Leftovers are A Real Treat!

New Year’s Eve was lovely.  We shared the evening with two of our closest friends.  With cuisine from mini mushroom turnovers to a sweet sausage quiche to a rich chocolate cake; we ushered in the New Year with exquisite delights.  My friends brought delicious cold cuts, roast beef, turkey, and cheeses along with a crusty, amazing Jewish rye bread that was truly the best I’ve devoured in years.  As usual, between the four of us, we had enough food for an army and the leftovers filled my refrigerator shelves, all wonderfully wrapped in foil just waiting to be uncovered and enjoyed.  The tantalizing bowls were a special gift just waiting to be rediscovered.

Sunday was New Year’s Day.  My in-laws came by for lunch.  I cooked an entire roast that we hadn’t needed the night before, so we enjoyed warm roast beef sandwiches with a delicate horseradish spread and cheeses ranging from provolone, to Swiss, to American.  I also used my leftover shrimp and made a shrimp salad that both my husband’s mom and mine could not resist.  Before we sat down to lunch there were left over pigs in their nice little blankets, the mushroom turnovers, and mini pizzas that were easily reheated along with the standard hummus, cheese and crackers.  For dessert we served the chocolate cake along with chocolate covered pretzels and short bread cookies.

Dinner that evening consisted of leftover cold cuts, which my friends would not take home.  They were as fresh and delicious Sunday as they were Saturday.  For dessert we had cannolis, which I had forgotten to serve on New Year’s Eve.  The shell was coated in a rich, dark chocolate and the sweet ricotta filling was soothing and comforting. 

Even last night we enjoyed the cold cuts for dinner, as we needed to eat quickly before picking my daughter up at the train station.  So the gift of leftovers continued.

As I write this, all that is physically remaining of the celebration is a small fraction of the cake and one lone cannoli, along with some cheese, bread, and hummus.  Delicious grilled cheese sandwiches are on the menu for dinner tonight!  For more than three days now, I have had no worries about what to make for any meal!  Freedom!

Don’t get me wrong, I do love to cook, but I love to cook when there’s time and when I have energy.  After a long day of working retail, I have to say I don’t relish the thought of coming home and starting to prepare dinner; although I do look forward to sitting down to a good, home-cooked meal.  It’s a dilemma.

For the last few days I’ve enjoyed a mini vacation.  Perhaps one of the best perks of entertaining is not only the fun of the experience, but the remnants of the event!  Leftovers are tangible memories of good times.  They are extra rewards of special attention to detail and good ingredients that are so obviously put into the treats of a special event.  A positive plus of not going out for a celebration are the leftovers.  Pictures are wonderful and last for decades, but reinforcing the memories of a celebration through the physical enjoyment of the food are also fortifying to the soul.  Even years later, when we relive the night through pictures, the visuals of the food that we continued to enjoy will make the evening come alive, tantalizing our taste buds.

So, celebrate good times!  Enjoy good food prepared and purchased lovingly.  The food will nourish you for days to come as they quietly call you to uncover the delicious goodness waiting under an aluminum foil wrapping.  The leftovers will be enjoyed for days while the memories will feed your heart for years.