Between the Bread

I love a sweet and savory Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, but I went home without any cranberry sauce this year. Thankfully, missing cranberry sauce is the mother of invention, and I'm amazed I didn't think of this sandwich sooner.

The secret ingredient: sweet potato pone, my old family recipe made with shredded sweet potatoes, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices. I spread the sliced casserole onto toasted honey wheat bread then combined it with leftover turkey, romaine lettuce, dijon mustard, and Swiss cheese.

The sweet potato pone was perfect, and the sandwich held together surprisingly well. It was just missing something else salty; dare I try it again with mashed potatoes or stuffing?

I'm planning to make an epic Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich for dinner tonight, but until then, let's look to Anna for inspiration. She shared this very serious sandwich of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, and a recent revelation: veganaise.

What leftovers sandwiches have you made this Thanksgiving? Tell me in the comments or, better yet, take a photo and email it with a description of your sandwich to nancy@betweenthebreadblog.com.

May I introduce Lizzy (no relation to the sandwich Eisenbergs), a longtime reader and first-time sharer. And what a sandwich share it is! Feast your eyes on her ultimate Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich.

If this looks decadent and delicious, that's because it is. As Lizzy says, "I know it must sound like too much, but it was incredible!" Oh, but it doesn't. It's just making me wish I had more leftovers. I'll let Lizzy take it from here:

Before I toasted my sourdough bread, I spread yellow mustard on one side and a thin layer of mashed potatoes on the other side. I smashed leftover stuffing on top of the mashed potatoes (my dad makes the best stuffing from scratch; it includes, chicken apple sausage, toasted walnuts, roasted onions and bell peppers, to name a few). On top of the yellow mustard bread side, I carefully placed leftover turkey breast. . . . I toasted the sandwich open face and, when warm, I added red onion, tomato, and avocado. Before I closed the sandwich, I remembered that my aunt had made amazing homemade pesto! I just had to add it. So I added a little, closed the sandwich, and enjoyed!

Got your own surprising sandwich to share? Email your photos to nancy@betweenthebreadblog.com, along with a description of what's on your sandwich.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today, we come together to celebrate, but I'm already looking forward to tomorrow. On the fourth Friday of November (or late on the fourth Thursday night, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed), millions of people nationwide take the turkey, stuffing, and other leftovers from that most beloved American feast, the Thanksgiving dinner, and give them new life in the form of a sandwich.

I think I look forward to the leftover sandwiches more than the main event. My standby includes white-meat turkey, cranberry sauce, Swiss cheese or similar, lettuce, and soft wheat bread. Of course, if the gang ends up staying out until 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving night, our "sandwiches" look more like this one at left.

The point is: I need some fresh ideas for my sandwich tomorrow. So tell me, what are the essentials for your perfect post-Thanksgiving sandwich?

To many people, Thanksgiving is the most exciting meal of the year. For me, it's the sandwich I make the Friday after Thanksgiving (or late that Thursday night, depending on how drunk and hungry I get). On their own, turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing are good; between bread (preferably a soft wheat) they are transcendent.

So on the rare work days when I don't bring my own turkey sandwich from home, I slip out to my local Specialty's for a turkey sandwich. Their sandwiches are pretty good, not like amazing or anything, but they have this one version that piles on the cranberry sauce, a sort of jellied spread with bits of cranberries mixed it. On the deli's fresh multigrain bread, it's a great holdover until Thanksgiving.