Tag: poultry

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Gadgets for the Cook

By Fran Hill

I like to think that I am not a gadget person. Gadgets take up precious space, often require outlets in places that our 100-year-old home probably doesn’t have an outlet, and overall just seem like more trouble than they are worth.

This past year, I have also been working on minimalizing my…umm…hoard…err…possessions. Like many others, it seems that I just have too. much. stuff. Gadgets are some of the first things finding their way into the “donate” bins.

So, with all that being said, here I am recommending two gadgets for making things easier in the kitchen. A food processor and a mandolin slicer were key in the simplicity of prep for a weeknight meal of pecan-crusted chicken and au gratin potato stacks. Certainly, a quality knife and a steady hand could produce the same results, but with time often an issue when dinner rolls around on Monday through Friday, I am endorsing a couple of gadgets to ease the load.

A food processor creates the perfect texture when chopping toasted pecans for the chicken. Bigger chunks give substance to the breading, but the finer pieces created by pulses of the sharp blade coat the chicken beautifully in a uniform crust. The contrast of sweet, but tangy mustard and nutty pecans marry deliciously with juicy baked chicken.

I have a full-size food processor that was a Christmas gift many years ago, and have found numerous uses for it, but many smaller versions are available that would more than suit the requirement of chopping nuts for a crumb coating. Pulsing hard cheeses, homemade salad dressings, crushing spices, and even making nut butters will make the gadget more than just a one-hit wonder.

Some might scoff at the necessity of a mandolin slicer in every kitchen, but I assure you that once you have whipped out a plethora of perfect slices of potato, cucumber, onion, apple, carrot, zucchini, celery, or any firm fruit or vegetable for your waiting recipe, you will agree that mandolins are magic. In seconds…if you are careful…a large potato is a pretty stack with butter and cream. Baking time for the au gratin stacks is reduced by the personal size of muffin tin gratins making a creamy, cozy, comforting side dish that is meant for a weeknight. Do please be careful, though. Mandolins are quite sharp, and bloody potatoes are not that tasty. (Unfortunately, I speak from experience.)

In my opinion, a food processor and a mandolin slicer are two gadgets definitely worth it to get pecan-crusted chicken and au gratin potato stacks onto your plate in minimal time. What gadgets do you love?

Pecan-Crusted Chicken

Adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray

1 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 cup bread crumbs (Panko adds more crunch; regular help form a more uniform crust.)
1 teaspoon dried basil
4, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup honey mustard

Preheat oven to 400F. Using a food processor, chop the pecans into fine crumbs. Transfer to a plate and combine with bread crumbs and basil. Rub each chicken breast with honey mustard, then coat with the pecan mixture. Arrange on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until the juices run clear, 15 to 20 minutes. Serves 4.

Au Gratin Potato Stacks

Adapted from Everyday Food by Martha Stewart

2 medium russet potatoes
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease 6 cups of a muffin tin with a little butter. Thinly slice the potatoes with a mandolin slicer. Place 2 slices of potato in each cup, brush with melted butter, and season with salt and pepper. Continue adding potatoes, brushing with additional butter and seasoning every few slices, until cups are filled. Pour 1 tablespoon of heavy cream over each. Bake until potatoes are golden brown and tender, 30-35 minutes. Run a knife around each gratin to release from cup and serve. Serves 4-6.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their two dogs ranch near Colome.


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Fowl Balls

By Laura Andrews

One of my jobs here at South Dakota Magazine is to call people to verify dates, time and activities for the events you see in each issue’s Traveler section and in our online calendar. It’s fun to talk to people and learn what’s happening around South Dakota, but every now and then, an event puzzles me. For example, do you know how to race minnows? The concept was new to me, but it’s one of the activities at the Rhubarb Festival up in Leola. So I asked Leola’s City Finance Officer, Candice Kappes, what a minnow race was. Her response?”They race minnows.”

