Every year, I read the round up from all the major cooking sites on what to do with your T-Day leftovers. It starts with the obligatory turkey sandwich. I seem to recall the legendary Two Sisters Deli (Mystic and New London) used to make a killer sandwich every fall called the Turkey Terrific, piled high with carved turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce. This was back in the ’80s, when everything was still shiny and new and we wore our Walkmen with pride.

I came across this week’s recipe in my database of old contest winners. Tastes Like Thanksgiving Bisque was submitted to Mott’s Thanksgiving Recipe Contest back in November of 2009. Looking back at it, I still think this a very good recipe. It tastes great and it makes good use of leftover turkey and mashed potatoes. And Mott’s certainly liked it because they awarded it the top prize of a $500 Target gift card.

But it’s not a bisque. Way too chunky to be a bisque. It’s more a stew with a creamy turkey broth, apple juice and mashed potato stock with half and half added at the end.

I liked the idea of using apple juice or cider as a soup base. I later developed a recipe called pork & cider stew with turnips, potatoes and cabbage that was pretty damn good. And, while we’re on the topic, I’m doing an experiment with a store-bought spiral cut ham that I bought for Thanksgiving dinner this year. I’m brining the ham for 24 hours in apple cider to pull some of the salt out of the meat and, hopefully, infuse the meat with apple flavor.

Tastes Like Thanksgiving Bisque

2 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 tsp poultry seasoning (Bell's)

4 cups turkey or chicken broth

2 cups unsweetened apple juice

1 to 2 cup(s) leftover mashed potatoes

3 cups leftover cooked turkey, diced

2 cups diced butternut squash

2 cups Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored & diced

1 cup half and half

Salt & Pepper

Optional garnishes: uncooked stuffing croutons, chopped dried cranberries, chopped walnuts

1. In a large Dutch Oven, heat the butter over medium high heat. When butter is foamy, add the onion and celery; cook for 4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add the poultry seasoning and continue to cook for one more minute.

2. Add the chicken broth and apple juice and bring to a low boil. Add the mashed potatoes and stir thoroughly to dissolve. (Add up to 2 cups of mashed potatoes, depending on how thick you want the broth.) Process broth in blender, puree until smooth and return to pot.

3. Add the diced turkey and squash to the broth and continue to cook, covered over medium-low heat until squash is "al dente." Add the Granny Smith apple and cook for another 10 minutes, until apple is slightly softened. Stir in the half and half. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with any of the optional garnishes. Enjoy!

Slap. Chop. Repeat.

Last month, the rubber food cap on my Pampered Chef slap chopper split. This didn’t render the chopper unusable; I can still place it on a cutting board and chop to my heart’s content.

As I was staring at the broken piece of the chopper, I thought to myself, “How many times I have slapped this thing in the 18 years I’ve had it?” If I had to throw out a ballpark estimate, I’d say over 10,000. That’s a whole lot of slapping going on. I am NOT gentle with that thing. I am downright ham-fisted.

Aside from the zig zag metal blade that pivots around the food with each slap, it’s entirely made of plastic. Like the kind of plastic that AT&T used to make rotary phones. The chopper is indispensable for small batches of chopped nuts. (I have a tendency to scatter them all over the kitchen when I’m using a knife.) Also, I tend to be overzealous when chopping items in the food processor. I’m guilty of hitting that pulse button one too many times and ending up with walnut dust or onion purée. And cleaning up a food processor is really a drag.

So it was with a mixture of respect and sentimentality that I ordered a replacement food cap from Pampered Chef. I just can’t let this thing go.

That got me thinking about other pieces of kitchen equipment I use and abuse on a daily basis. I started tallying up how many times I’ve used certain appliances and tools since I’ve purchased them to get a fix on their durability vs. cost.

Ovente Electric Glass Kettle, $19.99, purchased in Jan. 2021. I bought this at the height of the quarantine, because I was using a French press for coffee in the morning and having tea at night during the winter. Days owned: 1,420. Estimated usage: 3,500+ times.

AeroPress Portable Coffee Press, $39.95, purchased in Nov 2022. I got tired of cleaning out the French Press and reheating the second cup in the carafe in the microwave. So I switched to this single cup press, which requires paper filters. Made entirely of incredibly durable plastic with a silicone seal on the press shaft. I make two cups of coffee every morning, like clockwork. Days owned: 739. Estimated usage: 1,500+ times.

KitchenAid Professional 600 Stand Mixer, $499.99. purchased Jan. 2015. This is the second 600 that I’ve owned. I burned out the gears on the first one by using it to make ice cream with dry ice instead of an ice cream maker. I truly abused that first mixer; it wasn’t designed to mix ice cream to a sub zero temperature. Since buying the replacement, I’ve maintained a gentler approach to its usage. But since I started the farmers market business, I’ve increased the usage of this mixer tenfold. I have a feeling I may be shopping for an upgrade soon. Days owned: 3,617. Estimated usage: 600+ times

Rich Swanson is a local cook who has had numerous wins in nationally sponsored recipe contests. He is also the layout specialist here at The Day.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Rich Swanson can be reached at TheSurlyTable@gmail.com.