Leftover Dressing Finds A Second Life - Anthony Strong

The classic side dish finds second life

Leftover turkey is a cinch to repurpose. Stick it in sandwiches and soups; toss it with pasta; stuff it into enchiladas.

But dressing, that bready wonder that no Turkey Thursday should be without, provides a greater day-after challenge. The bread's tendency to turn soggy overnight means that a go in the microwave isn't enough to revive it.

This year, we're taking our cues from Anthony Strong, chef of Locanda in San Francisco, who has an inspired solution. Strong's favorite leftovers treatment for ribollita, the classic bread and bean soup served at Locanda's sister restaurant, Delfina, is to form the thickened soup into loose patties and fry it.

The chef saw parallels between the soup and the Thanksgiving side, so he gave his grandmother's dressing the same fried-patty treatment–to great success. The recipe (see it here) resuscitates Thanksgiving dressing by giving it a textural backbone; all that's left to do is add a fried egg and douse with leftover gravy.

Sounds like the perfect Black Friday fuel.