Ok, but HOW? Minnows can’t run. You can’t mark them the same way you’d mark a turtle or a plastic duck, and I have no idea how you’d make a racecourse in a tank of water. Turns out Candice has never seen the races either, so she’s going to check them out at the festival on June 1 and let me know how it works.

When I called folks in Huron to find out about Turkey Races, I came across another stumper. I wasn’t puzzled by the races themselves — they’re simple, goofy fun designed to raise money for local causes. Two-person teams, often wearing costumes, coax live racing turkeys from the local Hutterite colony across the finish line. The group with the fastest turkey wins a $1000 nest egg. There are other activities, too — Ringer the Ringneck Pheasant and other local characters compete in a mascot race. The land ski races are similar in awkwardness to the classic sack race — four-person teams strap their feet to two 2x4s and see how far they get.

But the part that puzzled me was the fowl balls.”I’ve never heard of those before — are they some kind of turkey meatball?” I asked. There a brief moment of hemming and hawing on the other end of the line. Turns out fowl balls are the avian equivalent of Rocky Mountain oysters. Aha!

John Hott, Plant Manager of Dakota Provisions, introduced Huron to the testicular tradition. They’re known as turkey fries back in his home state of West Virginia, but acquired the”fowl ball” moniker at Sioux Falls Stadium, where they were once served during Canaries baseball games.

Hott’s ball-handling method is simple:”We cut them into bite-sized pieces about the size of a piece of popcorn chicken, then bread them and deep fry them.” Hott uses a hot and spicy Cajun seasoning to give the nut meats some pizzazz. Then they go in the deep fryer. Wait until the balls bob to the surface, then cook for another ten minutes or so.”I like to go off of the color. You want to make sure they’re a nice golden-brown color,” Hott advises.”Once they start floating, you’d think they’d be done, but obviously you don’t want to bite into a raw testicle.”

The fowl ballers are offering a new product this year. In honor of the Huron Baseball Association, recipient of this year’s race proceeds, they’ll be serving bats — smoked turkey drumsticks injected with Cajun seasoning — along with the balls. Ask for ’em at the fowl ball stand at Turkey Races in downtown Huron on Friday, May 17.

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Spring Chickens

By Fran Hill

It is the time of year when chicken coops at the area farm supply stores taunt me. Cute, wooden-framed, wired cages that would fit perfectly in the back corner of our yard beg for clucking chicks to fill them. I dream of fresh eggs and gloss over the”harvest” portion of having a roasted chicken in my oven that I personally raised. Then, reality hits. Not only would my hunting-bred dachshunds have a field day with captive fowl (they already terrorize the squirrels and rabbits), but the fact is, I.Am.Lazy. Very lazy.

Chickens aren’t cute balls of fluff that can stand in the palm of your hand for an Easter photo op and then magically turn to glorious egg-laying creatures. They are livestock. Livestock, even a backyard chicken coop, is work. A lot of work. Chickens require feed, and water, and cleaning the coop, and much more tending than my lazy self would be willing to handle day after day after never-ending day.

As a friend from The Outdoor Campus says,”Animals have a place in the world: wild animals should stay wild, farm animals belong on a farm, and pets are for home.” Their offices are often overrun with calls from the well-meaning who have purchased a cute duck or chick for Easter and are overwhelmed when the fowl grows into the livestock it was bred to be. A bit later in the season, the wildlife experts will chime again and again, “If you care, leave it there” when calls turn to”rescues” of what seem to be abandoned wild critters. We, the public, are kind people — we just aren’t always that smart when it comes to animals.

For many of us, reality is that the poultry best suited for us has been raised by someone else and is already butchered, ready to prepare in our kitchens. Even better might be a rotisserie chicken with skin basted and browned to perfection and tender, juicy breasts and thighs. That suits even the laziest among us.

