So, if you’re like me, you always tell the waiter never mind saving the leftover vegetable and starches on your plate and including them in the doggie bag. I mean what’s to be done with that stuff anyway? It’s not going to re-heat and taste right, there’s not enough leftovers to make a new dish, the dogs won’t eat it and more than likely it’s only going to take up valuable refrigerator space, slowly get pushed to the back of said fridge, end up some green, yellow and black science experiment that you will use to gross out your significant other prior to throwing it in the trash.
And while there is some value and laughs to be had shocking folks with spoiled food, ultimately, they may as well just throw the stuff out at the source, save the time expended and leave plenty of room in your fridge for chilling a case of Guinness or dry aging a couple of porterhouses. Right?
Right…so I surely mumbled aloud, “What is she doing asking the waiter to save the leftover spinach and sweet potatoes?” when Agnes requested that our waiter at Pace’s Steakhouse in Port Jefferson include said leftovers with my remaining rib eye in our take away container and I immediately doomed the veg to future science experimentation, “Oh well, I’ll just throw it out when it grows hair.”
And then…something happened. When I woke up that weekend to make the usual Saturday morning breakfast of eggs, breakfast meat du jour and home fries, I recalled that the spinach and sweet potatoes were still sitting in their takeaway container with my rib eye and maybe I could do something with them rather than waiting for hair growth.
The sweet potatoes were easy, diced into bite size pieces they made perfect yam home fries, beautifully caramelized and a perfect side dish for the main event: a spinach omelet. The spinach, originally sautéed in garlic and olive oil, provided a great spicy, bitter note when contrasted with the richness of the eggs of the omelet and the sweetness of the butter it was cooked in.
So remember, don’t leave the vegetable leftovers. Take them home, get creative. And if you forget to include them in your breakfast omelet, at least you’ll have a fall back position, you can always scare the spouse with the results.
PS: The leftover rib eye was delicious. I like to thinly slice it and include it in my Korean noodle bowl. The boiling water/steam cooks the meat while re-hydrating the noodles, the grilled meat adds a wonderful smoky note to the soup and it turns a snack into a meal.