freestyle friday the morning after and its turkey sandwich

It is not time for mirth and laughter, the cold, gray dawn of the morning after. --George Ade

Oh my. Did I really eat all of that?! Tell me that I did not eat a plateful of starches covered in gravy, to which I added a sliver of protein, and the mere suggestion of a green vegetable, along with a roll the size of my dog's head.

The less I behave like Whistler's mother the night before, the more I look like her the morning after. --Tallulah Bankhead

Did I polish that off with a few adult beverages? A sliver (I'm dieting) of three different types of pies? A spoonful of something, anything!, with whipped cream. Did I moan when I got up from the table? Was I able to balance my glass on my stomach?

It reminded him of his Uncle Seamus, the notorious and poetic drunk, who would sit down at the breakfast table the morning after a bender, drain a bottle of stout and say 'Ah, the chill of consciousness returns". Molly O'Neill 

It wasn't pretty, was it?

Perhaps, today, moderation is in order. Here is my I'm-so-sorry-I-behaved-that-way note to my stomach.

the morning after turkey sandwich

you will need: 

• some great lean leftover turkey (or ham or pork roast or standing rib roast or prime rib--whatever leftovers you have)
• finely grated swiss cheese (or just a slice, or your favorite other cheese, like brie, or gouda or goat or whatever you have!)
• cranberry sauce or chutney--we used from maggie's farm cranberry vanilla pear chutney
• your favorite sandwich bread-- we've used a chewy from maggie's farm ciabatta loaf, quartered and sliced lengthwise.
• a light spreading of mayonnaise, optionally
• and roasted asparagus (see below)

Oh you didn't have asparagus?  My, I'm sorry.  Asparagus is my favorite fancy vegetable. Fancy, you ask?  Well, I kind of think of it as fancy.  I didn't eat it until I was well into my teens, and my stepmom took me to eat at The American in Kansas City.  It was fancy, y'all.  I had it for the first time, and it was cold, and crispy, and I thought if ever a vegetable were created just for me, surely it was asparagus.  But I digress....

If you have another green veggie to add to the sammich, that's okay. A chopped up handful of Monday's recipe for brussels sprouts would be delish. Some fresh green beans, steamed. A little bit of the leftover swiss chard gratinwe're making for the big day. Whatever you happen to have. However, if the roasted asparagus version sounds great to you, and you haven't any leftovers, well, here's the solution--

Yep, those are my old wrinkly hands.  I'm kind of proud of those wrinkles.  They are smile lines on my hands, I'm supposing.  Yeah, I'm going with that.

Rinse asparagus and pat dry. Trim by bending each stalk slightly and snapping off fibrous ends. Layer in roasting pan, seasoning with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and the zest and juice of half a lemon. (olive oil can be drizzled over, optionally. we've kept it light by omitting for our version, here.)

Roast in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until tender-crisp. toss, dispersing seasoning.

Prepare sandwich by layering ingredients. We like to spoon the chutney on top of the turkey, to keep it from getting the bread soggy if toting it for a later lunch. serve as is, or toast in a pan or panini grill, alternatively.

Your tummy thanks you.