After the dust settles on the Thanksgiving dinner table and every last square inch of Tupperware in the kitchen is taken up by leftovers, a lack of imagination often sets in. Hot turkey sandwiches become the entre for every day of the week thereafter, and the mashed potatoes, stuffing and squash sit on the side.

Provided you can recover your will to cook after the Thanksgiving effort, those leftovers can be combined to produce a number of dynamic dishes and snacks that provide just as savory an eating experience as Turkey Day itself.

Kevin Dautrich, owner and chef at Daut's Restaurant on 10 E. Genesee St., Auburn, suggests starting the leftover salvage process with soups. The restaurant's traditional Sunday turkey roasts often leave his kitchen stocked with leftovers that Dautrich must make use of or toss in the dumpster.

“Just don't throw anything away - wrap it tight and it'll stay around,” Dautrich suggested. “Don't be afraid to freeze leftovers either.”

One of Dautrich's staples is turkey artichoke soup, which combines onions, celery, carrots and quartered artichokes with diced turkey and chicken stock. For a heartier alternative, he also prefers to make creamy turkey and rice soup with baby corn. Any extra gravy makes an excellent base for soups, especially Thanksgiving leftover varieties like turkey and dumpling.

At his restaurant, Dautrich also twists the traditional hot turkey sandwich by adding a layer of stuffing and cranberry dressing to the top. The simplicity of his suggestion illustrates a key ingredient in preparing Thanksgiving leftovers: imagination.

The leftover turkey in particular can provide a number of exciting alternatives to traditional meals with just a little bit of substitution. Where recipes call for chicken or tuna, turkey can be used instead.

Chef Julia Allen, of A la Carte Catering in Auburn, can suggest a few unusual uses for turkey. Put leftover pieces on pizza with some pesto or shred it and place it in a taco or enchilada where the meat would go. Turkey can also be chopped up, mixed with mayonnaise, curry powder, a handful of chopped celery and some raisins, and the result used as curry for sandwiches.

Jill Odell, of Aunt Jill's Tea Service in Weedsport, goes a more traditional route, using the turkey in a salad with “good hearty bread.” For more seasoned cooks, she suggests making turkey tetrazzini - a casserole topped with a creamy mixture of turkey, mushrooms, cheese and green peppers. But Odell can't take credit for her favorite leftover concoction, a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, walnuts and cream cheese.

“I found this great sandwich at The Wood Inn in Inlet, on Fourth Lake in the Adirondacks. It is now one of the main sandwiches I serve at my tea parties,” Odell said.

The other foods left over from Thanksgiving have their uses too. Boil down any spare cranberry sauce into cranberry syrup and pour it over vanilla ice cream or custard for a savory post-Thanksgiving dessert. Once the pumpkin, apple and other pies have been gobbled up, spare sweet potatoes can be used to make sweet potato pie.

It's easy to get complacent with a week straight of Thanksgiving dinners after the holiday has passed. But with a little daring and imagination, you won't have to settle for the same meal night after night until all the leftovers have been sapped.

A few Thanksgiving leftover recipes to guide your post-holiday food preparations:

Thanksgiving Caesar Salad

Makes 2-4 servings

1 head romaine, washed and dried

2-3 cups cold, diced leftover turkey

1/4-1/2 cup Caesar dressing

1/2 cup garlic or cheese flavored croutons

1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Fresh ground pepper

Tear or shred the Romaine into bite-sized

pieces.

Toss with the turkey, dressing, croutons,

cranberries, and parmesan cheese. Serve with freshly ground pepper.

- Chef Julia Allen, of A la Carte catering at www.alacartechef.com

Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

Use hearty bread like Arnold Country Classic oat nut bread

Spread each slice with softened cream cheese

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts

Spread on cranberry sauce and a few slices of turkey

The cream cheese will keep the cranberry sauce from making the bread soggy.

- Jill Odell of Aunt Jill's Tea Service at 834-9133