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CNN Live Today

Transforming Thanksgiving Leftovers

Aired November 28, 2003 - 10:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Thanksgiving parades are over. The confetti is swept up. And the balloons have been packed away. But the remnants of the day are as close as your refrigerator. I think the leftovers are the best part.
And now the secrets to transforming them into something new is as close as your television. Here is "The Palm Restaurant Cookbook," lots of good ideas in there.

And we have two experts with us from the legendary dining spot, Willy Cellucci, and his assistant, Chris Canazero (ph). He's here to help set this all up this morning.

And, boy, what a spread do have you here, Willy. This looks great.

WILLY CELLUCCI, PALM RESTAURANT: How about all this stuff, huh?

CALLAWAY: You cannot imagine the smell. I mean, you cannot imagine how good this smells. This does not look like leftovers, though.

CELLUCCI: Well, this is great stuff. And it's all really simple to prepare. That's what we're after here, make it easy.

CALLAWAY: This is too beautiful. This can't be leftovers. What's this?

CELLUCCI: Well, just wait. This is a turkey shepherd's pie.

And what do you is, you saute the onions with the celery. You put some mashed potatoes on the top. You grill it and then you hold the bacon ring off. And there you go.

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAWAY: And you just pushed mashed potatoes on it. And it looks like you baked it in the oven a little bit.

CELLUCCI: Well, we just grilled it right -- put it right under the broiler for just a second, it's ready to go.

CALLAWAY: A little leftover gravy around the side.

CELLUCCI: Uh-huh.

CALLAWAY: That is a good idea. Now, this I recognize.

CELLUCCI: Turkey tetrazzini.

CALLAWAY: Yes. But you didn't use canned soup in yours. I can tell.

(LAUGHTER)

CELLUCCI: No, we didn't. We used mushrooms, some shallots, some onions. We sauteed them all in a little bit of olive oil. We finished them off with a little Madeira wine sauce.

CALLAWAY: Oh, man.

CELLUCCI: Put in some heavy cream and then put the pasta right in there. Once it's all boiling, all together, you have a fabulous dish. It doesn't taste like your turkey from the day before. It's fantastic.

CALLAWAY: Now, Willy, I like the olive oil, but the heavy cream, that's too

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAWAY: ... calories.

CELLUCCI: Oh, you got to have it. And then you finish it off with a little butter just to make sure.

CALLAWAY: Just to make sure you feel sick after you eat it all, right?

CELLUCCI: It's a diet special.

(LAUGHTER)

CALLAWAY: And watch about this? This is interesting. What is that?

CELLUCCI: Turkey Philly cheese steak right here. Take turkey and onions, saute them lightly together. Put some cheddar cheese on top. Put some stuffing on a (INAUDIBLE) roll, and it's just fabulous.

CALLAWAY: Can I open this up?

CELLUCCI: Absolutely.

CALLAWAY: I want to make sure everybody can see this, because here's the stuffing.

CELLUCCI: Sure. You got to have the stuffing. That's killer right there.

CALLAWAY: And then the turkey is underneath it. That is very clever. I like that. CELLUCCI: Oh, it's great.

CALLAWAY: You didn't add anything to the stuffing, did you?

CELLUCCI: No, that's it, just the regular stuffing from the day before.

CALLAWAY: A little cheese on top.

CELLUCCI: And then a turkey cobb salad.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

CELLUCCI: And this is another very simple dish. We just take the turkey from the day before. We slice it up with some cheese. You have shallots, some fresh tomatoes, vinaigrette dressing. I'm sure you have some of the in the house, with some balsamic or something. Some radishes. Toss it up. You're ready to go.

And then, if you're sick of all the turkey, you can always just have a big old lobster.

CALLAWAY: A lobster, yes. I'm glad you brought that guy along.

What is the secret to a good leftover? It seems like, sometimes, you just think of them as leftovers, sort of, instead of reinventing the turkey, right?

CELLUCCI: The real secret to it is using the turkey more as a condiment and dressing it up with other flavors. That's the real key. And it's delicious.

CALLAWAY: What's your favorite of all of these?

CELLUCCI: I like the Philly cheese steak.

CALLAWAY: I have never seen that before.

CELLUCCI: But you can tell that.

(LAUGHTER)

CALLAWAY: Is that in your cookbook?

CELLUCCI: It is. This is the "Palm Cookbook." Most of these recipes are in here, and some other great ones from the 90 years of the Palm Restaurant.

CALLAWAY: And how good do you think turkey lasts? That's the big question, because, in our house, it can stretch out like five days. But should you really be

(CROSSTALK)

CELLUCCI: Well, in my house, I have two growing boys, so nothing really stays in the refrigerator very long. But, at the Palm, it's all gone in a day or so.

CALLAWAY: Is it really??

CELLUCCI: Yes.

CALLAWAY: But is it pretty safe for two or three days, right?

CELLUCCI: A couple of days, yes.

CALLAWAY: And can you freeze any of this?

CELLUCCI: I wouldn't, no.

CALLAWAY: You wouldn't?

CELLUCCI: I would eat it fresh.

(CROSSTALK)

CELLUCCI: That's the best way to do it.

CALLAWAY: Yes, you can't get too much turkey.

Well, Willy, this looks great. I just wish we could all be this creative today. Most of us are just kind of slugs after eating.

CELLUCCI: Now we get to eat it.

(LAUGHTER)

CALLAWAY: We get to eat it.

All right, thank you very much for being with us, Willy.

CELLUCCI: It's great, Catherine, talking to you.

