holiday-leftover sandwiches

What I both love and hate the most about post-holiday season are the leftover food.  I hate it because I don't enjoy eating tira-tira.  But I love it because Christmas food is often of the special-sumptuous variety (why, why, why is holiday ham available only in the holidays?) , and as long as I keep things refrigerated, I wouldn't have to cook for a few days.  :p

Leftovers don't have to go to waste, but they don't have to look like leftovers either.  I like to pile some of the holiday ham and holiday cheese onto wheat bread and pretend I'm eating gourmet sandwiches.


pear, cheese and ham

I got the idea from Cameron of  Modern Family.  I was marathon-ing that sitcom yesterday, and in one of the episodes Uncle Cam said his favorite was PB&J - pear, brie and jambon. We don't have any brie around, but we do have a medium-sized queso de bola.

Most Pinoys have a habit of buying at least a dozen kinds of fruits for New Year (the superstitious believe it's for good luck, but I think most people just want something to snack on), so you will probably have a pear or two around the house.  Apple would be good too.

You will need a few slices of:

• Pear (or apple)
• Queso de bola
• Christmas ham

Optional:
Lettuce
Mayo or jam

chicken salad samwich

Lechon manok is a Pinoy go-to ulam. Chances are, someone brought a variation of roast chicken to one of the gatherings you attended, and then put some of it aside in a Tupperware for you to take home.  If  you've gotten sick of chicken, chicken and more chicken, turn it into a sandwich.

You will need:

• Shredded chicken
• Celery, finely chopped
• Mayo
• Salt and Pepper

Combine ingredients and spread on bread.


tomato, cheese and basil

You will need:

• Cheese (I personally prefer cream cheese or cottage, or kesong puti on pandesal, but since we're consuming the leftover cheese in our crisper, I'd have to go with queso de bola again).
• Fresh basil leaves
• Tomatoes (not the tart, native variety; sweet fat salad tomatoes are best)