Walk away from the baby chicks and architecturally beautiful chicken coops. Shred that rotisserie chicken (or your own grilled or roasted chicken); toss with some flavorful, Tex-Mex seasonings; stir together some beans and salsa; add a little cheese; and wrap up in a tortilla for a delicious burrito. Toast that plump tortilla wrap in a hot skillet and serve with corn chips and additional salsa on the side. Easy, delicious, and puts the chicken right where it was meant to be: In.My.Tummy.

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

Adapted from Cooking Light

1/4 cup water
Juice of one lime
1/2 teaspoon Ancho chile powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper
2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie, grilled, or roasted)
1/4 cup green onions, sliced
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup salsa (refrigerated, canned, or fresh homemade)
4 8-inch flour tortillas
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Cooking spray

Bring first six ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in shredded chicken and green onions. Combine beans and salsa. Spoon 1/4 cup bean mixture and 1/2 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla; sprinkle with cheese. Roll up. Heat a large skillet; coat with cooking spray. Add 2 burritos. Place cast-iron or other heavy skillet on top of burritos, and cook for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and repeat for remaining 2 burritos. (Serves 4.)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.


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My Thing

By Fran Hill

Without a doubt, my mother-in-law’s specialty was fried chicken. A true farm woman, she raised hundreds of chickens, butchered them with practiced precision, and fried them up to golden perfection … if you like fried chicken. Quite honestly, I don’t really care for it. This has always been a bone of contention with Hubs’ family. They are fried chicken junkies. If there would have been a vote before the wedding, I probably would have been voted out. Their love of fried chicken is that strong, and my indifference matches it.

A couple of times, I did try to fry chicken for Hubs. Every time, I was told that it wasn’t like his mom’s. I shelved the vats of hot oil, and tried to make oven fried chicken my thing, but my heart wasn’t in it. The skin, the bones, getting your hands all messy while gnawing on a drumstick, it all just wasn’t for me.

However, I do have a deep and abiding love for Chicken Fried Chicken. Buttermilk dipped, butter cracker crumb coated, and fried to crispy excellence, Chicken Fried Chicken has all the incredible indulgences of fried chicken without the bones and skin that put me off. Plated with garlic mashed potatoes, corn in butter sauce and lots of peppered milk gravy, this is my thing.


Chicken Fried Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/4-1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4-1 cup buttermilk
1-2 cups finely crushed buttery crackers (I usually need 1.5 sleeves of Club Crackers)
4 tablespoons peanut oil (or canola oil)


Preheat oven to 350F.
Pound the chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, using meat mallet or rolling pin; set aside. (This is the most awesome way to relieve tension.)
Combine flour and seasonings in a shallow dish.
Pour buttermilk into a second dish.
Spread crushed crackers on a plate.
Submerge chicken breasts, one at a time, into the buttermilk.
Dredge in seasoned flour.
Dip into buttermilk again, then into crushed crackers to coat thoroughly, pressing with fingertips to adhere.
Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken; cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. (Will have to do this one or two pieces at a time.)
Remove to oven safe platter or cookie sheet (I use a baking stone); place in oven to keep warm. (Serves 4)

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and their three dogs ranch near Colome.

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South Dakotans Flock to Poultry Crawl

By Heidi Marsh

Did you know it takes approximately half the soybean harvest in Minnehaha County to feed our state’s poultry? Neither did I until last night when my husband Craig (the agronomist) and I attended a Poultry Crawl in Sioux Falls.

The Crawl, hosted by Ag United and the Poultry Association, was a progressive dinner that served poultry-based dishes prepared by three of Sioux Falls’ most popular chefs. We started the evening with a delicious turkey wrap and chicken skewer appetizer at K Restaurant. Chef Sanaa, owner of Sanaa’s Mediterranean restaurant, delighted us with a rice and turkey main dish. The night ended at Josiah’s Coffeehouse, where Steve Hildebrand gave credit for his delicious pie crusts to none other than good eggs!

