Todd and Diane, the White On Rice Couple, cleverly tossed the leftovers into a galette. Visit their website and be awed by their recipes and photography.

A galette is a rustic pie, made without a pie pan. The crust is formed by hand, leaving a bare edge to fold up around the ingredients. The shape can be round, rectangular or freeform; the filling can be be sweet or savory.

The crust here is shortcrust pastry or pâte brisée (POT bree-ZAY), a flaky, buttery crust traditionally used for pies and quiches, sweet and savory. It has no leavening agent so does not puff up during baking. The dough can be made one day ahead and refrigerated, well wrapped in plastic; or it can be frozen for up to one month. The ball of kneaded dough is flattened into a disc or discs to allow it to chill faster (and similarly, to thaw faster if frozen).

FOR MORE RECIPES, see Part 2 of this article.
 
RECIPE: TODD & DIANE’S THANKSGIVING GALETTE

Ingredients For The Crust

 
Leftovers For The Filling

 
*If you have potatoes that are not mashed, mash them.
 

Preparation

1. MAKE the dough. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter pieces and with your hands, pinch them together with the flour mix until most of the large chunks of butter are broken up and there is no remaining dry flour.

2. ADD just enough cold water for the mixture to bind together; forms it into a rough ball. Knead the ball just until the dough begins to become smooth. Never overwork dough or it will be tough when baked.

3. DIVIDE the dough ball in half and roll each half into a ball, then flatten them into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight. When ready to make the pie…

4. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper.

5. LET the chilled dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Dough will roll out best when is still cold to the touch. On a floured surface, roll the dough into a 12″ circle and transfer to the baking sheet.

6. LAYER the fillings, including any fresh herbs, leaving a clean edge of 2 inches to fold up. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, creasing and folding all the way around. Brush the folded-up crust with the egg wash or cream. Grind black pepper over the filling. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

7. SERVE hot, warm or at room temperature with knives and forks. If you have more gravy, pass it so that participants can pour more over the top of their slices.
 
Click here to see a step-by-step video.

We adapted this recipe from Audra, The Baker Chick. Our leftovers are different from hers, and we put them in parentheses. See all of Audra’s recipes at TheBakerChick.com
 
Ingredients For One 14-Inch Pizza

1. PREHEAT the oven to 500°F and heat the pizza pan or stone along with it, for at least 30 minutes

2. COVER the work surface with a sheet of parchment paper and place the dough ball in the center. Coat your hands with olive oil, then roll and spread the dough until it is thin and shaped. Form a thin crust ridge around the edge. Use a bit of extra oil as needed to spread the dough thinly.

3. SPREAD the mashed potatoes on top, up until the crust rim. Optional: Drizzle the potatoes with gravy.

4. SPRINKLE the bacon, corn and scallions on top of the potatoes. Add any other leftover ingredients you want. Then, top with any fresh herbs and the cheese.

5. USE a cutting board or pizza peel to help transfer the pizza to the hot stone. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

What about the cranberry sauce?

You can place dabs of it over the toppings but before the mozzarella, or serve it on the side so people can garnish their own slices.