Recipes offer alternatives for small groups

If you don’t have a large crowd coming over for Thanksgiving dinner, Turkey Breast en Cocotte with Pan Gravy from America’s Test Kitchen offers a simple, super-moist and elegant option.

Even though the recipe doesn’t require an entire turkey, it still can provide enough leftovers for next-day bold and creamy Turkey and Green Chili Enchiladas.

Both recipes come from “The Make-Ahead Cook,” a new cookbook aimed at time-pressed home cooks. It was published in September.

On the Web: http://makeaheadbook.com/

Turkey Breast en Cocotte with Pan Gravy

From “The Make-Ahead Cook” from America’s Test Kitchen

Why This Recipe Works: Around Thanksgiving, recipes using moist, tender leftover turkey abound – then quickly disappear until the next holiday, because roasting a whole turkey is impractical unless you’re feeding a crowd. But a whole turkey breast is a great alternative; it’s easy to cook and provides enough leftovers for a creative second-day meal. To ensure that our turkey breast would be super moist and tender (a must when using leftovers for another meal), we turned to a French technique called cooking en cocotte where the bird is cooked with aromatics at very low heat with no added liquid. This method traps all the steam released by the meat during cooking, essentially braising it in its own juices. It gave us perfectly cooked turkey, plus the flavorful liquid left in the pot made a delicious and easy pan gravy. Avoid “hotel-style” turkey breasts if possible; they still have the wings and rib cage attached. If this is the only type of breast you can find, remove the wings and cut away the rib cage with kitchen shears before proceeding with the recipe. You will need at least a 7-quart Dutch oven for this recipe. Don’t buy a turkey breast larger than 7 pounds; it won’t fit in the pot.

1 (6- to 7-pound) whole bone-in turkey breast, trimmed

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

6 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

To prep: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Pat turkey dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown turkey on all sides, about 12 minutes; transfer to large plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off heat, return turkey, breast side up, to pot along with any accumulated juices.

To cook: Fit large piece of aluminum foil over pot, pressing to seal, then cover tightly with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until turkey registers 160 degrees, about 2 hours.

Carefully remove pot from oven. Transfer turkey to carving board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while making gravy.

Being careful of hot pot handles, bring remaining juices and vegetables to simmer over medium-high heat and cook until nearly all liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until browned, 1 to 3 minutes. Slowly add broth, whisking constantly to smooth out any lumps. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring often, until gravy is thickened and measures about 1 ½ cups, about 10 minutes. Strain gravy through fine-mesh strainer and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside 1 pound boneless, skinless turkey. Carve remaining turkey and serve, passing gravy separately.

To save: Reserved 1 pound turkey can be used for Turkey and Green Chile Enchiladas. (See recipe below.) Refrigerate reserved turkey for up to 2 days.

Serves: 4 (with leftovers)

Turkey and Green Chili Enchiladas

From “The Make-Ahead Cook” from America’s Test Kitchen

Why This Recipe Works: To give our turkey leftovers a bold makeover, we looked south of the border to saucy, spicy enchiladas. For the filling, we sautéed sliced onion with garlic, cumin, and chili powder, then stirred in our shredded cooked turkey, corn, green chilis, Monterey Jack cheese, and enchilada sauce. Canned enchilada sauce provided great flavor and kept this dish easy enough for a weeknight. Fresh cilantro brought an herbal note to the filling. We softened corn tortillas in the microwave, then wrapped them around the filling and arranged them in a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. To keep the tortillas from drying out and cracking while baking, we lightly coated them with vegetable oil spray before pouring more enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkling on more cheese. After just 20 minutes in the oven, our enchiladas were piping hot and the cheese was gooey and bubbling. Serve with lime wedges, sour cream, thinly sliced scallion, and hot sauce. The cooked turkey in this recipe is from Turkey Breast en Cocotte with Pan Gravy.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 onion, halved and sliced thin

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 (10-ounce) cans green enchilada sauce

1 pound cooked turkey, shredded (4 cups)

1 cup canned chopped green chilis, drained

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Vegetable oil spray

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Off heat, stir in half of enchilada sauce, shredded turkey, chilis, ½ cup Monterey Jack, corn, and cilantro.

Brush both sides of tortillas with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Stack tortillas, wrap in damp dish towel, and place on plate; microwave until warm and pliable, about 1 minute. Working with 1 warm tortilla at a time, spread 1/3 cup filling across center of tortilla, roll tortilla tightly around filling, and place seam side down in greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish.

Spray tops of enchiladas with vegetable oil spray. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas, covering tortillas completely, then sprinkle remaining 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack across center of enchiladas. Cover dish tightly with greased aluminum foil and bake until enchiladas are hot throughout and bubbling around edges, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is completely melted, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Serves: 4 to 6