The food was outstanding, but even more enlightening was the discussion with South Dakota poultry producers. Representatives from Dakota Provisions turkey in Huron, Dakota Layers eggs in Flandreau, Hy-Line North America genetics and others offered their expertise about the industry. Here’s just a few tidbits I learned:

  • If you enjoy the Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT from Panera, you’re eating turkey that’s raised on a South Dakota Hutterite Colony and processed in Huron.
  • Flandreau is being overtaken by hens! The hen population at Dakota Layers is over 500 times larger than the city population … that’s 1.3 Million busy little layers.
  • South Dakota currently ranks first in goose production.
  • City chicks in Sioux Falls? You bet! You can legally raise chickens in your backyard as long as the flock is maintained and kept in a coop. Visit HomeGrown Sioux Falls for more information.

Ag United hosts a variety of similar events all with the goal to educate and promote South Dakota farm and ranch families. Visit their website for more information.

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Out of the Mouths of Babes

By Fran Hill

When I am not preparing fabulous recipes to share here at South Dakota Magazine and on my blog, I sometimes work as a substitute teacher in the local school district. My career in education began with a stint as a special education aide and has wound its way through every classroom in both the elementary and high school at one time or another. There are so many stories that I could tell to make you smile, chuckle, belly laugh, blush and even cry. The students really are the best part of the job.

The other day, I had the pleasure of spending time with the second grade class. They were tired but wired after a state championship football game at the Dome the night before. While our Cowboys didn’t win, my young class was still extremely proud of the football team, and talk of the game worked its way into almost every subject that day. I find it awesome that this group of students is so uninhibited with sharing opinions, ideas, and praise.

When we headed to the lunch room for our mid-day break, I grabbed my ham and cheese on wheat sandwich and the apple I had packed that morning. After a little silence as the hungry students inhaled their lunches, the candid chatter began once again. It was at this time that the little boy sitting across from me asked why I wasn’t eating the other half of my sandwich. I explained that after also eating the entire large Honeycrisp apple, I was full. Without missing a beat, he replied that I should eat it anyway because I would be hungry later.

You know what? Out of the mouths of babes; he was right.

By the time classes were dismissed that day, I was starving. I couldn’t wait to get home and raid my cupboards. It took discipline not to hit up Hubs’ stash of potato chips, and dinner couldn’t come soon enough that night. I should have listened to that second grade wisdom.

This Open-Faced Hot Chicken Sandwich with Mushroom Gravy isn’t the kind of sandwich that I would normally pack in my lunch, but it is the kind of comforting meal that fills you up. Juicy, seasoned chicken cutlets top hearty toast and swim in a deliciously creamy gravy. Nobody will have to tell you to swirl your fork around to gather every last drop of the savory goodness. You won’t be hungry later.

Open-Faced Hot Chicken Sandwich with Mushroom Gravy

Adapted from Rachel Ray

4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 large shallot, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (plus additional for garnish)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 slices hearty bread, such as sourdough or potato, toasted

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken and cook until golden on each side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Add 3 tablespoons of butter to the skillet and slightly lower the heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and cook until tender. Sprinkle in the flour and stir while cooking. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cream, parsley and mustard. Cook until the gravy thickens. Brush the toast with the remaining butter and top with the chicken cutlets. Cover with gravy and garnish with additional chopped parsley. Serves 4.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.


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Our Vinegar Town

By Katie Hunhoff

Roslyn was best known as the birthplace of Myron Floren until Lawrence Diggs moved to town and opened the International Vinegar Museum. Now the tiny town of 183 is visited by people from across the country who want to learn more about vinegar and see a slice of small town life.

Diggs was living in San Francisco when he purchased some balsamic vinegar and wanted to find out how to make his own.”I started tracking down information and borrowing books from around the world,” Diggs told us when we interviewed him for South Dakota Magazine.”The more I found out, the more interested I got.” He not only found out how vinegar was made, but he uncovered the sociological, historical and economic aspects of the versatile liquid.

