Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas Sandwiches

Announcements:

1. The winner of the November Shirt Giveaway is Paige Stone out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida!  Scroll down to see the complete story.

2.  Following Tuesday's post, Top 5 Best Snacking Foods, I received an e-mail from a YoCrunch representative regarding the "Strawberry Yogurt Topped with Chocolate Things." I was informed that YoCrunch is no longer associated with Breyers, so that explains why the product was discontinued.  I've updated the post with a photo of their current product that they cordially requested.  See what happens when you get on my good side?  I don't have to troll you like I do with Vons or Jack Link's Beef Jerky.

Anyway, one of the special delicacies of the holiday season is the phenomena known as Christmas Sandwiches.

A quartet of Christmas Sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving

What is a Christmas Sandwich?  It's turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, (and cranberry sauce if you want), packed into a buttered dinner roll and eaten like a sandwich.  They're delicious, but they do have their issues.  The first is that such a combination of leftovers is rare.  How many turkey dinners do you have throughout the year after Thanksgiving and Christmas?  I have maybe one other.  The second problem is that the sandwich is almost entirely dependent on rolls and if the rolls you have aren't any good then you could have a heck of a problem.  Last year my family had that issue when Lake Murray Cafe sold me a dozen half-baked dinner rolls and I subsequently boycotted them for almost year before returning and then being underwhelmed again with their beyond insulting penny pinching ways.  

Those four sandwiches are built on three different rolls that all turned out to be mediocre.  Still, at least they didn't ruin our appetites/make us sick like Lake Murray's did.  

But anyway, the last thing is that Christmas Sandwiches aren't particularly attractive.  I mean, just look:


Even though these are carefully crafted by yours truly, they don't have the same appeal that a beautiful Thanksgiving plate has.  But once you bread together these bad boys - they're like nothing else.  

I can't remember where I first learned about Christmas Sandwiches.  It may have been on one of the morning shows I used to listen to either out of the Bay Area or Sacramento.  I did not invent this concept.  At least I'm pretty sure I didn't.  

And you can call these whatever you want.  Holiday Sandwiches.  Seasonal Sandwiches.  Chanukah Sandwiches.  Dick Clark Sandwiches.  I call them Christmas Sandwiches because I think the first time I had one was from the Christmas leftovers so the name stuck.  

As I mentioned above, the winner of the November Shirt Giveaway is Paige Stone out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida!  Paige sent in a few pictures and, really, they all looked awesome but I elected to go with this one for a few reasons:


These are Prince Edward Island Mussels from a place called Seasons 52.  The quantity looks good and, honestly, even though this is shellfish, I would try it.  Being in the picture is also bonus points. 

Also, I'd like to introduce my smallest fan with the biggest heart who wanted to pose in this picture specifically for Greg's Gourmet:


This is Emma posing in front of a stack of homemade chocolate chip pancakes (for dinner, no less!), and as I'm told, she demanded cordially insisted that she be in the picture.  On behalf of the Gourmet staff, we're honored to have her grace the site!  Emma is the daughter of Columbus, Mississippi photographer Addie Talley, whose blog features her spectacular photography sessions.  If you live in that area or simply want to see some sharp photography, do check out her blog!

Thanks for reading!