I Make This Iconic Celebrity-Approved Recipe Using Thanksgiving Leftovers Every Year

It's rich and indulgent, much like the showman himself.

One of my great regrets in life is that I never met Liberace. I was supposed to have lunch with him and a family friend when I was six but he canceled due to ill health. A few months later, he was dead. He had hidden his battle with HIV for years.

At the time, I had only a glancing idea of who the showman was. But as a teen, I became a fan of the artist formerly known as Władziu Valentino Liberace. It was more his costumes, candelabra, and “too much of a good thing is wonderful” aesthetic that attracted me to his work than his fusty classical piano playing, but I was not alone in that. He also starred as a casket salesman, Mr. Starker, in what I believe is still one of the funniest movies of all time, 1965’s funeral-industry satire "The Loved One."

As an adult, I became increasingly obsessed with vintage celebrity cookbooks and found a new place in my heart for Liberace. It was in my early years as a first-time homeowner that I began accruing recipes from stars of the past, from Vincent Price to Paul Newman.

To that end, my mother gave me a ring-bound 2003 edition of "Liberace Cooks!" The original subtitle for the book was “Hundreds of delicious recipes for you from his seven dining rooms," though the abbreviated version of the 1970 publication that I have no longer includes that, or the fact that the book was “as told to” by recipe writer Carol Truax.

Inside "Liberace Cooks!"

The book is an ode to Liberace’s excess: The very first recipe, in the appetizers section, is for caviar cheese dip. It's essentially flavored cream cheese with fish eggs in it, served with Melba toast. There are also deviled eggs with caviar, as well as a nod to the musician’s global travels like a satay recipe that appears within the pages.

Liberace’s closeness to his Polish mother is evident in numerous Eastern European recipes, including Polish dried mushroom soup, gołabki, Chicken Pojarski, and my favorite when I visited Poland, doughnuts known as paczki. His father’s Italian heritage also appears in the form of pasta dishes, such as the “Liberace Special," a baked, stuffed mostaccioli pasta. Though there are no enticing food photos in the book, there are plenty of pictures of Liberace, including ones where he’s posed in chef’s whites, pretending to feed showgirls his kitchen creations.

My Favorite Recipe for Leftover Turkey

I haven’t roasted a turkey for Thanksgiving in years, but I do like to do so when the mood strikes me and prices are lower. But even when I buy a small bird, preparing it for just two or four people leaves lots of leftovers. When I was growing up, my mom always bought puff pastry shells and made Bouchées à la Reine with turkey in a creamy sauce for the day after Thanksgiving.

But I’ve come up with an indulgent tradition of my own with the help of Liberace. I cut up the fowl and use it for a take on Turkey Tetrazzini. Before trying the recipe, I’d only ever had the Stouffer’s version of the dish. Not surprisingly, making it myself is worlds apart.

For one, I don’t use cream of mushroom soup as most recipes call for. In Liberace’s world, there were no shortcuts. Though the recipe doesn’t specify the type of mushroom, I like to find the most fun and wild selection at the store to dress up my dinner.

Combined with béchamel sauce, and even more high-quality cheese than the suggested half cup of grated Parmesan, the result is definitely not healthy, but it’s the part that I most anticipate after making a turkey. To make this a complete meal, serve it with a simple salad on the side.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound spaghetti or elbow macaroni

• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced

• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed

• 1 stick butter

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 3 cups chopped cooked turkey

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish. Boil the spaghetti in half water and half broth for about 10 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain, reserving the broth.

2. Melt half the butter in a large pan. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until tender. Transfer the mushroom mixture out of the pan and set aside.

3. Add the remaining butter to the same pan and stir in the flour. Stir in cream and 2 1/2 cups of the reserved broth. Cook, stirring regularly, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat.

4. Spread half the spaghetti over the baking dish. Cover with half the mushrooms and half the turkey. Pour over half the sauce and sprinkle with half the Parmesan cheese. Repeat, ending with cream sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake until tetrazinni is bubbly and very lightly browned.

This recipe was adapted from "Liberace Cooks!" by Liberace, as told to Carol Truax, 1970.