Three Delicious Holiday Tea Sandwich Recipes To Help You Dress Up Your Leftovers

Today’s post comes to you from a different brunch club — Milan, the chef and baker behind @to.brunch.club! She creates amazing menus and popups at various cafés around the city — she’s also currently offering a delicious selection of Christmas cookies! Go check her out for brunch inspo or private catering menus… or just keep reading to learn how to use up your holiday leftovers in a more delicious way than you’ve ever done before.

Hi everyone! Tatiana and I first met at one of  the pop-up events I hosted in 2018 and we bonded over our shared love of breakfast. When she said she was looking for holiday-themed brunch ideas, I immediately wanted to talk about how I use the flavors of things we know and love to create new recipes! I’m sharing with you, three tea sandwich recipes for a High Tea Brunch for the morning after a holiday feast.  

All three tea sandwiches are vegetarian, and although I am not strictly vegetarian, I am very  environmentally conscious. The resources it takes to raise animals motivates me to ensure nothing  goes to waste. In addition to reimagining holiday flavors, I’d also like to share some ideas about  reimagining leftovers so you can make the most out of the food you buy! 

Keep reading if you’d like to learn how to make all three of the delicious sandwiches pictured above.

Sandwich 1: The Cranberry Sauce 

Fillings: Goat cheese, cream cheese, leftover stuffing, peppery greens (arugula, spring mix, baby kale), cranberry sauce 

Assembly: I’d recommend assembling this sandwich on a mild, friendly bread (like a country bread, or pullman loaf).

1. Lightly butter one side of two slices of bread. This prevents your tea sandwich from getting soggy. 

2. Crumble your goat cheese and work in a little bit of cream cheese (start with 2 parts goat cheese, 1 part cream cheese). Adding a bit of cream cheese helps goat cheese spread and also makes a milder-tasting filling, especially if you're not crazy about goat cheese (you're wrong, but we still accept you). 

3. Spread the goat cheese on one slice of bread; season with salt to taste. 

4. Add some left over stuffing. Choose the crispiest bits, which will add a great texture. 

5. Add a few dollops of cranberry sauce, top with your peppery greens, and close up the sandwich.  

6. Trim the crusts if you're feeling fancy!

Sandwich 2: The Gravy 

Fillings: hard boiled eggs (about 2 per sandwich), green onion (or chives), celery, apple, mayonnaise  (or Greek yogurt), leftover gravy, lemon juice, grainy mustard, dill, mild green lettuce (boston bibb,  romaine, or iceberg, etc.) 

Assembly: I love this egg salad on pumpernickle or dark rye. The earthiness really complements the creamy salad. 

1. Chop or smash (for a more varied texture) your hard boiled eggs. Finely chop your green onion  or chives, celery, and apple. For two eggs, you only need a few tablespoons of each add-in,  scale up accordingly. 

2. Mix a spoonful of mayonnaise with an equal amount of gravy (trust me on this, the gravy brings an incredible savory note to the dressing). Gradually add dressing to your chopped ingredients until it's just starting to hold together but is still fairly dry. As it sits, more liquid will get pulled out of the vegetables so it's better to add a bit less dressing initially.  

3. Add mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste (be generous with the pepper). Chop up a bit of dill and add it to the salad at the very end for some extra freshness.

4. Use lettuce leaves to protect your bread and add a generous dollop of the egg salad to the center. Press the sandwich together firmly and trim the crusts if you're feeling fancy. 

Sandwich 3: The Roasted Squash 

Fillings: Ricotta, lemon zest, leftover roasted veggies (carrots, squash, and sweet potato are all  great), honey, balsamic vinegar, toasted nuts (pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, etc.)

Assembly: Pick a seedy multigrain for this open-faced sandwich to really amp up the harvest vibes. 

1. Season your ricotta with salt and a generous amount of lemon zest. Store bought ricotta usually comes plain (more flexibility if you want to use it in a sweet recipe), and you'd be surprised at the difference a pinch of salt makes!

2. Dice up your leftover roast veggies nice and small. Reheat them if you'd like.

3. Butter and toast your bread. This is the time to cut them into nice even squares for aesthetics. 

4. Spread a layer of your lemon ricotta on the toast and pile the roasted veggies on top. 

5. Mix a large spoonful of balsamic vinegar with half a spoonful of honey for a quick almost balsamic reduction. Drizzle it artfully on your toast. 

6. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.  

Often breakfast is either a sleepy bowl of oats with lots of coffee or the iconic spread of eggs benny, home fries, pancakes, and orange slices. As much as I love the classics, I feel like there's so much more potential for brunch. The world of delicious food is vast, and why should we wait until dinner to  explore that?

This was my inspiration for starting The Brunch Club: I'm hoping to exercise my  creativity to bring you breakfast food in ways you've never experienced before. Hopefully, we can one day return to hosting events where I can share my passion with you in person, but until then, stay safe!

Pin these recipes to try later, and let us know in the comments what you think!