He relocated to Roslyn in 1989. Townspeople opened their handsome old brick town hall to Diggs when he decided to pursue opening a vinegar museum. Since then, Diggs has also published books and traveled across the U.S. and overseas to teach others about vinegar.

Volunteers from a non-profit group called CARE (Community Advancement of Roslyn and Eden) took over museum operations in 2008. One of the museum highlights is vinegar tasting. A variety of flavors are available; several you wouldn’t associate with vinegar, like tequila lime, strawberry champagne and raspberry. Museum volunteer Mary Wagner said some visitors buy vinegar by the case.

The museum is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Friday through Sunday. A $2 fee is charged, but”instant scholarships” are awarded for anyone who finds it a hardship. The museum also hosts the annual Vinegar Festival, to be held on June 16 in 2012. Call 605-486-0075 for more information.


Chicken Adobo

Editor’s note: this recipe originally appeared in the July/August 1996 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To subscribe, call 800-456-5117.

This is a traditional dish of the Philippines, usually served with rice and, Diggs told us, the chicken’s head. Diggs encourages cooks to add cinnamon or nutmeg to this stew and make your own call on the chicken head.

In a large pot, place the following ingredients:

1 chicken, cut into small pieces
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 bay leaf
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons salt
5 peppercorns
2 mild red peppers

Chop the peppers if you want a hotter, spicier stew. Otherwise, add them whole near the end of the cooking time for a milder flavor. Cook slowly, until chicken starts to come off bones and gravy begins forming. If the stew is too sour, add a little more water. Remove some of the oil if desired.

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Smells Like Feet But Good to Eat

By Fran Hill

Today, I am thinking about feet. Summer brings sandal season, and let’s face it, most of our feet have been neglected all winter. They. Are. Gross. We need a collective pedicure. (And guys, I am talking to you, too.) You don’t have to get all frou-frou with polish, but a good scrubbing with a pumice stone and trimming the nails is never a bad thing. Truly. Feet aren’t pretty, but they do carry us around and deserve a little respect. It doesn’t matter if you frugally tend to your tootsies at home or splurge on a professional salon service. Give everyone around you a break and offer your feet some love. Don’t air your dirty toes to the world. Don’t make the world smell like feet.

“Smells like feet.” That is what someone told me this spring when I made Curried Chicken and Rice Soup. They walked into my kitchen, sniffed the air, asked me if I was cooking, and then proclaimed that it smelled like feet. Ouch.

I don’t believe my pot of soup smelled like feet, but I guess everyone doesn’t hotfoot it for curry. This mix of savory and sweet spices pairs so well with chicken and rice, but it can be an acquired taste/flavor/smell/aroma. The amount of heat varies depending on the type of curry powder you use…start small, if you aren’t accustomed to it. A little dill and lemon brighten this soup (like a pedicure will for your tired feet), and I think it is warming and delicious. If you have to make the world smell like feet, Curried Chicken and Rice Soup is the way to do it.

Curried Chicken and Rice Soup

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 medium carrots, sliced diagonally
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
6 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
3/4 cup jasmine rice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Combine chicken, carrots, bay leaf and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan or stock pot. Add 3 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is just firm, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in another saucepan. Add the onion, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and the remaining 3 cups of stock. Increase heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from its broth and shred the meat into pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the same broth. Using an immersion blender, puree a portion of the rice mixture. This will slightly thicken the soup. Combine with the shredded chicken and broth; bring to a simmer. Toss in the chopped dill and serve soup with lemon wedges to squeeze into bowls. Serves 4.

Fran Hill has been blogging about food at On My Plate since October of 2006. She, her husband and two dogs reside near Colome.

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Here Comes the Goosemobile

Editor’s Note: This article is revised from the story “25 Years of Foods,” which appeared in the September/October 2010 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call 800-456-5117.

Tom Neuberger and the South Dakota Goosemobile will be crisscrossing the state again this summer.

