Stories from the road.......: Yes, there will be leftovers........

Just another reason to be THANKFUL......

TICK TICK TICK TICK......

The clock is ticking away! Soon, Thanksgiving will be over!
And, you will be left with.....the leftovers and the dirty dishes.

I know, I know, I'm jumping way ahead of myself here.....Thanksgiving is 8 days away.
Why am I talking about leftovers when I haven't even roasted the turkey or mashed the potatoes or stirred the gravy or popped open that jar of cranberry relish? Or, ODed on pumpkin pie.....
Oh, I just can't help myself.
I'm up to my eyeballs in Thanksgiving prep but I just can't stop thinking about these adorable little mini sandwiches that I made last year the weekend after Thanksgiving that just rocked our socks!
They not only rocked our socks.....they rocked our shoes too.
And, they rocked our house guests' socks and shoes.
Everyone was still talking about them on New Years' Day.
They are that special.
These little sandwiches are so damn amazing that I want to make sure you have this recipe before Thanksgiving so you can do like I do and over buy and over cook and have so many leftovers that you just have to make these.....
Plus, I want to be sure to remind you to go straight to your favorite bakery place today and pick up a loaf of sourdough bread and ask them to slice it a bit on the thin side (Panera is a good choice if you don't have a personal fav) and then I want you to hide that loaf of bread in the boughs of your freezer so it's ready to go next weekend.
And, I want you to be sure to add a nice little triangle of a decent quality brie cheese (doesn't have to be the best!) on your last minute Thanksgiving shopping list. (Trader Joe's is a good choice to find a reasonably priced, nice tasting brie)
Believe me when I tell you that this little recipe is so damn good that you might not want to go to your Aunt Flo's this year just so you can stay home and cook up lots of turkey so you have enough leftovers to make this damn sandwich.
And, just so you don't think this is just any damn leftover turkey sandwich.....I'd like to remind you that it's so special that it's really called a PANINI.....
You got all that?
You won't be sorry. Trust me on this.

Mini Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Panini

(to make 12)

These are appetizer size....I served them on a platter with mini potato cakes (made from left over mashed potatoes...see recipe below) and heated up left over gravy for anyone who wanted to dip their panini or cakes.

-8 slices of sourdough bread, buttered on one side
-leftover Thanksgiving turkey
-leftover Cranberry Relish (Williams Sonoma and Trader Joe's are good choices if you don't make your own)
-pieces of brie cheese

You don't need a Panini maker for this but if you have one, that's great

Assemble 4 sandwiches....
-Buttered bread
-Turkey
-Brie Cheese
-Cranberry Relish (do not overload sandwiches with the relish)

In your skillet---make these like you would make grilled cheese
Cut each sandwich into 3 mini sandwiches....er....paninis

Mini Potato Cakes

(makes about 18-20 mini cakes)

2 cups cold leftover mashed potatoes
1 whole egg
1/4 cup flour (all purpose or self rising)
Heaping amount each of chopped parsley and basil
Nice sprinkling of parmesean or romano cheese
salt, pepper and garlic powder--to taste

Mix egg into mashed potatoes with a fork until well blended. Add flour and remaining ingredients--mix well. Pour approximately 2 T. oil into skillet and heat over medium heat. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of mixture into hot oil. Dip back of spoon into oil and mash potato mixture to flatten to about 1/4 inch thick. By dipping the back of the spoon into the oil, the spoon will not stick to potatoes making flattening them much easier. Fry until browned and then flip and continue to brown patty on other side.(DO NOT TURN THESE OVER UNTIL THEY ARE BROWNED) Remove to paper towel lined plate for about 3-5 minutes. Serve!

Oh, and before I forget.....I served this for dessert that day......

Left Over Pumpkin Pie Brulee