Back to the subject of leftovers.
You remember the narrator’s rant near the end of ”A Christmas Story,” when he realizes that the dogs have eaten the turkey…”The heavenly aroma still hung in the house, but it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey hash! Turkey A La king! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, all gone!”
Now there’s a person who understands leftovers. You don’t make turkey just for Christmas Day, you make it for the days and weeks to come.
We still have leftover turkey in the refrigerator and freezer and are eating regularly from it. Today for lunch, I made paninis with leftover turkey and lamb on Italian bread with Fontina cheese, red onion and capers.
By the way, on the last post, when I talked about the mimosas…we get three days out of that bottle of cheap sparkling wine and orange juice. We started it on Friday and finished it just this morning.
In the refrigerator right now, however, is the best reason I’ve yet discovered for eating leftovers. It’s a pot of homemade, from scratch, Tuscan Ragu sauce.
The reason it’s in the refrigerator is because I made it yesterday and we’re going to eat it today. That was not an oversight on my part, nor did I get overly excited about cooking and simply prepare more than we could eat.
No, it was intentional. You see, not only are Italians the masters at creating dishes out of leftovers, they are also the ones who understand that many things taste BETTER the second day, after all the flavors have had time to meld.
It is not uncommon for Italians to cook something a day or two before they plan to eat it, knowing that it will improve with time.
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