All that Remains

As hard as it is to believe Christmas was just two short days ago and I’m sure I’m not the only one with leftovers in my fridge. We’ve reached decision time: should I just reheat them as they are or make them in to a whole new meal? I usually make a turkey pot pie out of my leftovers, but sometimes I get a craving for something different.

Where do you find recipes for leftovers? Often they seem to be passed down through families rather than recorded which can make them difficult to find. I searched the library catalogue and found a couple of titles to share. I also did a search on the Internet and have some websites to share with you. We’ll start with the books and then move to the Internet resources.

First up is Recipes for Leftovers by Jean Pare, this title can also be found in Meals in No Time (a 3-in-1 Cookbook Collection). It’s part of the Company’s Coming series and includes such mouthwatering recipes as: Turkey Strata, Asian Turkey Noodle Salad, and Potato and Cheese Scones. I willingly admit to scanning for recipes that contained my most likely leftovers.

The second book I found is checked out so I haven’t had the opportunity to flip through its pages. Based on the reviews Cooking from the Hip: Fast, Easy, Phenomenal Meals by Cat Cora looks fabulous. Recipes are divided in to four sections those mentioned in the title (fast, easy, and phenomenal) plus fun! I took at the index (available on the amazon.com website) and found some interesting recipes. The beef, chicken, and vegetable stock recipes each have the choice of easy or phenomenal. This intrigues me because sometimes you really just want quick and easy stock, but at other times you have the luxury of taking your time to make a more interesting stock.

After searching our catalogue I decided to jump in to an internet search. I love recipe sites, so I had some places I already knew I wanted to start. The first one is the BBC’s (British Broadcasting Corporation) Food site. Once there I searched for leftovers and found the recipe I will probably make Boxing Day: Conchiglie al forno (baked pasta shells in a cheese and Christmas leftovers sauce) sounds like the perfect way to use up leftover turkey and stuffing. It’s essentially a pasta casserole with the main pieces of the Christmas dinner baked in!

The next website I visited was one of the first recipe sites I was introduced to by my high school English teacher – Epicurious. I did another keyword search for leftovers and found Stuffed Rolled Tortillas. The recipe author suggests that tortillas are a great way to make any leftovers interesting and I think she might be on to something there. Another recipe that came up was fried rice, you can use both your leftover rice and meat from a previous meal to make something new.

The final website I visited in this quest was Allrecipes. Like Epicurious, it is associated with cooking magazines, but it also has a lot of recipes provided by its community. So if you want to share your grandmother’s best pie recipes this is likely the best place to do so. When I searched for leftovers on Allrecipes I got by far and away the most results. I then tend to order them by rankings to see which people liked the best. Turkey salad, chicken enchiladas, and white cheese chicken lasagna all came up as highly rated recipes using leftovers. There’s a lot to explore on all these websites and in the cookbooks, so enjoy your leftovers this year!

Ruth Hamlin-Douglas, Children's and Youth Services Librarian at the Brodie Resource Library – www.tbpl.ca.