Nut Free

Seamus Mullen, chef/owner of New York's Tertulia, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. These croquettes put a Thanksgiving spin on a dish from Tertulia's Spanish menu. In addition to using leftover turkey meat, Mullen's recipe also takes care of any extra mashed potatoes and stuffing, and he suggests serving the croquettes with leftover gravy or cranberry sauce. "Don't worry about being too precise with amounts," insists the chef. "The beauty in cooking leftovers is improvisation."

Edward Lee, executive chef and owner of 610 Magnolia, in Louisville, Kentucky, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. Known for blending Southern and Asian flavors, Lee uses the leftover turkey carcass to make a stock infused with country ham, ginger, garlic, and daikon radish. The richly aromatic stock forms the broth for Lee's ramen bowl, which he fills with tofu, avocado, watercress, scallions, shiitake mushrooms, soft-boiled eggs, and leftover turkey meat. Freshly grated Parmesan is the final, unexpected garnish. "It adds umami to the dish," says Lee, adding, "it disappears into the broth and adds a depth and nuttiness." For more on Lee, plus four more chefs' recipes for transforming your Thanksgiving extras, see The Five Best Leftover Turkey Recipes.

Jason Vincent, executive chef of Chicago's Nightwood, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. His creative take on Thanksgiving leftovers does require some extra prep on Turkey Day—you need to add the enchilada sauce ingredients to the bottom of the turkey's roasting pan—but it's a technique Vincent has perfected over the years and will save you tons of time and effort in the end. "The sauce kind of makes itself," says Vincent. You can also make this recipe with a roast chicken, but be sure to soak the dried chiles—cover them in boiling water and let sit until softened, 25 to 30 minutes—before adding them to the sauce mixture. Also, have 2 cups of chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth ready, and add it to the roasting pan if the bottom gets too dry. For more on Vincent, plus four more chefs' recipes for transforming your Thanksgiving extras, see The Five Best Leftover Turkey Recipes.

Turkey Samosas Recipe

Chris Shepherd, executive chef and owner of Underbelly in Houston, Texas, shared this recipe exclusively with Epicurious. This Cajun and Creole classic is often served with rice, but Shepherd insists his version doesn't need the starchy side. Studded with turkey meat and andouille sausage, it's filling enough on its own. Making a solid roux is essential to gumbo, because the flour and fat mixture thickens and flavors the dish. For newbies, Shepherd recommends patience. Roux must be cooked slowly over low heat and it requires just about constant attention, so take your time and be prepared to stir. For more on Shepherd, plus four more chefs' recipes for transforming your Thanksgiving extras, see The Five Best Leftover Turkey Recipes.

We admit that we have had cake for breakfast before. Who hasn't? But how about breakfast for dessert? This recipe came about when we accidentally made too much pancake batter on Sunday morning. It's our take on a thousand-layer cake. The pancakes can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated. The cake can be assembled up to 2 hours ahead. Not feeling like dessert? Prepare the pancakes using only 2 tablespoons of sugar and have them for breakfast.

Why not make cinnamon buns into a coffee cake that can be pulled apart when ready to serve. It's a dessert that is just meant to make it to the breakfast table the next morning (if there's any left).

Tarte Tatin—Josh's all-time favorite dessert!—is a classic French upside-down apple tart that is prepared from start to finish in just one pan. It starts with sugar that cooks in the pan until it's caramelized, and then the apples are added and cooked until they are meltingly tender. The apple filling is then topped with pastry and the pan goes into the oven. The tarte is then inverted (to the delight of everyone watching) and served. While pie dough is the typical crust used for this tart, we've swapped in store-bought puff pastry for an easier preparation.

Tart, fruity pomegranate molasses brightens up the mellow turkey.

This bright, creamy yogurt sauce is lightly flecked with herbs and is great for everything from drizzling over savory bowls of grains to spooning on top of fried rice, breakfast hash, or Buckwheat Crepes. Double the recipe for a larger group or to keep a little jar of the sauce in the refrigerator. It's season-less, really. Morning Notes: Depending on the kind of yogurt you use and how you prefer the consistency of this sauce, feel free to add a spoonful (or two) of cold water to thin it out.

