Barbra Streisand's 4-Ingredient Sandwich Helps Use Up Thanksgiving Leftovers

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It's nearly impossible to enter a record store or thrift shop without encountering a Barbra Streisand record. The legendary singer-slash-actress appeared on The Late Show to take the iconic Colbert Questionert (pronounced "questionaire") — a series of questions designed to "go straight to the heart" of interviewees, as host Stephen Colbert explains in another installation of the Questionert. Colbert expounds, "It takes a fair amount of courage, because these are all ergonomically designed to penetrate straight to your soul and reveal you to an audience."

Streisand appeared on the show to celebrate the release of her 992-page, 2023 autobiography, "My Name is Barbra" – which borrows the same name as her 1965, dual-Emmy-award-winning television special. After the series of 15 questions, says Colbert, "Barbra Streisand will be fully known. In ways that people who read a 1,000-page book that she wrote don't know her. Are you prepared to be known, Barbra?" Replies our hero, "I'm an open book!" The staple first question in the Questionert (quoth Stephen, to "ease" guests in) is: "What is the best sandwich?"

"It used to be tongue until I had tongue the other day, and ooh, no more," Streisand tells Colbert. "I would have to say turkey — dark turkey — with coleslaw and Russian dressing on Rye bread." Colbert notes, "Classy sandwich." Perhaps the sammy has even helped fuel her wins of all four major performing arts awards in North America: Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy.

The comfort food classic Streisand names as her favorite bears a striking resemblance to the Rachel sandwich. An American Jewish deli staple, this cousin of the Reuben swaps corned beef and sauerkraut for turkey and coleslaw. Like the Reuben, the Rachel retains the elements of Russian dressing and rye bread; Streisand prefers her Rachel without the Swiss cheese. It's perhaps an apt favorite, considering the Rachel emerged from New York City's legendary Jewish deli scene; the Brooklyn-born actress, singer, author, and director put her artistic name on the map for portraying roles set in the milieu, such as "Yentl" (1983).

That dark turkey meat can also make Streisand's go-to Rachel spinoff a thrifty way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. In Streisand's favorite sammy, instead of the oft-used leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce, the moisture component is a combination of Russian dressing and coleslaw. The use of coleslaw provides both a toothy textural element and a more savory profile than its cranberry counterpart, all housed between two slices of rye.

Streisand's active musical and on-screen career spans six decades – so iconic that her name alone has inspired artistic spinoffs from Duck Sauce's eponymous, viral dance hit "Barbra Streisand" to a dedicated scene in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Licorice Pizza" (2021). She has originated Broadway roles in "Hello, Dolly!" and "A Star is Born," and all that work takes fuel. After a turkey sandwich on rye, Streisand prefers her own "instant ice cream" above all other treats.