# Elevating Leftovers



## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

The other day a post on Red Meat prompted me to discuss a dish made of leftovers. Today at lunch I made a sandwich that I really enjoyed, and it got me to thinking that good use of leftovers is a worthy topic. We often have a turkey sandwich for lunch, but today it had several tasty twists. I had a small bit of a loaf of homemade buttermilk and honey white bread. I made a sauce of the last bit of leftover tartar sauce (mayonnaise, capers, pickle relish, and lemon juice) and the last bit of curry ketchup (ketchup, Maille Dijon, and curry powder) and spread the bread. I added a slice of Swiss, the last bit of a vinegar slaw (cabbage, red bell peppers, and red onions tossed in EVOO, cider vinegar, a little sugar, and a little Cholula), and some mesquite smoked turkey. I lightly buttered the outsides and put the sandwiches on the ridged griddle under a bacon press. The effect was vaguely reminiscent of a Reuben. I look forward to hearing of your successes (and noble attempts) to convert leftovers into things even more tasty!


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Very creative. Add four to six ozs. of corned beef to the recipe you shared in the post above and your sandwich would have tasted a whole lot like a Reuben. Inspirational...my friend, you have set my mind to work. On our next rip to the Base Commissary I'm going to have to pick up some shaved corned beef from the Deli counter!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

One of the best sandwiches I ever concocted was laid on a sourdough roll slathered with aioli that was then covered in left-over pot roast and slices of kosher dill pickle. It was so good that I started cooking pot roast somewhat regularly just to have the leftovers!


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Not exactly leftovers but a new thread called “hodgepodge” sounded excessive.

Rainy day lunch. SWMBO combined a can of Bush Southern style white beans and a can of Cento peeled tomatoes to which she added minced onion, bacon bits, a bit of sour cream, and some Herdez salsa casera. Delicious. Served with a flour tortilla.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^Sounds good.
I'll bet that would even work as a sunny evening early dinner!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

It would!


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Leftover taco meat (from tacos) and leftover cream cheese (from cream cheese and pears). Stuff cream cheese and meat into poblanos, top with Herdez salsa casera (medium), bake until pepper softens. Top with a drizzle of Herdez guacamole salsa. Serve with cheating street corn (corn slathered with a mix of mayonnaise, Sriracha, and lime and grilled), and a can of store brand (HEB) borracho beans.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

I tend to agree with your grandmothers but would substitute pasta for the potatoes. Anyway, tonight I grilled a 'giant pork chop' with pork belly and the leftovers will go into tomorrow's soup along with leftover white limas and japanese edible chrysanthemums. I'll probably toss in the other half of a kielbasa and a bunch of onions and carrots--and of course dry sherry.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

We had a cookout, celebrating Memorial Day, and egad, everyone seems to be on a diet. Consequently we have a cr*pload of leftover (already cooked) hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, etc. Now, just what in the hell's kitchen can I make with that? LOL.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Edible chrysanthemums taste like slightly bitter, mildly acid leaves.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Tod Hackett said:


> Exotically interesting to say the least - what, roughly speaking, do they taste like?
> 
> Cold hot-dogs with mustard and thinly sliced red onion/relish/chow-chow on long hard-rolls slathered with butter and topped with potato-salad and a dash of paprika washed down with even colder beer (who are we kidding, _beers_) might be a plan.
> 
> ...


Thank you, sir. for several creative and tempting solutions to my leftover dilemma! Perhaps the wife and I will put some of them to use for this evenings meal.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

TKI67 said:


> ... Herdez salsa ...


Herdez mild is my favorite Salsa!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

My father told me that my Italian grandmother used to put dandelion greens around a roast while it was cooking so that the fat and juices would drip down into them. I've often considered this but never have cause to cook an entire roast. Maybe a bed of dandelion under a roasting game hen? Rosemary branches certainly do wonderful things to the bird.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
Your post above makes me wish I had not been quite so diligent in weeding our yard. Rumor has it that there is not a single dandelion weed to be found...that's my story and I'm sticking to it! LOL.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

Oldsarge said:


> Edible chrysanthemums taste like slightly bitter, mildly acid leaves.


