Seasonal Cravings

In the past, I've made this sandwich with plenty of substitutions: rye for pumpernickel, provolone slices for brie, raspberry jam for cranberry sauce. With something so simple to assemble, it's fun to play around with components, especially when you want to use only what you can find at the dining hall. But they're really a different sandwich than the one I was craving. When the first tangible signs of Fall blow into town, I start craving something seasonal.

Apparently my inner calendar is fast-forwarded by at least a month and the holiday I anticipating is Thanksgiving, not Halloween. Perhaps that's because I personally eat at least three full Thanksgiving meals on Turkey Day, which either makes a person love the food or loathe it. Thankfully, I love it so much that I just can't wait another month to have it and when the dining hall didn't have absolutely everything I needed, I just had to follow my grumbling gut to the store.

I didn't use anything from the dining hall this time and I really wish I had. What should have been a ten minute jaunt to Acme to grab some sandwich fixings turned into a thirty minute slog through congested aisles and stagnant check-out lines. There are three times when no one who values their sanity should brave the grocery store: before a snow storm, after a long rain storm, or the weekend before a major food holiday (and aren't they all food holidays? Christmas dinners, Halloween trick-or-treating, Thanksgiving feasts, Valentines baked goods, Fourth of July barbeques…). Two out of three applied today – brilliant foresight, Olivia.

Back in the tranquility of my suite, I unwrapped the turkey from its filmy deli plastic , dolloped out the cranberry sauce, coated the bread with a creamy layer of brie, and clicked the timer on the toaster oven over to eight minutes. As it ticked, the buzz of the crowds in Acme faded away into the sizzle of roasting turkey and melting brie. There's just something about the first real days of Fall that send me craving the sleepy sweetness of turkey and cranberries. Since it's too early for Turkey Day itself, what I needed was this preview of a full belly, set against the backdrop of falling leaves and falling temperatures. If I closed my eyes it almost tasted like November. Craving satisfied.

Ante-Turkey Day Sandwich

Bought at the store:

¼ pound turkey deli slices

brie cheese (spreadable)

pumpernickel bread

whole berry cranberry sauce

1. Spread brie thickly on the bread. Layer on turkey and cranberry sauce.
   
2. Toast for 5-10 minutes.
   

Enjoy!