It's the day after Thanksgiving — here's what to do with the leftovers

Cooking with Thanksgiving leftovers is often as highly anticipated as Thanksgiving dinner itself. Some people even plan their Thanksgiving menus with leftovers in mind, making sure to serve some form of a dish destined for use the next day.

Chef and sandwich expert Judy Han likes her turkey sandwich on buckwheat bread with a spicy ancho-bell-pepper-cranberry spread to offset the turkey’s richness (see how she sneaks the cranberries in there?) and adds a creamy kabocha spread and few slices of bacon and some romaine for crunch.

Carved Turkey with Kabocha Spread and Ancho-Bell Pepper-Cranberry Chutney

Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Yields Makes 2 sandwiches

Chef Michael Voltaggio of “Top Chef” fame makes a turkey sandwich with Camembert and his take on mostarda, the Italian condiment of preserved fruit (he includes cranberries).

Turkey with Melted Camembert and Mostarda

Time 50 minutes

Yields Makes 2 sandwiches

Chef Ricardo Zarate’s ideal turkey sandwich comes on buttery brioche with fried sweet potatoes and a jalapeno-cilantro aioli.

Roasted turkey with fried sweet potatoes and jalapeno-cilantro aioli

Time 45 minutes

Yields Makes 2 sandwiches.

For a simpler sandwich, turkey salad offers plenty of options: Use full- or low-fat mayonnaise, add some toasted nuts, or don’t, incorporate some leftover cranberry sauce, or not, and use whatever bread you have on hand — leftover rolls will work as will any sliced bread.

Turkey Salad Sandwich with Tarragon and Red Grapes

Time 25 minutes

Yields Serves 4

Hot, hearty soups are welcome at this time of year when there is a chill in the air. Yes, there is simple turkey soup fashioned after chicken soup, but adding a few ingredients — that perhaps weren’t on your holiday table — can make a world of difference.

The sausage and artichokes in Turkey Gumbo With Artichokes and Andouille transport you to Louisiana — you won’t even know that it was made from turkey leftovers.

Turkey Gumbo with Artichokes and Andouille

Time Total time: 4 to 7 hours for stock, about 1 1/2 hours for gumbo

Yields Serves 8 to 10

Roast Turkey and Winter Vegetable Chowder incorporates hearty vegetables into a steamy bowl of fall comfort.

Roast Turkey and Winter Vegetable Chowder

Time Active work time: 30 minutes Total preparation time: 1 hour

Yields Serves 8

And Thai-Style Turkey Soup gives ethereal flavor to what was your Thanksgiving turkey with the addition of ingredients such as lemon grass, tamarind, coconut milk and fish sauce.

Thai-style turkey soup

Time 1 hour

Yields Serves 4

Pot pie is a wonderful vehicle for Thanksgiving leftovers, from the turkey meat itself to gravy, leftover veggies and even table wine. If you want the full, from-scratch pot pie experience, Turkey Pot Pie is the recipe for you. It is chock full of vegetables and fresh herbs and sports a flaky pastry crust.

Turkey Pot Pie

Time 2 hours

Yields Serves 8 to 10

If you want something a bit quicker to prepare, Turkey Pot Pie With Biscuit crust takes a simpler approach — just a few vegetables and a quicker-to-make crust of drop biscuits.

Turkey Pot Pie with Biscuit Crust

Time Active work time: 30 minutes Total preparation time: 1 hour

Yields Serves 6

Turkey or Chicken Potpie also has a lot of veggies. And it takes a little less time and effort to prepare because it uses a store-bought puff pastry crust.

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Time 1 hour

Yields Serves 6

Gather up all of your Thanksgiving leftovers and check out Thomas Keller’s turkey casserole — a one-pot meal for all of the odds and ends; clean-up is a breeze. Add a little bacon, some cheese, herbs and chopped nuts and it’s a whole new world.

Turkey Casserole

Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Yields Serves 4 to 6

For something really different to do with your leftover stuffing, try Thomas Keller’s solution. The French call it pain perdu; we call it French toast. Here, rather than using stale bread, it is made from leftover stuffing molded in a loaf pan, sliced as if it was bread and toasted on a griddle. It is then topped with a poached egg and doused with a sauce made with Gouda cheese.

Griddled Thanksgiving Stuffing 'Pain Perdu' with Gouda Sauce and Poached Eggs

Time 3 hours

Yields Serves 6 to 8