After spending days, if not weeks, shopping, baking,preparing and basting the Thanksgiving turkey you have leftovers but not a lot of incentive to cook anymore any time soon. Unfortunately turkey leftovers beg to be eaten. How better to revive leftover turkey then with quick and easy sandwiches?
Nuha Barno, owner of Ranch Farmers Market, a convenience grocery with a cut-on-order butcher counter located at 2574 Alpine Blvd, says, “quick-and-easy is the only way.”
Nuha, a single mother of four, fulltime store manager, has no time or energy to cook.
Thanksgiving for Nuha will be at her sisters with her close-knit family of 100.
“My sister has an eight thousand square foot house to accommodate such a crowd. Each family will bring a favorite entree and, yes, several turkeys. So there will be an abundance of leftover turkey.”
She delegates to her children the making of over-the-top-delicious leftover turkey sandwiches. First is her straight-up turkey, cranberry and cream cheese sandwich with lettuce for a touch of crispness.
“This is an amazing way to experience turkey in a whole new way. Any style bread, even a croissant sliced in half sandwich style will do,” Nuha smiles.
Another favorite is her open-faced hot brown-gravy and shredded turkey on thick butter toasted bread, topped off with Muenster or Monterey jack. Place in the oven on a baking dish for 3-5 minutes to heat and melt the cheese. Pair with sliced tomatoes and greens for a full-meal deal.
Margo Molloy, head dietician for Barons Market located off Tavern Road in the Alpine Creek Shopping Center says, “Sandwiches do the trick for leftover turkey but not just any sandwich.”
For a twist on the traditional club sandwich, Molloy layers a ciabatta roll from the bottom up with: avocado (smashed if ripe, sliced if not), turkey, crisp bacon (cooked and cooled), tomato slices, lettuce and a spread of prepared chipotle sauce on the top bun for spiciness.
Janet Sanford, a Barons longtime caterer and deli personnel says “fresh turkey will last 3-4 days in the fridge or freeze within two hours of cooking and keep up to 2-3 months.”
Sanford makes individual pot pies. Pie crust can be homemade or store bought ready-made and pressed into small individual fluted shells, found at most convenience stores. Ladle leftover turkey and gravy with a mixture of leftover veggies into each shell and top with more pie crust, sealed around the edges with scalloped thumb print or pressed fork design.
“Mashed potatoes in place of a pie crust make for a Shepard pie and using leftover yams instead is perfectly acceptable.” Janet smiles and says. “These individual pies can be squirreled away in the freezer for leftover festivities later.”
