Best Part About Thanksgiving Leftovers

Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday. I love it. Beyond love it. All the cooking, the yummy smells, the different flavors, all the love that goes into that meal, football on in the background, my parents coming to our home that I'm proud of ... I love cutting veggies up and from the kitchen looking into the living room and seeing the Macy's Day Parade on the tv ... The wood stove chugging away ... I love it. And what do I love just about as much? Leftovers. 

I'm the queen of a Thanksgiving panini. No joke ... this thing is huge and envokes snickers from my family when they watch me put it together. Let me take you on the journey to the best sandwich ever. 

The ingredients ... 

Dark meat from your Turkey Day Bird

Brie Cheese

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Cornbread Stuffing

Smidge of Gravy

Butternut Squash

French's French Fried Onions

Bread

Now, there's a VERY specific order to the assembly process, and for good reason on every layer. Follow along ... 

First, preheat your panini press. Next, you need to lay out your bread and cut three or four slices of brie cheese. Place a single layer of brie on one slice of bread. On top of the brie you need to add the dark turkey meat. (I prefer the dark to light because of the taste and texture.) On top of the turkey I add a thin layer of cranberry sauce topped with the French Fried Onions. (It's all about crunch and sweet vs. salty) 

Next I add a bit of stuffing. You're probably at the point of stuff falling off the bread - just do your best to contain it and gobble up what falls off. 

I do ladle on a little gravy next. Not too much - you don't want it soggy. Just enough to wet the stuffing a bit. 

On the other piece of bread I spread butternut squash and put that piece on top of everything else. 

My sandwich is generally 2.5 - 3" thick by now. (Hence the family laughing at me) I then add a little bit of butter on the bread and toss it onto the hot panini press and cook it until the bread is ever so slightly crunchy.

Oh my ... It is so darn good. Make sure you cut it in half so it's able to be held without it falling apart. It's the best thing next to a nice day being lazy and eating the traditional turkey dinner. Now ... about that apple pie ...