A brown cardboard box is nearly the same color as a fine pumpkin pie, but it doesn’t taste the same. So it is with meat and poultry, according to Tom Neuberger, creator of the Goosemobile. He believes that a bird that roams free, dirt-scratching and insect-pecking on the open range, will taste better than one raised in a 12-inch-square wire pen with antibiotics, hormones and other chemicals.

That theory got a severe test in 1984 when Tom and his wife, Ruth, fattened 3,500 geese the natural way and found themselves without a market. They processed the geese and hit the road in a refrigerated bus. The Goosemobile was such a success that they’ve been traveling South Dakota ever since.

Now they offer geese along with natural organic beef, pork, lamb, chicken, duck, flax, down comforters and feather pillows.

If Goosemobile meats didn’t taste better than store-bought, the Neubergers would be home by the fireplace at night. Instead, they’re crisscrossing South Dakota, greeting customers by their first names and proving that there is more than one way to survive on a farm.

Where is the Goosemobile?

This”Mobile Meat Market” may be coming to a town near you. Watch for Tom & Ruth at the Falls Park Farmers Market in Sioux Falls on Saturdays starting May 7, and at locations in the Black Hills August 31st. They’ll also be delivering CSA shares to Mitchell and South Dakota Local Food Co-op orders to members in Brookings this summer.

The Neubergers recommend calling ahead to place your order. Email them at goosedown@unitelsd.com or call 605-296-3314. You’re also welcome to visit them at their farm near Canistota — but call first to make sure they’re home.

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Gobble, Gobble : Turkey and Apple Sandwiches

Today we welcome a new food columnist, Fran Hill, to the South Dakota Magazine site. You may remember her from our Mar/Apr 2010 issue. Fran’s been sharing recipes and stories from her kitchen in Colome on her blog On My Plate since October of 2006. In her first column for us, she shares some of her leftover turkey secrets.


By Fran Hill

With Thanksgiving comes turkey, and with turkey comes leftovers. It is only natural for my food thoughts to turn to turkey sandwiches.

I love a mini turkey “slider” (although, truth be told, I was eating these long before “sliders” became popular and hit every trendy menu from here to eternity). King’s Hawaiian Rolls are purchased just for sandwiches with leftover turkey. Dressing (yes, dressing with giblets, celery, and lots of sage) gets piled on with slices of turkey and big dollops of cranberry sauce. The sandwich gets tossed into the microwave just for a few seconds to heat the dressing, and I am almost in danger of throwing out my jaw in order to open my mouth wide enough for the first bite. It is pure post-Thanksgiving heaven for me.

However, there are several other sandwiches that rank highly for the turkey that makes it past the Thanksgiving table. A Turkey and Apple Sandwich slathered with Cranberry Mayonnaise is awesome, too. I love the crunch that crisp, fall apples provide against the creamy tartness of the cranberry mayonnaise. Spinach is a nice addition, and thinly sliced red onion or even a slice of sharp cheddar are also great.

What is going to be on YOUR turkey sandwich?

Turkey and Apple Sandwich with Cranberry Mayonnaise

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2-4 tablespoons cranberry sauce (homemade or canned; I have used both because who makes cranberry sauce from scratch when you want a turkey sandwich in May?)

Dash of cayenne pepper

Sliced turkey (leftover roasted is the best, but deli turkey works for those non-Thanksgiving cravings)

Baby spinach, thinly sliced red onion, sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever floats your boat on your sandwich)

One tart apple, thinly sliced

Whole grain bread (I used Ciabatta sandwich rolls this time, but any good, hearty bread is suitable.)

Combine the mayonnaise, cranberry sauce and cayenne in a small bowl. Taste. Add a little salt, if you desire, or more cranberry sauce to up the pucker. Spread a portion of the Cranberry Mayonnaise on one slice of bread. Layer sliced turkey and your choice of fixings on the mayo-slathered bread. Top with the thinly sliced apple (and more mayo, if you desire). Crown each sandwich with another slice of bread. Enjoy.