Leftovers: Beet Ketchup (231) in Action

Thanksgiving leftovers, meet CSA leftovers. Can't see the Beet Ketchup in there? Here you go:

A little goes a long way with this guy. Borrowed some regular bread from the roommate (too tired/lazy to walk someplace decent), a little beet ketchup, kale, turkey and goat cheese.

It was good, but needed a little something.

Version 2.0 at work the next day. The same, but (slightly) better bread and the addition of sweet potato. The ketchup ended up a little too vinegary/clove-y, so the added sweetness helped temper that a bit. I'd probably go a little lighter on it next time, get better bread, and shred the turkey- or at least make thinner slices as opposed to the hunks featured here.

It did help make everything lovely and rainbow colored, though. Leftovers ftw.

222: Leftover Squash and Sage Quinoa

I had some acorn squash kicking around my fridge, leftover from making that soup (which, by the way, got a little bitter as it sat around in the fridge), and was in need of a quick lunch. I boiled up some quinoa, throwing a few (maybe 4 or 5?) sage leaves in with the grains, and let it work while I took a shower. I considered throwing some of the squash in there, but knew that I wasn't going to be using it all up this on the one lunch, and wanted there to be as much flexibility for the meal component as I could.

When it was done I mixed some with the pieces of squash- being somewhat careful about my stirring, as I didn't want to completely mash up the squash pieces. Topped with a healthy bit of black pepper and a little more salt. Simple and comforting.

190: Leftover Broccoli Cauliflower Pizza

A somewhat inadvertent take on this pizza I made the other week, but really was just an excuse to use leftovers. It just so happens to have broccoli and smoked mozz and pecorino, the latter two being leftovers from the first pizza.

I like red pies more than white, but wasn't in love with the pizza. I think I have an excess of cheese in my diet, and anything beyond minimal salads is being rejected by my body.

Still not happy with the crust, more flavor than I had been getting, but still undersalted and definitely stretched too thin. But! I didn't burn it this time, so at least that's something.

Leftovers: Potato Pancakes

I didn't egg these potato pancakes up on first making, but of course they're very very good for breakfast.

Also after hanging out in the fridge for a day or so, they're firm enough to pop in the toasted to easily reheat. The one above I did in a pan, not as burnt as it looks.

163: Pate Sandwiches

I often eat meals like a cook: awkwardly standing in the kitchen, usually while working on other food (Zing!). These little sandwiches were born of leftovers and super tasty. Though honestly I think anything with pate is going to be delicious.

The bread (as it is) is from IKEA. Just an easy flatbread I picked up to keep in the freezer. It has a weird mild anisey taste so I won't eat it straight up, but it's great for stuff like this. 

I spread the pate on one side, the shallot jam on the other, and tried both kale and radish as filling. I think anything earthy and slightly bitter/peppery would work well. Next time I'd slice more radishes to get a stronger peppery kick. Totally recommended.

136: Cabbage Marmalade Toasts

So this may be a bit of a copout, as it's just a variation on that pizza I had for breakfast the other weekend. But last minute lunches are generally not well thought out.

I picked up some tangy sourdough from Amy's Bread (which I hadn't had in a while. It hits the spot well enough, though should really plan a trip back to SF for the real thing...and to visit my sister. I have priorities though haha), spread some anchovy paste on and toasted that a bit to hopefully get rid of the fishiness.

Once the bread was good and toasty, piled on my marmalade and topped with the chopped olives.

The verdict: ehhh. What went wrong? Despite the toasting, the anchovy paste made the whole thing very fishy. Next time I'll mix it with the marmalade to spread that flavor out a bit, and reheat the whole thing before topping. Maybe I'll throw the olives in there, too, to mellow those out as well.

123: Collard Leftovers

I mentioned maybe trying collards with lemon in the initial post. Yeah...not gonna happen. Instead I made a lovely choice to have it for breakfast with a few over easy eggs.

The collards were still delicious, and if anything made even better with the richness of that runny yolk. Do this!

98: Indian Leftovers Pizza

What do you do with Indian leftovers? Make pizza! May be one of my favorite things when it's done well (aka with Kamal). Still, pizza is pizza and fresh is inherently delicious, even if your repeated attempts at baignan bharta don't turn out as expected.

I still had some dough in the freezer from the last pizzas I made, stretched those out on some parchment topped with a little cornmeal as the oven preheated to 450. 

Topped the dough with some leftover baignan bharta and some paneer I picked up at Kalustyan's (got another goodie from there I'm looking forward to trying). I made two mini-pizzas, one with an egg per my tradition. Cooked on my pizza stone for about 15 minutes (looking for a soft yolk and some crust browning so timing is variable) and topped then a little cilantro when it came out of the oven.

This was my first time working with paneer. It definitely helped mellow out the spiciness, but didn't realize it wouldn't melt at all. Next time I'll mix most into the sauce.

I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often- it's my favorite way of using leftover Indian or chili, or anything that's spreadable but not super runny. 

Helpful equation:  __________ + fresh dough + cheese + egg = delicious. Doesn't matter what it is.