Livin' the Dream in Lima

It's that time of week! Panini press time... This week's sandwich is a roast turkey sandwich with tangy goat cheese and sweet caramelized onions, on focaccia bread. Yes, Panera had some more exciting bread options this week.  I discovered a package of cranberry goat cheese hiding in my fridge from a Trader Joe's trip back in December - it was like finding a hidden treasure! I had totally forgotten about it. (No worries, it was still perfectly safe to eat.) I spread the bottom of the focaccia with the goat cheese. If you can find cranberry goat cheese, please  use it. It definitely ups the flavor of this panini. I imagine you might be able to mix dried cranberries into regular goat cheese as well. I then topped that with some roast turkey. We found the best turkey deli slices at Sam's Club... they actually taste like real meat, not slimy nasty stuff.  Then the caramelized onions. They take a bit of time but are so totally worth it. Then a bit...

...is Thanksgiving sandwiches. Yes, it might seem weird that I'm talking about using up leftover turkey when the real Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet.  However, typically I never have any leftover turkey. One of the downfalls of traveling for the holiday. So this is a first! We've got loads of turkey. (I'm definitely going to be freezing some so I can make some easy dinners during the month of December.) Have you ever seen the episode of Friends -  The One with Ross's Sandwich ? Ross took a turkey sandwich to work... and someone ate it. But it wasn't just any  turkey sandwich. It was a Thanksgiving leftover turkey sandwich. Specially made by Monica. With a moist-maker  -a gravy-soaked slice of bread in the middle.  If you haven't seen this episode, you must ASAP. Here's a link to a clip of Ross's hysteria: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrnCsrjysxI  . In fact, it might be a good idea to go and watch all the Thanksgiving episodes from ...

Yesterday, we got together with some friends of ours here in the Bean Town held a 'Friends-giving' Celebration. Basically an excuse to have a preview of the real Thanksgiving coming on Thursday. And thank goodness for Thanksgiving. (Can I get an amen for a 5-day weekend?) I volunteered to take bird duty, and we hosted it at our house. I'm no stranger to cooking turkeys... back in college, we held an annual 'Thanksgiving Extravaganza' for our cross country team. I always made the bird (sometimes even two!), and everybody else (25+ people) supplied all the sides and desserts. It was always a great time. Thanksgiving Extravaganza circa 2009 Things always got a little crazy. Back in college, I didn't really focus on preparing a delicious, beautiful-looking turkey. I just wanted it to be edible and not make anybody sick. (And when you're cooking for college boys, they don't really know the difference between succulent, moist turkey and plain o...