CALLAWAY: Chris, thanks for coming, setting it all up for us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 28, 2003 - 10:57   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: The Thanksgiving parades are over. The confetti is swept up. And the balloons have been packed away. But the remnants of the day are as close as your refrigerator. I think the leftovers are the best part.
And now the secrets to transforming them into something new is as close as your television. Here is "The Palm Restaurant Cookbook," lots of good ideas in there.

And we have two experts with us from the legendary dining spot, Willy Cellucci, and his assistant, Chris Canazero (ph). He's here to help set this all up this morning.

And, boy, what a spread do have you here, Willy. This looks great.

WILLY CELLUCCI, PALM RESTAURANT: How about all this stuff, huh?

CALLAWAY: You cannot imagine the smell. I mean, you cannot imagine how good this smells. This does not look like leftovers, though.

CELLUCCI: Well, this is great stuff. And it's all really simple to prepare. That's what we're after here, make it easy.

CALLAWAY: This is too beautiful. This can't be leftovers. What's this?

CELLUCCI: Well, just wait. This is a turkey shepherd's pie.

And what do you is, you saute the onions with the celery. You put some mashed potatoes on the top. You grill it and then you hold the bacon ring off. And there you go.

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAWAY: And you just pushed mashed potatoes on it. And it looks like you baked it in the oven a little bit.

CELLUCCI: Well, we just grilled it right -- put it right under the broiler for just a second, it's ready to go.

CALLAWAY: A little leftover gravy around the side.

CELLUCCI: Uh-huh.

CALLAWAY: That is a good idea. Now, this I recognize.

CELLUCCI: Turkey tetrazzini.

CALLAWAY: Yes. But you didn't use canned soup in yours. I can tell.

(LAUGHTER)

CELLUCCI: No, we didn't. We used mushrooms, some shallots, some onions. We sauteed them all in a little bit of olive oil. We finished them off with a little Madeira wine sauce.

CALLAWAY: Oh, man.

CELLUCCI: Put in some heavy cream and then put the pasta right in there. Once it's all boiling, all together, you have a fabulous dish. It doesn't taste like your turkey from the day before. It's fantastic.

CALLAWAY: Now, Willy, I like the olive oil, but the heavy cream, that's too

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAWAY: ... calories.

CELLUCCI: Oh, you got to have it. And then you finish it off with a little butter just to make sure.

CALLAWAY: Just to make sure you feel sick after you eat it all, right?

CELLUCCI: It's a diet special.

(LAUGHTER)

CALLAWAY: And watch about this? This is interesting. What is that?

CELLUCCI: Turkey Philly cheese steak right here. Take turkey and onions, saute them lightly together. Put some cheddar cheese on top. Put some stuffing on a (INAUDIBLE) roll, and it's just fabulous.

CALLAWAY: Can I open this up?

CELLUCCI: Absolutely.

CALLAWAY: I want to make sure everybody can see this, because here's the stuffing.

CELLUCCI: Sure. You got to have the stuffing. That's killer right there.

CALLAWAY: And then the turkey is underneath it. That is very clever. I like that. CELLUCCI: Oh, it's great.

CALLAWAY: You didn't add anything to the stuffing, did you?

CELLUCCI: No, that's it, just the regular stuffing from the day before.

CALLAWAY: A little cheese on top.

CELLUCCI: And then a turkey cobb salad.

CALLAWAY: Yes.

CELLUCCI: And this is another very simple dish. We just take the turkey from the day before. We slice it up with some cheese. You have shallots, some fresh tomatoes, vinaigrette dressing. I'm sure you have some of the in the house, with some balsamic or something. Some radishes. Toss it up. You're ready to go.

And then, if you're sick of all the turkey, you can always just have a big old lobster.

CALLAWAY: A lobster, yes. I'm glad you brought that guy along.

What is the secret to a good leftover? It seems like, sometimes, you just think of them as leftovers, sort of, instead of reinventing the turkey, right?

CELLUCCI: The real secret to it is using the turkey more as a condiment and dressing it up with other flavors. That's the real key. And it's delicious.

CALLAWAY: What's your favorite of all of these?

CELLUCCI: I like the Philly cheese steak.

CALLAWAY: I have never seen that before.

CELLUCCI: But you can tell that.

(LAUGHTER)

CALLAWAY: Is that in your cookbook?

CELLUCCI: It is. This is the "Palm Cookbook." Most of these recipes are in here, and some other great ones from the 90 years of the Palm Restaurant.

CALLAWAY: And how good do you think turkey lasts? That's the big question, because, in our house, it can stretch out like five days. But should you really be

(CROSSTALK)

CELLUCCI: Well, in my house, I have two growing boys, so nothing really stays in the refrigerator very long. But, at the Palm, it's all gone in a day or so.

CALLAWAY: Is it really??

CELLUCCI: Yes.

CALLAWAY: But is it pretty safe for two or three days, right?

CELLUCCI: A couple of days, yes.

CALLAWAY: And can you freeze any of this?

CELLUCCI: I wouldn't, no.

CALLAWAY: You wouldn't?

CELLUCCI: I would eat it fresh.

(CROSSTALK)

CELLUCCI: That's the best way to do it.

CALLAWAY: Yes, you can't get too much turkey.

Well, Willy, this looks great. I just wish we could all be this creative today. Most of us are just kind of slugs after eating.

CELLUCCI: Now we get to eat it.

(LAUGHTER)

CALLAWAY: We get to eat it.

All right, thank you very much for being with us, Willy.

CELLUCCI: It's great, Catherine, talking to you.

CALLAWAY: Chris, thanks for coming, setting it all up for us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com