The Moist-Maker

Christmas is undoubtably and undeniably  upon us. A fact that I am both hugely excited about but also a little indifferent about.  I think the indifference comes from the year i’ve had which I guess is understandable.  I’m still not 100% so the last thing I really care about is being all fussy about organising things but this is a good thing in a way.  Christ,as is washing over me.  No fuss, no nonsense.  It is what it is and I will be at the cottage with The Viking, eating too much and watching TV.  If I get out of my pyjamas for 10 days it will be a miracle.  Of course food will always play a big part but i’m not planning on doing a huge amount of cooking… what I am planning though is to make enough on the big day for left-overs…

The Moist-Maker – the ultimate left-over Christmas sandwich.

If anyone out there is like me (and I believe that there must be some…) I actually much prefer the whole left-over Christmas food rather than the main event itself. It’s possibly a chef thing, the person in control of cooking the lunch just doesn’t have the time to truly enjoy it, all that stress and getting the timing right that by the time you actually sit down to eat you’re really not enjoying it all that much and then there’s the Christmas pudding to get on. So, for many of us, getting the chance to relax a few hours later and eat some of the food you’ve taken so long to prepare, without the hassle, is the best part of the Christmas meal.

I love a sandwich. Anything between two giant wedges of bread is good but particularly left-overs. There’s something genius about creating the perfect combination of ingredients that delivers the ultimate mouthful of Christmas lunch, with some added extras, that is comfort food at its best and The Moist-Maker is, in my opinion the ultimate version of this. Any fans of the 90’s TV show Friends will no doubt have heard of The Moist Maker. It’s the sandwich that Ross creates and leaves in the fridge at work, only to be stolen by a colleague to much consternation and loss of temper. My version is an adaptation of his but includes the all important gravy-soaked turkey at the heart of the sandwich. It is epic and unbeatable and I insist you take yourself away from the crowds, find a silent moment and create it and eat it.

Obviously the below is essentially a recipe for how to assemble left-overs and you can really use any left-overs you like, I’ve shown my favourites but feel free to use whatever you love. I believe stuffing is an essential as is a slaw of some kind as this adds a ‘salad’ element without being full blown leaves… but of course the essential bit is the gravy-soaked turkey. So hold onto your little paper hats, here we go.

Ingredients

• 2 slices of your favourite bread – I prefer a classic farmhouse loaf – chunky cut
• cranberry sauce
• 2 – 3 thick slices of left-over turkey
• left-over gravy – this is essential
• assorted left-over vegetables
• left-over stuffing
• coleslaw

So first, let’s start with the turkey… we’re using cold turkey and cold gravy, no re-heating nasty bugs here. Before you construct your sandwich the first thing to do is pour some left-over gravy into a bowl and slide your turkey trimings into it and let them sit for 5 mins whilst you start to build.

Next we move onto the bread, my preference is a light toast, just to add crunch as most of the ingredients are quite soft it’s nice to have that added texture.

Now to start building – start with your bottom layer and spread generously with butter, followed by the stuffing – I like to smoosh the stuffing into the bread – then layer up, vegetables, coleslaw, turkey, potatoes, more veg and finally spread the top layer of toast generously with cranberry sauce before slapping it on top and pressing down to seal it all in.

It is quite frankly, perfection… I’m even thinking of serving these for Christmas lunch this year!

eat and of course, enjoy!