sample to the customer. In addition to cheese performance, Whitehall Specialties can also meet specific packaging requests, label requirements, nutrition claims, or even a desired price point. Please contact us to explore the opportunities offered by the Whitehall Specialties Customization Lab and Test Kitchen.