This week’s Snackstastic Sunday post is inspired by one of my favorite sandwiches from the soup/sandwich shop near my office, and is something I’ve been meaning to make since last year. Turkey + brie + cranberry sauce + raw onions on pumpernickel = Thanksgiving mouthgasm.
Except, instead of pumpernickel, I decided to go with buttermilk biscuits ‘cuz who actually serves pumpernickel at Thanksgiving? Years of Pillsbury commercials have convinced me that biscuits (and crescent rolls) are the way to go for family dinners. Don’t worry though, these sliders are made with homemade buttermilk biscuits, not the canned stuff (though, let’s be honest…that stuff is pretty good)!
It’s weird but I don’t actually love Thanksgiving food on the day that it’s served. Aside from mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce (the canned kind, of course), I could really take or leave the other stuff. Turkey? Meh – duck is so much better. Stuffing? Tasty, but it can be hit or miss depending on what it’s made with. Candied yams with marshmallows? No thanks. Pecan/pumpkin pie? Tasty, but not my favorite.
You know what’s super delicious though? Thanksgiving leftovers. I don’t know what voodoo magic happens inside the fridge when all those leftover bits sit there overnight, but everything tastes a hundred million times better the next day. I always look forward to lunch the day after turkey day: monster sandwiches slathered with mayo/mustard and bulging with stuffing, meat, cranberry sauce, gravy, and mashed potatoes. Mmmmmmmmmm. Post-lunch naps are, of course, mandatory.
For Thanksgiving this year, we’re headed up to MA to hang out with Dan’s family. My parents are coming with us, because they want to experience their first “American Thanksgiving”. I don’t know what they expect, but hopefully it’s lots of eating, wine-drinking, board games and napping, because that’s what they’re going to get.
Not so different from their usual “Chinese Thanksgiving”, except dinner will be turkey instead of duck/pork, and the drinks will involve wine instead of bai-jiu (Chinese liquor – it tastes like gasoline). I’m really looking forward to introducing them to The Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich.
And speaking of Thanksgiving sandwiches, I should probably tell you guys a little more about these sliders. They’re sort of like mini-versions of my beloved Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches. The biscuits are made from my favorite recipe, which I’ve used in a bunch of different things; the meat is standard deli turkey; and the cranberry sauce is straight out of the can (yum). The cheese though…oh man, guys.
Double creme brie with truffles! SO. GOOD. If you like truffles/truffle oil, you have to try it. Rich and creamy, and full of that amazing, decadent, indescribable truffle flavor. I discovered this stuff at Trader Joe’s last year, and it is now my absolute favorite cheese EVER. Sadly, it’s seasonal, so I have to really hoard my stash between now and New Year’s.
Dan, who doesn’t like brie or truffles, thought these sliders would have been better with a lot less cheese and a lot more cranberry sauce. I respectfully disagree – I think the truffle brie really elevated an already killer sandwich. And it looks like our guests, who got to eat these tonight during the Patriots/Colts game, seemed to agree with me since all they left me with was an empty plate. Either way, it’s worth a try, y’all!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes + 2 tbsp, melted
- 1-1/2 cups cold buttermilk
- Sliced/carved turkey
- Brie, sliced
- Cranberry Sauce
- ½ cup red onion, shaved/sliced thinly
- Preheat oven to 500. Lightly grease a round, 9-inch cake pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda
- Scatter the butter pieces evenly over the dry ingredients and cut in with a pastry cutter or fork, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
- Add the buttermilk, and stir until everything is incorporated. (Dough will be wet, sticky and a little lumpy)
- Using a ⅓ cup measuring cup, scoop mounds of dough and drop them onto a floured surface. Continue until you’ve scooped all of the dough. You should get 8-9 mounds of dough.
- Flour your hands, then, one at a time, pick up each piece of dough (coating with extra flour if necessary so you can work with it) and gently shape it into a rough ball. Shake off the excess flour and place the ball of dough in the prepared cake pan. Repeat with the remaining mounds of dough, until the cake pan is filled.
- Gently brush the top of each biscuit with some of the melted butter (don’t press down and flatten them).
- Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 450 F.
- Bake biscuits at 450 F for 13-15 minutes.
- Pull pan of biscuits out of the oven, and allow to cool slightly.
- Slice a warm biscuit in half, and load up one half with slices of turkey, brie, and shaved onion. Slather cranberry sauce on the other half. Press the two halves together.
- Repeat with the rest of your biscuits.
- Enjoy, immediately!
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen says
Mmmm – send me any leftover sliders, k? Also, when we were at wine camp, the guy giving us the tour described one of the flavors in the red wine as “petrolium” (and also “leather”) – apparently it tastes a lot like your Chinese liquor;) Both of which I now definitely don’t want to try.
justputzing says
Ew, why would anyone want to drink wine that tastes like leather and petrolium?!?!
CakePants says
I completely agree with you about Thanksgiving food – better as leftovers than the day of! These biscuits look absolutely divine. I could probably devour a whole plate of these cute little sliders!
justputzing says
Thank you! Everything tastes better on biscuits 🙂
Chris @ Shared Appetite says
You totally just made a sandwich with biscuits, didn’t you?! ! This is phenomenal, and a perfect day after Thanksgiving lunch idea! Biscuits make every sandwich like 1000x better, don’t they?!
justputzing says
They do!!! <3 <3 <3 biscuits
Carla (@charliesue) says
Yum, what fun little sliders! I love new ways for using up Thanksgiving leftovers!
justputzing says
Thanks! 🙂