Sunday, November 18, 2012

Chocolate Peanut Butter Potato Frosting for a Leftover #SundaySupper

I'm always surprised at how big of a deal Thanksgiving gets in the United States. Somehow, it seems like a more important holiday than Christmas, and between the TV shows, online shopping specials and movies coming out around this time of year I'm kind of glad our Canadian Thanksgiving isn't as lauded, and is a fair ways away from the December season blitz. That way, we get to have two big feast meals without feeling like gluttons, and we also have all of November to work off the Halloween candy!

That's not to say that we don't have our share of leftovers over the season, though. Now, my (step)family has some odd vendetta against leftovers of any kind - be it pasta, rice, roast turkey or veggies. I personally used to adore leftovers growing up, especially from the holidays. To my childhood tastebuds, there was nothing better than a  leftover cold turkey sandwich with a schmear of cranberry sauce on top of a toasted crusty bun, smothered with reheated gravy. Chopped meat made it's way into macaroni and cheese, cauliflower and broccoli with cheese sauce was heated and added to with freshly steamed veggies, and cranberry sauce became the sauce de jour for our weekend pancakes in place of syrup. Come to think of it, the leftovers really were the best part of the whole holiday shindig, be it Thanksgiving or Christmas! These days, I can't wait for the "big days" to be over usually - not having much in common with those eating the "traditional" meal anymore, I feel very awkward at the table. Luckily, there are wonderful and supportive people in my family and in the foodie community online that help me get into the holiday spirit and muddle through until the relative calm of the new year.

Just because we didn't have a whole holiday meal to contend with this weekend doesn't mean we don't have leftovers of our own! One of the items that never seems to be as good "as is" the next day is the crock of mashed potatoes. It's not often that we do have leftovers of those, since my mom and paternal grandma both make spectacular versions of the side, but it has happened! Rather than be disappointed with dried out or gluey second-day mash, I've worked with it before to turn it into fritters, pancakes, bread and cheese stuffed croquettes. But I've never tried anything sweet with them, until now! I decided to take a leaf out of the traditional "Potato Candy" book and make a spreadable, rich and fudgy frosting with them! The cool thing is that you can use any mashed potatoes you have left over, as long as there's no cheddar cheese or herbs. That means you can salt and pepper away, add a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, even a scoop of plain cream cheese for your hot dish, and still make a fabulous spread!

Since the US is celebrating their Thanksgiving this coming Thursday, our #SundaySupper crew is getting in on all things "leftover"! If you've ever wondered what to do with all those leftovers after a major holiday feast, this is the perfect opportunity to find some inspiration for reinventing your uneaten fare before it turns into a science experiment! Check out our wonderful contributions below:
 
Breakfast & Brunch

Main Course

Soups, Salads, Sides & Starters

Sweets & Desserts

Please join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper on November 18. In the evening we will meet at 7pm EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat. All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat. We’d also love to feature your recipe for Thanksgiving Leftovers on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board to share them with all of our followers, too.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Potato Frosting
Makes about 2 cups (32 1-tbsp servings)
3/4 cup mashed potatoes (doesn't matter if there's salt, pepper, sour cream, just no Cheddar or chives!), cold and ideally a bit dried out
3 tbsp non-hydrogenated shortening or coconut oil
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 - 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
  1. In a mixing bowl, beat together the potatoes, shortening, peanut butter and vanilla until well blended and smooth.
  2. Melt the chocolate chips and add to the bowl, beat well.
  3. Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa and gradually beat into the mixture.
  4. Add a touch of water or milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency.
  5. Chill and re-beat before use.
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 94.6
Total Fat: 4.8 g
Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
Sodium: 43.6 mg
Total Carbs: 12.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 1.8 g

No comments :

Post a Comment

Thanks for the feedback!