Dang it. The boy left me again. Just when I get accustomed to Noah being at college, he comes home for one holiday or another. And I just start missing him all over again the minute he walks out the door. Boo Hoo. Poor me.

But his cooler is full. Make that my cooler that I hope and pray I will see again one day. It’s a blue Coleman number. Quite stylish as coolers go. It is full of Tupperware containing grilled sausages, green beans with garlic, Little Smokies, rum cake, yeast rolls and turkey tetrazzini, my ode to the last of the turkey from Thanksgiving.

His friend, Jordan, picked him up. Jordan has a similar cooler from his mother. There is a confederacy of mothers, attempting desperately to maintain contact with their vagabond sons through food. We understand each other. Here, sonny boy, have some lasagna. How about some mashed potatoes and gravy? Leftover dressing? Oh, bad mommy. I kept the leftover dressing for moi. There are only so many sacrifices you can make for your child.

So turkey tetrazzini is a wise choice for leftover turkey. Even if your turkey is a little dry, as is its wont, the creamy sauce with reinvigorate it. And it’s just the kind of thing you can imagine your son eating in his small, cramped dorm room as he thinks lovingly of the mother who made it. At least that’s the picture in my mind’s eye. Don’t tell me differently. It’s all I have. Until Christmas.

Turkey tetrazzini

6 tablespoons butter

½ pound mushrooms

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon Madeira

4 tablespoons flour

1 ½ cups chicken stock

½ cup heavy cream

2-3 cups shredded leftover turkey

½ pound thin spaghetti

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet and add the mushrooms, salt, pepper, and thyme. Saute until the mushrooms are brown. Add the Madeira and continue cooking until the liquid evaporates. Remove and reserve.

To the same skillet, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Melt and then add the flour, whisking it for a minute. Add the chicken stock and cream. Continue whisking until a thick sauce forms.

Cook the pasta to al dente. In a large bowl mix the mushrooms, sauce, turkey and pasta. Put into a casserole dish. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with Panko crumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.



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