The Post - Thanksgiving Glut: Leftover Turkey Sandwiches with a Twist

Happy post-turkey day everyone! Need ideas for all those leftovers?? I have one!!!

I was inspired by Milestone's Bar & Grill's Smoked Turkey Club (Andrew's choice sandwich when we last made the trip) to make this sandwich: A toasted cranberry sourdough, with double-smoked bacon, spicy house-made avocado salsa, sliced roma tomato, and whole-grain mustard mayonnaise. Andrew assures me that it is a remarkable sandwich, so I made my version of all it's components made my own with our turkey leftovers!

Cranberry-Wheat Bread
1 loaf
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 tsp brown sugar
½ cup + 2 tbsp warm water
1 cup flour
¼ cup wheat germ
¼ cup rolled oats
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups frozen cranberries

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the flour, wheat germ, oats, egg, oil and salt; stir well to combine. Stir / knead in cranberries.
3. Knead by hand until smooth and supple, about 10 minutes. (I used my dough hook this time around for 5 mins on speed 7).
4. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn to coat.
5. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise 1 hour.
6. Punch down, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface
7. Form a loaf and place in a lightly greased loaf pan.
8. Cover and let rise 30 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
10. Bake 45 minutes.

Avocado Salsa
Serves 4-6
2 large ripe avocados, peeled and diced
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 red onion, diced
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
6 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons cilantro, chopped

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Cover and keep chilled until ready to serve.
Can be made up to 4 hours in advance.

Whole-Grain Mustard Mayonnaise
1 serving
1 tsp old-fashioned grainy mustard
2 tsp light mayonnaise

1. Blend ingredients together in a small bowl and serve.

Thanksgiving Afters Sandwich
Makes 1 sandwich
1 tbsp Whole-Grain Mustard Mayonnaise
2 medium slices Cranberry-Wheat bread, lightly toasted
3 oz cold roasted turkey, shredded
2 strips turkey bacon, cooked
2 slices roma tomato
1 tbsp Avocado Salsa

1. Spread mayonnaise on one piece of the bread.
2. Add the turkey, followed by bacon and tomato slices. Add salt and pepper if you'd like.
3. Dollop the avocado salsa on top of the tomato and top with the other bread slice.

I used turkey bacon for the double-smoked, since regular bacon is kind of icky to me (I hate cooking it and the smell!) and Andrew is trying to eat a little healthier. Plus, this sandwich is all about the bird, so why not? Unfortunately tomatoes are out of season (though I still have... lets say, 5 gazillion of them on my counter!), but I guess we can't win em all!

So, in sum, I'll say that this sandwich is my entry to Show Us Your Sarnie, and the deeeelicious bread is sent in for World Bread Day! Don't forget guys, the deadlines (October 20 and October 16, respectively) are fast approaching!