Thanksgiving Stuffed Croissant!

Thanksgiving... that delicious time of the year when all of the classics make their appearance in abundant quantities only to sooth hungry eaters into a tryptophan induced slumber, before they wake up to a household filled with leftovers and only so many trips down Thanksgiving lane before they're sick of the turkey, stuffing, yam and cranberry combo.

Determined to not fall prey to the usual pitfall of reheating the same meal over & over, only to eventually throw out plates of week old turkey, I wanted to figure out a new way to snack on delicious Thanksgiving leftovers without feeling like I was stuck in a rut.  Then Momofuku walked in and saved the day.  Serious Eats posted a video of their November only Milk Bar Thanksgiving Croissant. Stuffing flavored croissant, minced turkey, gravy & mashed potatoes, sold.  The idea was great, but not going to lie, the execution looked a little, well, muddy.  I'm sure they taste fantastic, but visually they were pretty unappealing. I was missing the bright colors I normally associate with Thanksgiving, the deep red cranberry sauce, the bright green beans, the sweet orange yams etc.  So I decided to try it out for myself, but with a few of my own tweaks! 

Step 1: Portion out your leftovers into little stacks about the size of an iPhone, layering mashed potatoes, with stuffing, turkey, green beans and finally topping with a dollop of mushed yams.  Also add a few scoops of cranberry jam to the plate & freeze overnight. 

Step 2: Being lazy I started with store bought puff pastry, but this did inspire me to want to try and make my own croissants from scratch one day.  Let it come to room temperature & set aside.  Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 3: Cut your pastry in half on the bias to make two large triangles.  You might have to stretch them out a little to get them into an isosceles shape.  At the flat end, load up your frozen ingredients.  Then start rolling neatly, making sure to seal in the gaps. 

Step 4: Lay your Croissant on a greased cookie sheet.  Brush with an egg wash & then bake for about 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

Step 5: Let them cook on a wire rack & then serve while warm.

Step 6: Enjoy!!!

p.s. these also travel really well, keep refrigerated after they've cooled and then re-heat in a hot oven (or toaster oven) for 2-3 minutes.