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There's a whole lot of turkey going down. If past behavior is any guide, Americans of every age will consume an average of more than 4 1/2 pounds of gobbler over the next six weeks, according to the National Turkey Federation. The federation's growers collectively produce enough turkey for nearly every one of us to consume an entire plump bird per person per year.

Burp.

The feasting begins Thursday, when 88 percent of us will sit down to a succulent Thanksgiving bird with all the trimmings.

Doing your part for the rest of 2007 will require eating a whole lot more than turkey sandwiches, or even encore turkey dinners. And then there's what to do with all those leftover mashed potatoes, candied yams, cranberries, even bread cubes and rolls.

Here's help. We've asked local chefs and scoured the Internet for the food version of "The Day After Tomorrow" — recipes, ideas and resources for using those leftovers to ease your cooking through the rest of the holiday season.

Mr. Turkey

The rule here is simple: Think turkey for just about any recipe calling for cooked chicken — salads, tacos, burritos, soups. Turkey is a common ingredient in Mexican food, so much so that a couple of area restaurants use turkey, not chicken, in all poultry dishes.

Resources: Call the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, 1-800-BUTTERBALL, with any questions about leftovers. You can find recipes and a podcast at www.butterball.com.

After you have stripped all the meat from the turkey carcass — and refrigerated the meat promptly — your turkey still has more to give. To make turkey stock, use a cleaver, heavy carving knife, or even heavy shears to cut that carcass into pieces small enough to fit in a stockpot (or whatever big, deep pot you have). Add some roughly chopped onion, celery, carrot, a clove of garlic, a bay leaf, some peppercorns and maybe a pinch of thyme. Cover everything with cold water and a slosh of leftover white wine.

Bring to a simmer and simmer, partly covered, over low heat until the bones are bare. Strain the stock, chill and skim off the fat. If stock tastes a little thin, boil it down rapidly to concentrate the flavors.

Now you can make turkey noodle soup (add shredded turkey meat, pasta and whatever vegetable you like to the stock) or use the turkey stock in place of chicken stock in other recipes.

Leftover squashed spuds make great potato cakes for brunch or a dinner side dish to an entree like pork chops. For the most basic cakes, simply form leftover mashed potatoes into little patties. Dredge them in flour mixed with salt and pepper, then fry in butter or oil until hot and lightly browned (adapted from www.foodnetwork.com).

If you want to get fancy, you can add beaten eggs (two for the equivalent of three medium potatoes), shredded cheese (about 4 ounces or a cup for those three taters), cooked, crumbled bacon, or chopped onion before forming the cakes.

The classic shepherd's pie — a British concoction of minced meat and gravy topped with mashed potatoes, then baked until hot and browned — is another option; you can even make it using leftover turkey.

Those leftover rolls, loaves and cubes need not go to waste. If you have big enough rolls or bread slices, you can make a sweet bread pudding for dessert, or a savory strata for a Saturday or Sunday brunch. French cooks often use leftover sweet rolls or croissants in their version of bread pudding.

If you have extra bread cubes from making stuffing, you can turn them into bread crumbs in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Freeze the crumbs, and they will be in easy reach for topping casseroles, thickening meatloafs, soups or sauces. You can even use bread crumbs instead of flour to dust cake pans before filling with batter.

There are a wealth of recipes using raw cranberries — or those you have used in an uncooked, chopped relish — such as cranberry quick bread, cranberry muffins, cranberry-and-various-ingredient pies. Zona 78 makes a lovely cranberry panna cotta, a silky custard enlivened with the tart red fruit (see the accompanying recipe).

With leftover cooked sauce, you are halfway to a cranberry-baked brie appetizer. This is very adaptable: Take a small wheel of brie and slice off the top. Put cheese on a baking sheet and spread with as much cranberry sauce as you want or have available (about one-half to one cup for a pound of brie). Top with nuts such as almonds or pecans, if you like. Bake until soft — about 10 minutes at 350 degrees for a small wheel, longer for a big one. Serve warm with crackers or a sliced baguette.

Resources: www.oceanspray.com has a large selection of recipes.

