Mini-Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Every year after my annual holiday party I have leftovers.  The leftovers are sometimes complete dishes like pate or crab-artichoke dip.  Sometimes I have ingredients that didn’t get used for some reason.  Generally there’s a little of both.  In the days after the party I challenge myself to find ways to use the remaining dishes and ingredients and this exercise can lead to new recipes. 

One of my favorite things from this year was a riff on an Eggs Benedict recipe.  I split and toasted the little sandwich buns that had been used for pulled-porked sandwiches, topped this with some of the leftover crab and artichoke dip, topped that with more fresh Dungeness crab and finished it off with a perfectly poached egg.  I’m sorry there are no photos but I was too busy devouring it every time I made it! 

Another simple thing I made and loved were these mini-cheese sandwiches.  I had a full loaf of cocktail-sized rye bread leftover from the party so this was my lunch for several days.  I used a little medium cheddar and a little extra-sharp cheddar between the slices, buttered the outsides and grilled them.  I thought about using some of the other cheeses I had around but I loved the cheddar combination so much that I never did.  I think these mini-sandwiches may make an appearance at a future party.

You’ve heard the expression that necessity is the mother of invention?  Well, needing to use leftovers can certainly prove that true!