Happy Old Year's Night & New Year!

Happy Old Years Night!

Even as I type Old Years Night is gearing up in Trellis Bay; my old home.  There will be so many boats parked in the bay it would almost be possible to walk ashore and music will pulsing out across the water.  

There is a helluva party about to start including fire dancers, fire balls, a burning metal man, mocko jumbies and fireworks.  I won’t be there of, course, but hope everyone has a truly wonderful time.

I have been experiencing a very high rate of synchronicity recently. For instance a couple of nights ago I wondered if I should throw myself open, so to speak, to questions about leftovers from my readers.  No sooner had I done a strokey chin ponder than I received not one but two queries pertaining to leftovers.   Firstly via Twitter about soufflés and then from a friend on Facebook who said she had too many Brussels sprouts and swedes and what should she do with them.  

Dealing with the second question first ...

Leftover Brussels Sprouts

~   Shred raw Brussels sprouts and add to coleslaw  ~   Make a specifically Brussels sprout salad; shred the sprouts and toss with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, red onion and dress with a robust vinaigrette. 

~   Shred raw sprouts and stir fry with bacon and garlic to serve with pork.

~   Add cooked sprouts to Bubble ‘n’ Squeak of course.

~   Halve or quarter cooked sprouts and reheat in butter together with toasted walnuts (or whatever) or crispy bacon or crunchy freshly fried breadcrumbs, etc.

~   Coarsely chop cooked sprouts and heat through in butter and cream with a handful of parmesan – Brussels Sprout Alfredo!  

Leftover Swede

I have to admit I don’t like swede or turnip so am not as inspired as I might otherwise be.  Having said that I imagine that if you do like swede the following might be good ways to use it up …

~   Cook raw swede along with potatoes till br />tender, and mash together with butter and black pepper.  Serve as a side dish or as a topping for a cottage pie or similar.  Better still serve it with your haggis on Burns’ Night (25^th Jan if you can keep your swedes till then) to make a swede version of Neeps ‘n’ Tatties.

~   Cut swede, carrots and potatoes into similar sized chunks, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and a small drizzle of runny honey.  Roast in a medium hot oven till tender, crispy and golden.  Red onion would be a good addition.

~   Add cooked swede to Bubble ‘n’ Squeak.

~   Smash cooked swede into a chunky mash, season, form into cakes and shallow fry till crisp.  Serve with bacon and eggs.

NOTE – swede is known as rutabaga across the pond so I checked if they had any ideas and indeed they had! I have just read that:

Rutabaga should be ...

"Soaked(ed) for 72 hours in 2 gallons of hydrochloric acid"! 

Americans eh? ~ they always have to go the extra mile.  Even bearing in mind that an American gallon is smaller than ours please don't try this idea.

Now to the first query … 

Leftover Soufflé  

A children's writer called Enid Richemont tweeted me saying ...

“Try doing something with left over cheese soufflé - we always end up with some- too good to chuck.” 

This is a tricky one as, of course, soufflé is supposed to be serve as soon as it leaves the oven.  However …

I have often made a delicious Twice Baked Cheese Soufflé (the recipe is towards the end of the post), which is designed for reheating so I have a couple of suggestions …

1.  Try reheating leftover soufflé by putting in a shallow buttered dish, pouring over a little cream, sprinkling with parmesan (particularly if it’s a cheese omelette!) and reheating at 400ºF/200ºC/180C fan/gas 6  for 15-20 minutes.  I am sure the soufflé won’t be as airily stunning as at first serving but it should still be tasty and entirely edible!

2.  If the soufflé has sunken and solidified I would also be tempted to slice it and fry in butter!

Ask me a Question about Leftovers ... 

If you have any leftover food you don’t know what to do with.  Follow me on Twitter @SuddenLunch and tweet me or join my Facebook group, Sudden Lunch -  – and ask the group. 

Happy New Year!