Crisp It Up

Ah, the joys of leftover pasta with ragu. I should try spreading it on a wide cookie sheet so every last piece, every single zito, gets crunchy. That would be heaven, if not necessarily for the jaw.

Out of the Frost: Ragu

For a while, as we favored meat sauce made with sausage, meatballs, pork ribs, and the occasional veal shank, ragu played second fiddle in our house.

But now it's back.

And what a sweet reunion it was. As my mom always says, of many different treats, "It's so good when you haven't had it for a while." I don't even remember when I made this ragu (I could probably check), but it was right there in the freezer when we needed it.

What I do remember is that I used ground pork and ground beef, where sometimes I just use beef. As I always say, pork makes everything more fun. Yes, hamburgers are high on my list of favorite foods, and my love affair with steak is having something of a renaissance, but if you made me choose just one meat, pork, in all its fatty, luscious, crisp-skinned, other-white-meat, cure-me-or-eat-me-fresh versatility, would sway me every time. Margy too.

So I'm thinking pork was the secret weapon here. Isn't it always?

Pork Ribs, el Dia Dos: Tacos

Very early this morning, I practically shot right up out of bed: "I've got it! We'll make tacos!"

Pork tacos are one of Margy's favorite dishes, and my little eureka moment was me realizing how perfectly the braised country ribs would adapt themselves for this purpose. Hours later, as dinner approached, I put my plan into action.

First I made guacamole. Then I shredded the meat from a few ribs with a fork and warmed it up on the stove, adding some canned chipotle in adobo sauce for a bit of spice and a tasty Mexican twinge. Margy grated cheddar, I chopped lettuce, a can of refried beans was opened.

I heated flour tortillas in a dry skillet and then piled everything on. I couldn't resist overloading each and every taco, but we didn't mind a bit -- we came to the table ready to do some work. But still, there's plenty of pork left...

Now the Party's Really Over

Well, we were able to squeeze one more dinner out of our party food.

This time it was the barbecued chicken, which I brushed with some remaining sauce, covered in foil, and reheated slowly in the oven. I can be funny about eating leftover chicken -- I find there's usually an unpleasant change in flavor -- but this worked out well. I think it was because the foil wrap and extra basting kept the meat moist.

And we were able to savor Margy's biscuits one last time... one last time, that is, before I beg her to make them again.

The Evening After

We sent people home from our place with little foil-wrapped six-packs of cheddar-chive biscuits, but we kept a few for ourselves. And to my surprise and great delight, they warmed up beautifully and were almost as good as when they first came out of the oven. There were some sausages left as well, since at one point last night I decided we had too much food and held back a few links. So tonight I grilled a few of them, and we had an easy dinner of sausage and biscuits. Anyway, an easy dinner was about all we could handle.

Three More Times...

We reheated the paella at home for another fine, fragrant meal, and believe it or not there was still one portion left for Margy to have for lunch.

Leftover Pizza

Margy is a magician. Hers is not normal pizza.

The Fruit That Goes Its Own Way

I have lots of respect for avocados. For days they play hard-to-get, biding their time, remaining green on the outside, making us want to eat them but telling us we don't have permission. Then one day they're ready to give it up. They darken markedly; we poke them a little and they say, "Yes, NOW." If we don't obey soon enough, it's too late, and we know it.

That's why I found myself serving guacamole along with meat loaf sandwiches. I didn't know if I should, but I knew that if I didn't I ran the risk of letting the avocados that I had watched for days fall to ruin.

Well, guess what? It was a nice combo! I even spread the guac right on the sandwich a bit at a time, and its creaminess helped make it a fine condiment indeed. I don't mind a bit that I had to adhere to the avocados' schedule -- they kept me on my toes.

Boil and Eat

When we got back from our shower jaunt, we were looking to have the simplest possible dinner. Luckily, a few weeks ago one of my mom's English-as-a-second-language students had dropped off two bags of frozen homemade Chinese dumplings, one for my sister and one for us. Mom's student had heard my sis was a big dumpling fan, so the larger bag was for her. But when sis rolled through town from Vermont and stopped by for her stash, she took one look at the enormous supply intended for her and said, "I'm taking the small bag."

More Lentils

Lentil soup with friselles. A match made in Italian-American heaven!

Good Ol' Lentils

Lentils are divine all by themselves, but still, don't forget the bacon!

Leftover Pasta

This doesn't look like much of a dinner, does it?

The Supply Begins to Dwindle

We're still pulling pieces of Margy's quiche out of the freezer, and the quiche is still fantastic. But soon we'll need more.

Rib Roast

It was the Fourth of July all over again. I just sauced up the leftover ribs, wrapped them in foil, and threw them in the oven.

We also had a few crispy potatoes left from our Independence Day feast, and to round out the dinner I made guacamole, using cilantro from our garden. Slicing and scooping avocados is something I could really get used to.

More Keema

It would be foolish not to make enough of this stuff to have leftovers.

Trusty Ragu

Ah, ragu. It went well with a spinach and pear salad. A little salty over here, a little sweet over there...

The Freezer Opens Once Again

I'm going to call this BLT soup: bacon, lentil, and tomato.

Chinese Cook-Off?

I've mentioned that my mom teaches English as a second language a couple of mornings a week, and that she has two Chinese women in her tiny little class who can be a bit competitive at times.

Well, Mom took the ladies out for lunch a few days ago, and this morning her two Chinese students came to class bearing edible gifts to show their gratitude. It was more food than my folks could handle, so they shared the wealth with Margy and me. Which was great, since I had a rehearsal looming, along with zero dinner ideas.

One student made dumplings, the other noodles. (Me, I made broccoli.) Both contained chicken. I think. I mean, I know the noodles did, but I'm not certain about the dumplings -- the filling might've been pork. Dumplings are obviously best eaten fresh, but these were perfectly tasty even reheated. The noodles had just a bit of shredded carrot and sliced shitake, and were flavored mildly with sesame oil.

Both hit the spot. Anyway, I'd never take sides -- Margy and I want the food to keep on comin'.

Leftover Salmon

The salmon was good the second time around, served at room temperature with some brown rice and broccoli.

Chicken Soup, East

I stored the remaining steamed chicken in its wonderful broth of soy sauce, sesame oil, and wine, and when it was time for leftovers, I cooked some capellini and poured the chicken and broth over the pasta for an almost souplike concoction. It was incredibly flavorful (the aroma didn't really linger this time), and a dusting of chopped toasted peanuts gave the whole thing a bit of crunch.