Why should I eat flowers?


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Tod Hackett said:


> Sounds like just the thing when doing something like mutton (try it, you'll like it!) where you 1) aren't planning to roast root vegetables along side or make a sauce from the drippings and 2) need to draw-off/neutralize a certain gaminess found in the rendered fat.
> 
> If I ever do a wild swine roast again (with sour cherry kompot, rye-bread knodel, cabbage salad or prune-plum knodel , mixed root vegetable mash, creamed spinach) in this lifetime, I'll certainly have to remember your grandmother's trick.
> 
> ...


I'm not terribly fond of tarragon but I do like mutton. Few people do but I am one who does. We got it fed to us in Germany in the mess hall once. Biggest damned lamb chop I ever saw! My comrades weren't impressed so I ate theirs.


Howard said:


> Why should I eat flowers?


Howard, you eat the leaves.


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Tod Hackett said:


> Ha! Well done!
> 
> You have to ask for French Tarragon at the garden center and plant your own. The Mexican and Bulgarian kind which for some reason seem to predominate in the markets here these days are good for what Mexicans and Bulgarians use them for but little else.


Tarragon does not like Texas summers. I've tried. Mexican marigold mint, however, likes it here and is an excellent tarragon substitute.


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Andy said:


> Herdez mild is my favorite Salsa!


Their salsa casera is so fresh tasting. It absolutely makes a breakfast taco.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Breakfast taco . . . or better yet, breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, bacon and Xtra sharp white cheddar. Yes, just as soon as I finish my first cup of coffee.


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Oldsarge said:


> Breakfast taco . . . or better yet, breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, bacon and Xtra sharp white cheddar. Yes, just as soon as I finish my first cup of coffee.


We may be talking about the same thing...eggs, etc. wrapped in a warm soft flour tortilla. I'm totally with you on the bacon and the sharp white cheddar. In Texas tacos often come in small, soft tortillas, corn or flour, as well as crispy corn, and my personal favorite, puffy corn that is neither raw nor crisp. Regardless of whether you call them tacos or burritos I love breakfast foods wrapped in soft flour tortillas. Some of the combinations around here that are popular include eggs and chorizo, refried black beans and Mexican mashed potatoes with green chili, and avocado with chunks of roasted potatoes. All of the above are usually topped with cheese. In addition to Herdez salsa I love a local salsa called Dona. It is roasted jalapeños and garlic, puréed with olive oil. It comes out pale green and first timers load up on it thinking it's avocado based. It is insanely zippy. I find it the perfect foil to black bean and mashed potato.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Eggs and chorizo is a classic as are eggs and machaca. And frijoles ******? Oh, delightful. But avocado and cottage fries? This require investigation.

How about avocado, lime, feta cheese and salsa of your choice? Man, I can just gobble those.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
Reading those last three posts by TKI67 and Oldsarge has incited my appetite.
It seems this morning is a good one for a fresh deli-baked bagel, piled high with cream cheese and lox!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

I can certainly think of worse combination, though my first choice would be bratwurst or sweet salciccio. And have you ever substituted the celery in potato salad with tart apple? It was a necessity because of my wife's allergy but it became a family favorite!


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

The sausage wrap, smoked sausage wrapped in a warm tortilla, is very common here. With a brat in the wrap it is an excellent beer buffer at Oktoberfest and a pleasant alternative to smoked turkey leg or pork chop on a stick. I like Todd’s idea of adding things as long as it remains safe one hand food. Maybe instead of crispy onions, which can be hard to manage, you could just use the onions that were in the beer when you boiled your sausages. If your sausages are just leftover hotdogs, they still might benefit from boiling in beer and onions! I’m fantasizing about a hot dog wrap with mustard, onions, and jalapeños. I think making piccalilli with jalapeños could be a good thing.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

I don't know why not. Like you said . . .


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Tod Hackett said:


> Nope - but potato salad a la Waldorf sounds interesting so it certainly goes on the to try list.
> 
> Thinking out loud - do you think a dash of curry would go with that? Potatoes, onions, apples, eggs all love curry...


