This turkey dish won't put you to sleep...

Twenty-five years ago, Thanksgiving was pretty much about quantity--quantity of food, that is. Now I'm more into quality. Eat less, slow down, enjoy the nuances. Back then it was EAT, EAT, EAT.

There was pressure to eat and there was a schedule!

At 11 a.m. I was expected at my boyfriend's house for the first of my Thanksgiving dinners. This was a big Irish family, and making a timely appearance was a must. The dinner was fabulous. Plenty to eat and going back for seconds was "required," even if you didn't take much. Going back for seconds showed those who cooked that you really liked the food. If you didn't go back, they thought you were ill or something. Really nice family though.

At 3 p.m. (or so) we were to be at my parents' house for dinner. Another big Irish family with plenty to eat. On many holidays my mother was the first to volunteer to do her holiday dinners on the weekend days after the actual holiday. That helped a lot! There was no pressure to be there for a meal, just a visit. But for some reason there was a string of years when it just turned out that my mother was doing Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving and I (of course) wanted to support my mother and eat her food, so we arrived dutifully, fork in hand, for our second meal at 3 p.m. I tried to be hungry. I even went on a long walk first, between football games, in an effort to make some room. My boyfriend had no problem. He was a healthy athlete and was a bottomless eating machine. My mother would make sure there was a turkey leg waiting for him.

Now, get this. At 6 p.m. we HAD to be back at his parents' house! This wasn't dictated by his parents. This was my boyfriend's decree. Six o'clock was the traditional time the leftovers came out. Sliced turkey slathered with cranberry sauce, sandwiched between slices of white bread, cold stuffing and whatever desserts were leftover made up the menu. Of course, I was expected to have some. I might have been able to get away without this meal. I'm not sure they would have noticed so much, but the action was in the kitchen and, by that time of night we called it "sport eating." Food was in front of us, so we ate it.

I almost ache just typing about this. The tryptophan coma would set in and we'd spend the rest of the night watching movies--late into the night. I invariably fell asleep on some couch under a big cozy quilt. Then they'd dump me on the floor with a pillow so I didn't take up prime TV watching space. I was a lightweight in that family, in more than one respect. I just couldn't stand up to the eating. There was no way I could face that midnight bowl of ice cream. I had to draw the line!

Today's recipe is my latest idea of how to use up the leftovers. I'm not recommending you make this at 7 p.m. on Thanksgiving day. I'd wait a day or two! It's an easy casserole for after you've been out shopping your heart out at the mall and you just want to sit when you get home while dinner cooks itself. It's also meant to use up some of the things that are left in the packages--like that extra dry dressing mix. When I'd stuff a turkey and wasn't making my own dressing, I'd buy the dry stuff but I'd invariably end up with a partial bag of it left. Then it would sit in my cupboard. The idea of this is to get rid of it. If you don't have this problem, I'm sure you can put a thin layer of your already prepared homemade dressing on top of this dish and sprinkle on the cayenne for zip, or you can just serve it on the side. Either way you'll use up some great leftovers and at least have your entree handled and save some room for those extra desserts!

Postscript: Over the past year I've gotten to know some of you pretty well by email. I tell people I have "fans" from Tasmania to Germany, to the Australian outback and back again. I want you to know I'm thankful you are all out there and thankful that you feel you can send me an email here and there. That's what really makes writing this column so fun--your reaction to the stories. Keep those "cards and letters" coming--and Thank YOU. Have a Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are.

Zola

Turkey Day Leftovers Casserole

Serves 6

1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced (including some of the green part)
1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes with chili pieces included (or without chilies if you want a mild dish)
5 to 6 cups leftover turkey (This can be slices or pieces.)
6 slices Swiss cheese
2 10-oz cans of cream of mushroom soup. (You can use the fancy Portobello mushroom soup, if you'd like.)
1/2 cup white wine (or water if you don't use alcohol)
2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix (or a light layer of leftover stuffing already cooked)
3 Tbl butter, melted
Cayenne pepper

Put your green peppers, red peppers and your onions in a 9 by 13-inch casserole. Pour on the tomatoes right from the can, undrained. Mix them up. Layer on your turkey. Place the swiss cheese slices on top of the turkey.

In a bowl, stir together the wine and the mushroom soup. Then pour that over the turkey and cheese and around the casserole.

Last, layer on the dry stuffing mix or a thin layer of stuffing. If you're using dry dressing, drizzle with butter. If you are using a moist pre-made dressing, you can skip the butter. Now sprinkle with cayenne to taste. A nice light dusting will be enough to give it some new zip and a little different flavor than it had on Thanksgiving day.

Pop the casserole in your oven at 350 degrees for an hour. Serve in large, shallow bowls like a stew. If you're hungry, a nice light salad on the side and a piece of bread to soak up the extra sauce should be plenty. Then on to leftover desserts!

Enjoy!