Christmas Leftovers - Turkey, Cranberry & Brie

Sometimes I wonder why my family continues the tradition of a roasted Christmas dinner when it is the middle of summer, when some of my friends opt for a barbeque and cold salads. I must admit Christmas is the only time of the year that I eat turkey, so I do look forward to it.

To make life easier and the house a little cooler, mum roasts her turkey the night before and serves it cold with roasted vegetables. The thinly cut turkey is quickly warmed by boiling hot gravy, so we hardly notice that the bird was cooked long before the vegetables.

Cranberries are something that I discovered later in life. When I was growing up, cranberry sauce the traditional accompaniment to turkey was gravy, not cranberry sauce. I discovered cranberries when I was studying at university. One of the rolls served at the café was turkey, brie and cranberry. This roll was always a good backup when I arrived late for lunch and all of the BLTs had sold out.

I could not think of a better way to start the Christmas season, then with a turkey, brie & cranberry toastie. To be honest, I think I prefer the unheated roll version of this mix to the toasted sandwich version. I think the brie tastes better when it is firm (i.e room temperature), rather than when it is boiling hot and dripping everywhere.



Turkey, Cranberry & Brie

Makes: 2 toasties

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. cranberry Sauce
• 60g turkey, thinly sliced
• 40g brie, thinly sliced
• 4 slices of bread
• butter (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the toastie maker and butter each of the four slices of bread (optional).
2. Place one slice of bread, butter side down, onto the bottom grill plate.
3. Arrange 2 tsp. of the Cranberry Sauce, and half of the brie and turkey onto the centre of the bread.
4. Place the top piece of bread on top of the mixture, butter side up.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the other grill plate.
6. Gently close the lid and allow to toast for approximately 3 minutes, or until the bread has browned sufficiently.

Variations:

• Replace the cranberry sauce with sun dried tomatoes.