Soup and More from Thanksgiving Leftovers

Variations. To this basic potato soup, add these other leftovers and/or embellishments.

• Dip. Especially if its base is sour cream or cream cheese, a big scoop of leftover dip is an easy way to punch up the flavor.
• Broccoli (or cauliflower) casserole. Blend into the soup. If the vegetable pieces are too large to fit comfortably onto a soup spoon, use your blender to chop them first. Broccoli and potato is a classic combination for a reason, and cauliflower is just as good.
• Stuffing. Especially if yours contains sausage and pungent spices, a nice mound of stuffing adds body and depth to the soup. Whisk into the basic soup, or use a blender or food processor. This will make the soup thicker, so you may want to add extra liquid.
• On the other hand, if you used packaged bread cubes as a base for your stuffing and didn’t use the whole package, toast the leftovers in the oven and serve them with the soup as croutons.
• Did you have a cheese tray, and are there bits of different types left over? They would be perfect in potato soup.
• Radishes. Maybe you have just a few left from the relish tray. Slice one or two as thin as you possibly can, and float several slices on top of each serving. Similarly, diced green onions make a lovely garnish.

• Other possibles: These don’t actually qualify as leftovers, but you can embellish the basic flavor of this soup with curry powder, a bit of horseradish, chopped green chilies, or bacon. Of course, no one ever has leftover bacon; you’d have to cook it up specially for this purpose.