The Apartment Kitchen » leftovers

Meatloaf Sandwiches

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:05:13 +0000

One of the favorites in my house is meatloaf. Something I like even better is meatloaf sandwiches, but with my vacuum cleaner of a boyfriend sharing my dining room table, there is rarely any leftover to make sandwiches after the fact. So one day last week, I thought to myself – why can’t I just make meatloaf sandwiches from the get go? So I did!

And even though this isn’t necessarily an easily packed lunch, I just can’t help it – this is “This Month’s Packed Lunch”. For one thing, I happen to like meatloaf sandwiches cold, and for another, they’re just damn good – morning after meatloaf or not.

Meatloaf Sandwiches

Serves 4.

Leftover Potential: Patties keep well for a day or two and reheat well.

1 recipe glazed meatloaf

toasted bread

onions, lettuce, mustard, or other garnish

1. Prepare the meatloaf as per the recipe, but instead of forming it into loaves, form it into patties. Cook the patties in a saute pan or grill lightly greased with nonstick spray.

2. Cook the patties until they are brown on one side, about 4-5 minutes. Once flipped, glaze the meatloaf patties with the glaze. Continue to cook until they are cooked through, about 3-4 minutes more.

3. Serve the sandwiches on toast with any desired garnishes.

Steak Frittata with Arugula-Spinach Salad

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:11:09 +0000

When I was on my internship in culinary school, I helped cook breakfast for the guests of the inn where I worked each morning. I got pretty good at making frittatas, egg tarts, quiche, and other egg based entrees. Eggs are so versatile, and that’s why I love turning to them when I have leftovers. The chopped steak sandwich from a few days ago made a perfect addition to a frittata (and likewise it would to a quiche, omelet, or hash). Topped with a simple salad, it was an easy, healthy dinner.

Chopped Steak Frittata with Arugula-Spinach Salad

Served 2.

Leftover Potential: Made with all leftovers!

5 eggs

1/4 cup whole milk

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup leftover chopped steak mixture

1 shallot, minced

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2-4 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

2 cups baby arugula

2 cups baby spinach

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper to combine. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat. Spray lightly with nonstick spray.

2. Add the steak mixture to the pan in an even layer. Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Cook until the base begins to set, about 5-6 minutes.

3. Transfer the pan to a 375 degree oven and cook until set, about 10-15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, mix the shallots, mustard, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper to combine. Toss with the arugula and spinach.

5. Turn the finished frittata onto a plate, and top with the finished salad.

Buttery Leeks and Spinach

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:30:24 +0000

I made a big batch of a simple side dish the other day, and it ended up being the perfect addition to a variety of other dishes throughout the week. I sauteed leeks (a fav of mine), garlic, and spinach. I also added a couple pats of butter (something I don’t normally do – Matt and I both had a rough week). We ate it alongside some grilled meat, then later piled it onto a sandwich. I also ate it cold with some cheese spread onto a cracker. It was sort of a relief to have something to go to in the fridge, and best of all, it was basic enough that we didn’t get sick of it before it was gone – it lent itself nicely to a wide array of remixing options.

Buttery Leeks and Spinach

Served 4 as a side.

Leftover Potential: Remixes very well – makes a great addition to sausages, grilled chicken, sandwiches and more. Also is great at room temperature with goat cheese on crackers or bread.

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 bunch leeks, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 bag spinach (4-5 cups)

1-2 Tbsp butter

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and saute until very tender, about 3-4 minutes.

2. Add the spinach in batches cooking until it is wilted. Stir in the butter and season well with salt and pepper.

Tamale Pie

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:40:59 +0000

Some of my more frequent readers can probably tell when I’m in a photo shoot at work – because I disapear from the blogosphere. Managing the photo shoots for the cookbooks the CIA produces is one of the busiest and most hectic parts of my job, and it often leads to me working odd hours. For the past week and a half, I’ve been getting home an hour or two later than I usually do. This is part of the reason I have been MIA.

The other is that a few days ago, I made this tamale pie for Matt. It only made a (deep) 9″ x 9″ casserole, but it has been lasting us for days (a rareity in our house). It reheats really well in the oven, and the flavors of the filling are only getting better as they sit. (Side note – this isn’t the best picture – I always have the hardest time photographing casseroles – but the cheesy crust should be appealing enough to get you to try this!)