Susan O'Brien (adapted by Lori Sobelson) With yams, black beans, and amaranth, these burritos are seriously hearty fare. For a gluten-free meal, use brown rice tortillas, and for a vegan one, use a vegan sour cream substitute.

Make ahead: Prepare the buckwheat in advance, through drying the grains on a baking sheet: Cover the cooked, separate groats on their baking sheet and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Chelsea Lincoln This dressing makes a tasty side dish baked on its own. The variations given below dress it up for holidays and make it especially good for stuffing a turkey or other bird—not to mention pork chops and chicken breast.

When an abundance of fresh vine-ripened tomatoes piles high on my mother's kitchen counter in Thessa-loniki, she cooks up a simple pot of juicy bulgur with the fruit. This classic pairing is born out of necessity in the heat of summer in many parts of the Mediterranean. It nicely accompanies lamb chops, flank steak, chicken breast, or grilled shrimp. I like to add the fruity heat of Aleppo pepper, but you may replace it here with 1 teaspoon paprika and a good dose of black pepper. If you like a more textured side, use coarse bulgur. You may need up to an additional 3/4 cup broth (for a total of 2 1/4 cups liquid) and a total cooking time of 20 to 25 minutes. I often prepare double the amount, as this side reheats well and freezes nicely for up to 1 month (add a bit of water when reheating). I don't mind that the basil darkens a bit, as it also intensifies the flavor.

This is a heretical bastardization of salade niçoise and salade aux lardons, whole-grains style. I like the cracked green wheat called freekeh here because its faint grassy, oceanic aroma complements the tuna so well, but regular cracked wheat or, really, any other whole grain would work well too. Instead of bacon lardons (if I'm making a salad, it very often means I don't want to have to cook anything fresh), I use similar-size strips of sun-dried tomatoes, whose texture, when softened a bit in the dressing, at least vaguely recalls that of lardons.

vegan, gluten free I often crave a spicy breakfast—chorizo and egg tacos, skillet crisped sweet potatoes with liberally applied Cajun spices, leftover kung pao chicken—and I also believe that nothing can beat a bowl of steel-cut oatmeal in the morning, so I make this meal to satisfy both cravings at once. You might think of hot cereal as a wintertime dish, a prelude to shoveling out the car or leaping over slush lakes in the crosswalks on your hike to work, but this savory version, with crisp scallions, bright cilantro, and vinegary heat from the chile paste, is invigorating all year round. If you'd like some (nonvegan) protein in your bowl, fry an egg (or shredded cooked chicken or firm tofu) in the oil leftover from frying the garlic and set it on top of the oatmeal.

gluten free Thai-style eggs, most commonly made with softened glass noodles rather than a whole grain, are incredibly versatile, appealing to me as a quick but fun and satisfying breakfast or lunch or supper because I usually have everything I need on hand. In fact, every time I make this—and I make it often—I'm amazed that such a dish essentially just came out of my fridge. It's even easier if you have a little bag of cooked rice or other grains in the freezer: Just break off a chunk, put it in a sieve, and rinse under cool water until the grains separate. If you don't have fish sauce, you can use 1 tablespoon soy sauce instead, and if you don't have chile paste, use a couple good pinches of crushed red chiles. The one secret to good yam kai, in my experience, is that you must cook the shallots until they're almost burned. And the more of them you use, the better—as many as you can stand to peel and slice in the morning as you down your first cup of coffee; four is my limit.

Lori Sobelson A moist and flavorful gingerbread with a cakelike texture, this snack cake is simply dreamy when served warm from the oven with a cold glass of milk. No one will guess it's gluten free. Note: Don't be fooled by a deep brown crust or a clean toothpick—this cake isn't done until it bounces back. The cake is vegan if made with flaxseed meal in place of the egg.

This breakfast is wonderfully versatile and allows you to use up any leftover grains you have from previous meals, folding in leafy greens for a bit of color. In that sense, think of it more as a template rather than a hard-and-fast approach.