We made it to the Friday before Thanksgiving! Is that something to celebrate? I think so, as it can also be read as “we made it this far through this hellish year.” That’s reason enough to applaud ourselves. And yes, the hellish time is not over, but I can look past the muted holidays and the clumsy coup attempts and see two effective vaccines silhouetted in the light at the end of the tunnel. I still don’t know yet how far away the end of the tunnel is, but I can start to see it. That’s something to be thankful for this year.

Last year, on the Friday before Thanksgiving, I happy-danced off a plane at Heathrow with Claire and Ryan, to a weekend in London ahead of our week in Dubai. I was looking through pictures yesterday, and it was painful to see how oblivious we were to a threat that we now know was already circulating through Europe. How casually we mingled, sans masks, with packed crowds in holiday bar pop ups, inside restaurants(!) and on the Tube. But we also looked like we were just letting ourselves have fun, a concept foreign to most of this year. The Dubai pictures show the same. So, I’m mostly just thankful now that we took that trip in 2019, so I have somewhat fresh memories to get me through the separations and pure anxiety of this year, and to look forward to traveling with family and friends again one day.

That is my thankful list this year, and I’d also add on that I’m thankful no one I know has been truly impacted by Covid, beyond one friend’s mild case and my own three-month stint on the unemployment rolls. And, of course, the general way we’ve all been impacted. I know I’m lucky, my friends are lucky, my family is lucky, and all we can do is hope we stay lucky.

So in 2020, the Friday before Thanksgiving, I’m not walking off a plane in London, but I’m trying for optimism, trying not to panic about the riskiness of my small gathering plans, and trying to make it one more month to December. We can do it.

Before December, though, we need to get through the immediate aftermath of Thanksgiving. Whatever form it will take for you, a holiday is still a holiday. Even if you only manage to muster a level of excitement usually reserved for, say, President’s Day, a holiday is still a holiday, and a day off work is still a day off work. There will inevitably be a little depression heading into the Monday after, when we are somehow expected again to work all five days in a week. Capitalism really is a monster.

May I suggest we all take comfort in our leftovers? There should probably be some pie. Good, breakfast is covered. Then of course you have The Sandwich, where I hope you don’t discriminate and pile a bit from every container of leftovers between two good slices of bread. Please toast that bread in a pan with olive oil and sea salt first.

But should you want to really go for comfort, let me introduce you to The Soup. This is where you take a bit from all your savory leftovers and any ingredient odds and ends you have left, and combine everything into a flavorful, seasonal bowl of cozy. It would be a good idea to have some leftover potatoes on hand. Here, I use mashed, but I see no reason why scalloped or gratinéed potatoes can’t work, just pull out the blender. Add whatever veggies you’ve got, any leftover turkey or whatever other roasted protein (beef, chicken, ham, tofu, it all works here) and chop everything into small pieces. Then, reserve your leftover stuffing to the side and toast it into croutons in the oven. Get everything in the soup pot with as much broth or water you need, bring it to a simmer, blend as needed. Taste and adjust your seasonings. Ladle into bowls, garnish with your stuffing croutons. Drizzle with a swirl of gravy, top with some cranberry if you have it, and sprinkle any fresh herbs you have left.

Thank me on Monday, when you can have the last of this for lunch.

Mashed Potato Soup with Stuffing Croutons

This version pulls in ingredients from this year’s Small Thanksgiving menu, but you can of course freestyle this with whatever you have on hand with whatever amounts you wish. I’ve just provided some amounts below, as loose guidelines.

For the soup:

• olive oil

• 2 cups celery, chopped

• 2 cups carrots, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic

• fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, etc)

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 3-4 cups leftover mashed potatoes and cauliflower

• 2 cups broth (chicken, turkey, vegetable, or water)

• 1-2 cups leftover stuffing

• leftover gravy

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a large pot, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, then add the celery and carrots and cook five minutes, until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic, and whole sprigs of thyme and rosemary or whatever herbs you are using, and cook another 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.

2. Add in the broth, then the mashed potatoes. Stir everything around to break up the potatoes, and add more liquid if it seems too thick.

3. Simmer for 5 minutes. While soup is simmering, toast the stuffing in the oven until heated through and crispy. Warm any gravy in the microwave.

4. Remove the herbs and ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the stuffing croutons, and drizzle with gravy. Enjoy while hot!

Notes:

• Dice up any protein you have leftover and add to the soup: bacon, turkey, sausage, chicken, beef, tofu. Everything and anything could work. Add the meats or proteins in when you add the potatoes.

• If you don’t have mashed potatoes but did make cheesy, gratin, or scalloped potatoes, those can definitely work here too! You probably just want to blend them with the soup base before adding in any chopped leftover veggies or proteins.

• If you have other thanksgiving classics on hand like green bean casserole, roasted squash, or creamed corn, those can work here too, just chop up the green beans or squash into bite size pieces before adding to the soup, in the same step as the potatoes.