Ina Garten Has the Perfect Dish for Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey

The holidays will be different this year. Our series, "The One Dish," collects stories about what we're doing for Thanksgiving that will make us feel right at home.

Ina Garten's new comfort food cookbook could not have come at a better time. Released in early October, Modern Comfort Food is deeply soothing ode to approachable, delicious, and nearly foolproof dishes that comfort us on dreary days.

One recipe in the book is a beautiful chicken pot pie soup. The day after Thanksgiving, my family usually makes a big stew with leftover turkey meat and any vegetables we have on hand, so it occurred to me that a pot pie twist could take that tradition to the next level.

Garten tells me her chicken pot pie soup would be lovely with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. And the key to making sure your turkey meat is succulent and moist? Not overcooking it.

"I think people tend to overcook them," she said. She recalls the first Thanksgiving dinner she made, and after cooking the turkey for 2.5 hours, her mother-in-law said that it couldn't possibly be done, and usually takes six hours. Six hours will dry out the turkey.

"We’re used to cooking protein for too long, and then forgetting to let it rest," said Garten. "When it rests it, really keeps cooking. I undercook thing by about 10 degrees and let it rest," for at least 15 minutes.

Make it: Ina Garten's Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pie Soup