Over the weekend I plan to get some serious cooking in – I’m taking a class to brush up on my knife skills, and cleaning my oven (a long over-due task). I’m sure a clean kitchen and house will inspire me to tackle next week!

Tamale Pie

Adapated from Mangio Dasola

Served 4-6.

Leftover Potential: Reheat in the oven – delish!

2 Tbsp oil

1 red onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb ground beef, pork, turkey, or chicken

1 (14 oz) can stewed tomatoes

1 (14 oz) can black beans, drained

salt and pepper, as needed

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

pinch cayenne pepper

1 (14 oz) can corn kernels

1 3/4 cups cornmeal

3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 Tbsp melted butter

grated jack cheese, for garnish

1. In a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and saute until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeno and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute more.

2. Add the ground meat and saute until browned. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, and spices. Let simmer while you prepare the cornbread batter.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter to combine.

4. Grease a deep 9″ by 9″ casserole dish. Pour 1/2 of the cornbread batter in the base, and cover it with half of the corn. Top that with the entire meat mixture on top, cover with remaining corn, remaining cornbread batter, and top with the cheese.

5. Bake in a 350 degree oven until baked through, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Meatball Sub

theapartmentkitchen — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:50:19 +0000

After a long day (ok, ok – roller skating and running errands), I just wanted something simple and comforting. Cheese is my biggest weakness, and this sandwich totally hit the spot for me. I used some meatballs and sauce I had already made for pasta, and sandwiched them with some cheese on a leftover baguette. It used up a lot of leftover food, but none of my roommates noticed that as they gobbled it down.

Meatball Sub

Served 4.

Leftover Potential: The meatballs can be reheated and eaten alone or with pasta.

1 recipe chicken meatballs

1 recipe tomato sauce

fresh mozzarella cheese, as needed

1 baguette, halved, cut into four equal pieces

hot peppers, as needed

1. Toss the meatballs in the tomato sauce.

2. Top one half on the bread with mozzarella cheese. Run this under the broiler until the cheese is golden and meltified.

3. Spoon meatballs and sauce onto the other half of the bread, sprinkle with hot peppers, and sandwich with the cheesy side.

Mushroom Stuffed Sausage Burgers with Peppadew Peppers

theapartmentkitchen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:26:55 +0000

**(What’s that? Another dish with sausage and peppadew peppers? Well, yes. I made my cooking “to-do” list at the beginning of the week. I had been craving sausage, but I was cooking for one until tonight when Matt came over. Rather than get stuck with a whole pot of leftovers, I cooked my white beans with sausage on Tuesday night and saved the remaining ingredients for a completely different dish a few days later. So you hardly recognized it, right?)**

Matt loves burgers. I like them too, because I enjoy warm sandwiches. Burgers are easy (and easy to make healthy if you like with lean meats like turkey and chicken and meat substitutions like grated veggies, beans, or portobello mushrooms). I’ve made quite a few types of burgers, but this is one of my all time favorites. Instead of turning to any of my go-to meats or meatless standbys, I used another of Matt’s favorites: sausage. I removed the casings, seasoned the meat, and stuffed the patties with mushrooms and herbs. We finished it off with leftover peppadew peppers for an all-around tasty and Italian-esque burger. It would be great with other toppings, too: sauteed peppers and onions, spinach, mozzarella cheese – get creative! This is a good basic canvas to work with.

Mushroom Stuffed Sausage Burgers with Peppadew Peppers

Served 4.

Leftover Potential: If you‘re only serving 1 or 2, freeze the meat formed into patties. Then you have a burger whenever you want!

1 lb Italian sausage (I used hot turkey sausage), casings removed

1/2 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 egg

1/4 cup bread crumbs

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup mushrooms, minced

1 Tbsp basil, chiffonade

2 tsp rosemary, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 toasted whole wheat buns

1/2 cup peppadew peppers, diced

1. In a large bowl, combine the sausage, onion, garlic, Worcestershire, ketchup, mustard, egg, and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a small bowl, combine the mushrooms, basil, and rosemary.

3. Form the sausage mixture into balls. Make a hole in the center, and stuff with mushroom mixture. Form the sausage into patties.

4. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until browned on both sides and cooked through. If you’ve made thick patties, it’s best to cook them for 4-5 minutes per side, then finish them in a 375 degree oven until they are cooked through, 7-10 minutes more.

5. Serve the burgers on toasted buns with the peppadew slices.

Bison Ribs, and the Many, Many Things We Did with Them

theapartmentkitchen — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:04:49 +0000

One of our other awesome purchases from the CIA this past weekend were buffalo ribs. They were unbelievably huge. My friend Terri leant us her smoker, and we lightly smoked the ribs before finishing them in the oven and with a vinagery Carolina style BBQ sauce.

We did all sorts of things with the ribs. I diced some and made an awesome, super meaty chili that I froze for cooler weather. I couldn’t resist posting this picture of Matt eating a rib whole – it gives a great idea of just how huge they were! Despite the fierce look on his face he’s so happy!

Then, on Matt’s request, I shredded some of the meat and put it inside my steamed buns. These buns take a little bit of effort, so they are great when you have a really good (really flavorful) cut of meat leftover and are looking for something different to do with them. Many Asian countries have their own version of these buns – mine sort of crosses the Chinese with the Indonesian – the result is fluffy and delicious. The dough also holds up well to freezing so you can make a big batch and save some balls of dough for future use. The longer they can rise, the fluffier they will be, and on this lazy Labor Day weekend I let them rise for over an hour in a bowl, then an hour rolled into balls, and another 30 minutes with the filling inside before steaming them. Matt and I dream of having a stand selling different flavors of these at the Farmer’s Market using only local products!

It was a delicious (and deliciously long) weekend.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Devil's Food Cake Crumbs (without an Ice Cream Maker!!!)

theapartmentkitchen — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:35:19 +0000

This definitely goes on the “great success” list of the apartment kitchen, though I have to confess I discovered it long before this blog was started. This is for any sad cooks out there trying to stifle their desire to make homemade ice cream during the heat of summer whilst lamenting the fact that they have no ice cream maker. (I will admit that there are products out there that make it a worthy purchase – an old fashioned, hand cranked machine will only set you back $10-$15.) But never fear my foodie friends – your lack of a machine won’t stop you any more!

When I first found this recipe, it was labeled as a semifreddo. After a few tweaks, I’ve found that its texture is dense, smooth, and creamy – just like real ice cream! There are a few key tricks to making this a success. Use a large, shallow dish to freeze the ice cream base – it will freeze faster and more evenly. Don’t mix in any inclusions (cake crumbs, candy, coconut, chocolate chips, etc.) until the mixture is at soft-serve consistency, then they will stay suspended in the ice cream. Last but not least, be patient – this method is super simple, but it does take longer than a well-working machine. Try to avoid checking on your ice cream every few minutes, as it will only make it take longer to set up!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Devil’s Food Cake Crumbs

Makes about 1 quart

Leftover Potential: I used leftover peanut butter milk chocolate frosting for the swirl and cake crumbs as an inclusion. Use your imagination or whatever’s in your pantry that needs to be used up!

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup leftover peanut butter frosting

1/2 cup leftover devil’s food cake crumbs

1. In a medium heat proof bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Place the bowl over a waterbath, and whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick and pale (by hand this will take 5-7 minutes, with a hand mixer it would be easier).

2. Remove the eggs from the waterbath, and let cool slightly. Whip the cream to medium peaks.

3. Add about 1/4 of the whipped cream to the egg mixture and mix thoroughly to combine. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream, making sure the mixture is very well combined – but not overmixing (the mixture will start to look watery if it’s overmixed).

4. If using, add the leftover peanut butter milk chocolate frosting and gently fold into the mixture. Less mixing will lead to more of a swirl like appearance, more mixing will make for a peanut butter-colored ice cream.

5. Gently pour the mixture into a shallow baking dish. Freeze, covered in foil, undisturbed until beginning to set (about 1 1/2-2 hours). When the mixture is almost entirely set, feel free to mix in any inclusions (like the devil’s food crumbs). Continue to freeze until the mixture has a thick, ice cream like texture (another 1 1/2-2 hours. Total freezing time will really depend on how large a pan you use and how cold your freezer is.