Curry is such a versatile seasoning. Ironically I rarely use it in Indian food, but it is essential in egg salad and certain kinds of chicken salads. I even use a little in a dish of sautéed shrimp and onions with white wine and lemon! The one exception for Indian food is really more Navy food, lamb curry made from leftover roast lamb and gravy, topped with chopped bacon, chopped hard boiled egg, chopped peanuts, shredded coconut, piccalilli, Major Grey's chutney, fried onions, and watermelon pickle, all at once, over rice. It needs lots of good old curry powder.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

A dear friend of my parents, having nursed her husband through terminal cancer, decided to join the Peace Corps and was sent to Kenya. She liked it so much, she re-upped! Anyway, one of the things she brought back was a recipe for Kenyan curry which consisted of a spicy, thick lamb stew (I suspect the original was goat) which was served over rice and then topped with whatever fresh fruit was in season and garnished with peanuts, shredded coconut and salsa. It didn't matter how small a serving of rice you tried to start with, by the time you got to the end of the buffet line, your plate was heaping. And by the end of the meal, it was licked clean! I really need to throw a party and serve that around mid-summer . . .


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Tod Hackett said:


> Aces!
> 
> Deep-six the hard-boiled egg and I am all aboard on that one.
> 
> ...


Would that have been down in Cajun country? Sounds . . . attractive.


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

Yesterday I was going to braise some country ribs, but we got sidetracked delivering nibbles and visiting with a dear friend who is undergoing chemo. We got home around 6:30; so a braise wasn’t in the cards. I found the last bit of a nice ham and a last few Hatch chilis that I fished from the bottom of the freezer. Cacio e pepe is already one of my favorite quick meals. Toss some chopped up Hatch chilis and lardons of ham into the pepper laden butter, and then proceed as usual. It’s a change to an already great recipe, but I like it even better.


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

A few leftover steamed new potatoes, diced, and a little leftover skirt steak, thinly sliced. Tossed into a skillet with a little peanut oil, seasoned liberally with steak rub, fried until the potatoes are crisp, rolled in hot flour tortillas with scrambled egg and melted cheese and fresh salsa. Washed down with a hot mug of Vienna roast.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Last night I hosted the Clackamas Friends of the Library Garden Fundraiser Tour hosts for a gigantic potluck. I insisted that the guests come back for seconds and then take home everything that had been brought. Leftovers? Sometimes too much of a good thing is hazardous! Tonight I shall dine delicately on a basil omelette with aiolí on w/w french roll topped with sweet potato leaves--and glass of wine.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^(in response to post #40)
That sounds like it would make for a mighty fine breakfast. Throw in a bit of chorizo and I will be right over!


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Make that _two_ glasses of wine. I'm saving the last of the bottle for the reduction sauce with tomorrow's cajun rabbit leg with sweet potato and roasted asparagus . . . and more wine.


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

I had leftover pulled pork, and I was craving tacos al pastor. Alas, I quickly discovered I was out of most peppers and the can of pineapple chunks had disappeared. Undaunted I put the pork in an oiled pan, sprinkled steak rub, ground cumin, and minced onion, diced fine a couple of chipotle en adobo, cook it all down in apple juice with the diced last slice of a very ripe cantaloupe, and served it with cilantro, diced onion, and lime. Tasty.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

I hosted the neighborhood Happy Hour Friday evening and made up a big pot of chili colorado based on an old Califorñano recipe from the days of the haciendas. It turned out marvelously, drew rave reviews and I had the remnants of the meat on corn tortillas with poblano ranch dressing. Fortunately, I still have quite a bit of sauce left so I think that when I finish all the rest of last week's leftovers (don't ask!) I may just cook up a vast slab of pork roast in the same sauce and eat it for the following week. Man, those pieces of pork roast are big,


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## Vecchio Vespa (Dec 3, 2011)

This could just as well gone in the breakfast thread. I had a small bit of leftover carne Asada and a half of a small avocado. With a scrambled egg, some salsa, and a fluffy flour tortilla they greatly enhanced my breakfast taco.


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