One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the tradition of the meal. It makes menu planning simple but also allows for some creative wiggle room. We’ve all heard about the crazy ways you can prepare a turkey – deep fried, basted, smoked, stuffed with numerous other fowl – and seen the many great things you can do with pumpkin. There is a true sense of success when you offer up a new take on a “standard” dish that is so well received it is requested the next year.
I especially love that opportunities for improvisation continue the day after the big feast when you open your fridge to face all the leftovers. This year, for work, I had to actually create leftover recipes before the big day so I made small simple batches of roasted turkey breast, sweet potato casserole and pumpkin bread just so I could then re-imagine them as other dishes. After a few false starts (pumpkin bread sausage cakes were a little hockey puckish) I struck on a winning combo with this sandwich recipe and can now say after having finished my second batch of the salad mixture that I may have my first day-after-Thanksgiving traditional dish.
Sweet Potato Turkey Salad Sandwich:
- 4 slices thick cut hearty bread, toasted
- 1/3 C leftover sweet potato casserole (or roasted sweet potato skins removed)
- 1 1/2 tsp Spiced rum or whiskey
- 1 Tbs mayo
- 1 1/3 C turkey, shredded
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1/2 tsp lime zest
- pinch of salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions:
- In a medium bowl mix together the sweet potato, liquor, mayo and spices. Stir so everything is evenly mixed.
- Add the shredded turkey and mix everything together well.
- Scoop half on to one piece of toasted bread and the rest on to another then top with the remaining two slices.
If you’re a fan of cheese – and have some of that in the fridge- then you can easily make these open faced sandwiches and broil them to melt the cheese.