Thanksgiving is in just one week, which means we’ve all got a whole lot of leftovers in our imminent future. I have always loved Thanksgiving leftovers, but they certainly lose their appeal after the second or third round. With that in mind, I’ve started to think about recipes that use Thanksgiving leftovers but with an end product that doesn’t feel like leftovers. Enter the cranberry grilled cheese, a deliciously gooey and tart sandwich that uses up your leftover cranberries (and comes together in a couple minutes!).
I came across the inspiration for this sandwich while on a long flight from L.A. to Chicago last week, which seemed to have a disproportionate number of screaming children and equally loud adults. I was lucky that I had two wonderful distractions to get me through the flight: this amazing book and the Bon Appetit Thanksgiving issue. Chock full of beautiful and creative ideas for the holiday, Bon Appetit’s recipe for a cranberry grilled cheese caught my eye immediately because of its simplicity. We all deserve an easy meal after a big day like Thanksgiving, don’t we? The sandwich comes together in just a couple of minutes, meaning you get to enjoy the days following Thanksgiving relaxing with your family (or waking up at 3am for a Black Friday sale…to each his own).
The nice thing about this sandwich is that you can easily customize the ingredients. I used chopped up fresh cranberries in mine (you’d think it would be too tart, but the maple mustard and sharp cheddar balance it out) but this would also be delicious with leftover cranberry sauce instead. The combination of cranberry and cheddar feels perfect to me, although I bet something like Swiss or Gruyere would be fantastic as well. Though I will say that you absolutely must add the maple mustard, because it really brightens up the sandwich with its sweet tangy flavor. So put your leftover cranberries to good use with this tasty little sandwich, sit back, and relax!
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 4 slices bread
- 1 cup sharp white cheddar, grated
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cranberries (or cranberry sauce)
- Butter (optional)
- In a small bowl, combine the dijon and maple syrup until blended.
- Add the maple dijon to two of the bread slices, followed by the cranberries and then the cheese. Top with the other slices (lightly buttered if desired).
- In a lightly greased pan, grill the sandwiches on both sides over medium heat until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
Note: Adapted from the cranberry grilled cheese in Bon Appetit’s Thanksgiving 2014 issue.
Yum – I like anything that involves melted cheese – looks great, Julia!
Thanks, Geraldine! I’m a melted cheese fan too…I just discovered this Wisconsin sharp cheddar at Trader Joe’s and can’t get enough of it!
Good thing you had some inspiration on that flight back to Chicago. Thats the thing with flying. You stuck with everyone on board and while that can be a good thing, it can also challenge one’s senses (especially if there are irritated children)!!
Good grief, Julia! What a fabulous combination and OMG, that maple dijon? Whaaaa???? Tangy yes, sweet yes…. paired with OMG gruyere?!!!! And those cranberries?! Stop IT!! I can see this on my grill pan with a press over it right now! Thank you for sharing this recipe! So excited!!
Your comments always make me smile, Traci! It’s definitely an ‘omg’ combination 🙂 I think my favorite part has to be the maple dijon. I have been putting maple syrup in everything lately, but I keep finding new ways to use it!
I for one cannot wait for Thanksgiving leftovers to try this maple mustard/fresh cranberry spread! This looks amazing!
Yes, I think you’ll be a big fan of this one! You have to try this Wisconsin sharp cheddar from Trader Joe’s. It’s delicious when melted!
I think I like holiday food leftovers more than I like the actual meal! Something about them tastes so much better the second time around, and the third, and the fourth…. haha! I have a big bag of cranberries in the kitchen right now and I also happen to have some bread and cheese around! These sandwiches look so good 🙂
I definitely know what you mean about Thanksgiving leftovers, Izzy! Especially something like cranberry sauce, which seems to hold up well for a while. I hope you enjoy the sandwich!
I’m excited by several things here: the thought of Thanksgiving food (including leftovers), this recipe (which sounds really good — maybe like fruit with cheese fondue), and the shout out for David Mitchell (who is worthy of your praise).
I was hoping you’d notice the David Mitchell shout out! It’s saying something if a book can distract you from loads of screaming children. I think you’ll enjoy this recipe quite a bit – and I like your comparison to fruit with cheese fondue!
Simple and delicious. I love apple butter and grainy mustard on a grilled cheese, so I know a tangy sweet cranberry sauce would be terrific on it too, but I’d never thought of it before.
Thanks, Katie! Apple butter and grainy mustard sounds like a fantastic combination too. Adding something tart is such a nice and simple way to spice up a sandwich.
Wow, this looks so amazing! I’m definitely going to make this with leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving.
Thank you, Emily! Yes, this is such a fun way to use up cranberry sauce. Have a great Thanksgiving!