If you have uncooked leftover yams, there may be sweet potato chips in your future. Peel, cut in half, and slice very thinly (a food processor is great for this). Chill in ice water for an hour. When you are ready to cook, drain the slices on paper towels before deep-frying at 375 degrees for one or two minutes. Drain and salt to taste.

Doug Levy, the owner/chef at Feast Tasteful Takeout, contributed his recipe for Sweet Potato Chilaquiles, a Mexican-style casserole featuring corn tortillas, cheese and chiles (you'll find his recipe online at www.azstarnet.com/food). You can start with raw sweet potatoes or use leftover potatoes that have not been over-sweetened. Leftover, not-too-sweet mashed potatoes can be used in most pumpkin recipes, or in sweet potato pie.

"If they are sugary (or maple syrupy), I'd dice them and serve them as a hash with bacon and onions for brunch with scrambled eggs, or I'd mash them with a bunch of Asiago cheese and fresh oregano or sage," Levy said via e-mail. "Or mash them, add a little flour, maybe an egg, and press them around some shrimp, dust them in flour again, and deep-fry the shrimp. Serve with cilantro, jalapeños, lime wedges and sour cream."

Finally, if you've drenched yams in marshmallows, there's not much you can do about it (although somebody, somewhere, has undoubtedly concocted a sweet potato s'more).

Resources: See the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, www.sweetpotato.org, for recipes and information.

* 1 1/2 pounds of leftover turkey meat

* 1 large julienne onion

* 1/4 cup of cooking oil

* 1 1/2 cups julienne green chiles (fresh or canned)

* 1 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

* 1/2 cup of strong turkey stock

* Salt and pepper to taste

* 2 large flour tortillas, or 4 regular ones

* 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shred turkey meat and place in a single layer on an ovenproof tray. Bake, turning meat frequently, until dry.

Sauté the onion in the cooking oil, then add green chiles and tomatoes. Cook together until onions are soft. Fold in the turkey and heat through.

Reduce stock by one-half, and remoisten turkey meat before assembling burritos.

Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste, then roll mixture inside flour tortilla with cheese.

Serve with chopped cabbage, salsa, cheese, guacamole or your favorite side dish.

Jonathan Landeen, owner/chef, Jonathan's Tucson Cork

* 6 cups heavy cream

* 3 cups sour cream

* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (preferably Madagascar vanilla)

* 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

* 1/4 tablespoon cold water

* 12/3 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

* Extra cranberries or assorted berries for garnish

Heat heavy cream, sour cream and sugar together in a medium saucepan. Once these ingredients reach a simmer, add vanilla extract.

While mixture is coming to boil, mix water and gelatin together in another container to break up gelatin.

Gently whisk gelatin and water into cream mixture.

Pour into individual martini glasses and swirl 3 tablespoons cranberries (fresh or frozen) into each dish containing the panna cotta mixture.

Chill for 2 to 3 hours or until stiff. Garnish with extra cranberries or other berries just before serving.

* 1 cup yellow onion, diced

* 1/2 cup celery, diced small

* 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

* 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) butter

* 1 tablespoon tomato paste

* 1 teaspoon ground cumin

* 1 teaspoon ground coriander

* 1 teaspoon whole oregano

* 1 tablespoon salt

* 1 teaspoon white pepper

* 1 tablespoon chile powder

* 3/4 pound white beans (soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed)

* 1/4 cup chopped Anaheim chiles

* 8 cups chicken stock

* 1 pound cooked, diced turkey pieces

Sweat (slowly cook) onions, celery and garlic in butter for 20 minutes.

Add tomato paste and all spices. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Add beans, Anaheim chiles and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until beans are thoroughly cooked.

Add turkey just before serving.

* 1/2 cup fine diced celery

* 1/2 cup fine diced red onions

* 1/4 cup fine diced Anaheim peppers

* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

* 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) chipotle in adobo (de-stemmed)

* 3/4 cup mayonnaise

* 1/2 cup sour cream

* 2 pounds cooked turkey meat, diced into small cubes

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Serve on your favorite bread.

Shelby Collier, owner, Beyond Bread