I can’t, for the life me, think why my dad called this dish “turkey short­cake.” It’s got to be a weird south­ern thing. Nev­er­the­less, the Thanks­giv­ing left­over I remem­ber most fondly from my child­hood is this oddly named dish con­sist­ing of a mashed potato pan­cake browned in but­ter, topped with his ver­sion of Turkey a’ la King.

Back in the 1890′s, Chicken a’ la King was most likely the cre­ation of hotel cook William “Bill” King of the Belle­vue Hotel in Philadel­phia. Pop­u­lar dur­ing the mid­dle to late 20th cen­tury, it is a mix­ture of veg­eta­bles and chunks of chicken in a creamy, flour thick­ened sauce, often served over a bis­cuit. Here is my gluten, casein, soy-free ver­sion served over rice. Feel free to add pep­pers, which I removed for those with night-shade aller­gies. I’ve also included baby peas in ear­lier recipes, which is quite good. Think inside of a chicken pot pie and you’ve got Chicken a’ la King. Think Thanks­giv­ing Day left­overs, and you’ve got Turkey Shortcake.

Bot­tom line, this is a great left­over for all your extra Thanks­giv­ing ingre­di­ents. You can serve it over left­over Hol­i­day Rice Pilaf, steamed white rice, rice pasta or pota­toes. And you can always use chicken too!

Prep time: 10 min­utes
Total time: 30 min­utes
Yield: 4 servings

1 c. car­rots, diced, (about 3 small)
1 c. cel­ery, diced, (about 3 stalks)
1 c. yel­low onion, diced, (about 1 medium)
3/4 c. sliced mush­rooms (but­ton or cri­m­ini)
1 T oil
2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. ground pep­per, divided
2 c. left­over turkey (or chicken) meat
2 c. turkey or chicken stock
1 tsp. Hun­gar­ian paprika (omit for night­shade allergy)
1 tsp. mar­jo­ram
1/2 tsp. ground sage
3 T arrow­root
3 T cold water

1. Heat oil in stock pot over medium. Add car­rots, cel­ery and onions, half the salt and pep­per and cook for 8–10 min­utes until soft, stir­ring frequently.
2. Add stock, meat, paprika, mar­jo­ram sage and remain­ing salt and pep­per and heat to a simmer.
3. In a small jar, mix arrow­root and cold water, shak­ing to cre­ate a slurry. Pour slurry into chicken stock mix­ture and stir on sim­mer to thicken. Serve over pota­toes, rice or gf pasta.