Note:

I find that it’s sometimes good to gently fold the mixture once during the freezing process, just to make sure it’s combined. This would also fix the mixture if it had begun to separate.

Thai Chicken Burgers with Peanut Sauce and Pickled Veggies (and an Awesome Salad to Make with the Leftovers!)

theapartmentkitchen — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:42:16 +0000

Sometimes the reaction when I announce dinner plans isn’t too enthusiastic. “Ok” or even “That sounds good” are nothing compaired to the “Yesssssssss!” or “Mmmmmm” I often get when making some of the household favorites. So let me just say it’s difficult to overstate how big of a hit these Thai-inspired chicken burgers were. They were moist and juicy with lots of cilantro and mild chile flavor in the meat, topped with a deliciously creamy peanut sauce, and an amazing Asian veggie pickle mixture.

Crisp, delicious, easy, and cheap! Look at that picture. It’s seriously making me hungry again. Ignore the fact that there is almost no bun on the bottom (they’re homemade – but who really needs a lot of bun anyway?). It’s a great way to liven up burgers at your house – and healthy too!

Thai Chicken Burgers with Creamy Peanut Sauce and Pickled Veggies

Thanks to We Heart Food for inspiring this dish!

Served 4.

Leftover Potential: See the notes at the bottom of the recipe for a great leftover meal solution!!

Burgers

1 pound ground chicken

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, diced

3 Tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp sweet chile sauce

1 tsp turmeric

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

salt, as needed

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients well (don’t overmix – it will make for less tender burgers!). Form the combined mixture into patties. Chill until needed.

2. Grill the patties (on your grill, in a grill pan, or in a saute pan) until nicely browned and cooked through (8-10 minutes). If necessary, finish the patties in a 350 degree oven until they are no longer pink in the middle.

Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp garlic (or garlic powder)

2 tsp red curry paste

2 Tbsp coconut milk (or more to make thinner)

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Refrigerate until needed.

Pickled Veggies

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1-2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp red curry paste

1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled into strips

1. In a medium bowl, mix the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, curry paste, chili sauce, and garlic to combine. Make sure the sugar is dissolved.

2. Add the veggies and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes (the longer they go, the more tender and flavorful the vegetables will be).

To Finish the Burgers:

1. Spread some peanut sauce on a toasted bun. Place a cooked patty on top, and finish with pickled vegetables. Add some butterhead lettuce, and enjoy this awesome burger!

Awesome Thai Peanut Chicken Salad:

1. Dice a leftover burger patty. Toss it in about 2-3 Tbsp of leftover peanut sauce to coat. Saute in a small pan over medium heat until reheated, 2-3 minutes.

2. Pile some washed butterhead lettuce in a bowl. Toss with the chicken pieces and some salted peanuts. Top with the pickled veggies, and use the pickling liquid as a dressing, if desired. This was almost better than the original meal!

Some More Leftover Perspective…

theapartmentkitchen — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:09:55 +0000

Leftovers are a constant problem plaguing apartment (and home) kitchens everywhere. There are many solutions: eat the same thing over and over and over (and over) again, throw massive amounts of food away, or pretend it’s not sitting in the fridge until it’s spoiled rotten and is inedible. But I have a new solution: focus on the sides.

Make just the amount of protein or major component you need whenever possible: 1 steak, 2 pork chops, four loins, and so on. But don’t hesitate to make full recipes of the side dishes: potatoes, veggies, and/or grains. Even though they were made for a specific dish, they can be used in a myriad of other ways.

Think of things that store well: pasta, salads, marinated or pickled items, etc. Then think of new proteins that match it’s flavor profile: marinated mushrooms will go great with steak, chicken, or pork. Black beans will go with many different styles of cuisine. And salads can be served on the side of a dish, a component of a sandwich, or even combined with pasta.

To get you started, here’s a recipe, Apartment Kitchen style. Remember the Asian Slaw and Citrus Yogurt from a previous post? It’s fresh, citrus flavors don’t just match with salmon, but all kinds of seafood – including the amazingly fresh soft shell crabs I found at my market this morning. Grill yourself some pita, (homemade or otherwise) add the slaw, some yogurt, and some pan fried crab, and you have an amazing (and incredibly quick) sandwich. Dig in.