Hot Days Call for Leftovers and Grilling

I try to cook only as much as the two of us can eat at a meal, but of course there are always exceptions. A roast chicken, for example, can provide a number of meals for two people. Rice and beans are hard to cook for two (unless the beans come out of a can, which is not wicked). And I sometimes cook more than we need for one meal  in order to freeze or repurpose for others.

So, with the heat hitting us this week and the AC broken beyond repair, leftovers are a blessing. As is the grill. I admit to being a bit unskilled with the grill, but as time and need demand I get better.

I didn't take a photo, but I figured that Cuisinart wouldn't mind my using theirs.
I recently puchased one of these, and it's wonderful!

Monday I had coupons for a fresh loaf of Artisan bread from a local market for 99 cents. It was still warm when I picked it up. Ahhh….I had some cheeses in the fridge to use up – a chunk of Swiss and a chunk of very aged cheddar. I decided to make fondue for lunch (I’ll address the making of fondues another time) and, since it was for lunch and included cheddar, I elected to use beer. Some fried crumbled garlic (from the Indian section at the Asian store – I could have rubbed the fondue pan with fresh garlic, but I like a good garlic flavor with cheddar and beer), a shot of hot sauce, some red pepper flakes, a little nutmeg, broken French bread, and we were good to go. I added a small salad of shredded lettuce and a piquant tepanade-style mixture of olives and a few other veggies, for contrast. I figured the extra fondue sauce would make good mac and cheese, or some other dish.

Tuesday I still had some pieces of broken bread. So for breakfast, I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter in some olive oil in a heavy skillet, sprinkled in an herb mixture (Italian) and the bread pieces, and tossed them around over medium heat until they were golden brown and crunchy.  A poached egg over the croutons and we were in heaven.

At lunchtime I sliced the butt of the loaf that I hadn’t used the previous day and toasted the slices (whole) in the skillet in much the same way only with flavorful olive oil and less butter. I sautéed some bits of roasted red pepper and sun dried tomato in olive oil in a heavy saucepan (the oil on the tomatoes was enough for this) and heated the leftover fondue in the same pan (added a bit of milk to loosen it up a bit) and poured over the toast. I had boiled some eggs in the morning, so made stuffed eggs (mayo, mustard, capers, salt and pepper mixed into the yolks) – two halves each – and browned a few pre-breaded butterfly shrimp in the toaster oven. A couple pieces of fresh pineapple and we were good to go.

By suppertime it was too hot to cook in the kitchen.  I had some leftover roast chicken breast, and a cupful or so of brown and wild rice with chopped veggies, so I added chopped chicken and a raw egg to the rice. My goal was to use a large green pepper that was languishing in the fridge, so I cut it lengthwise, removed the seed head and pith, and made a “nest” of heavy aluminum foil for each half, leaving a flap of foil to fold loosely over the top so I could check to see if the pepper was done, as well as to open it up for browning on top if needed.  Stuffed it with the chicken and rice mixture. I put these on the heated grill and closed the lid, keeping the heat around 350. After about 15 minutes I moved the foil-wrapped peppers off the heat.

When they seemed about done (the tops browned nicely without exposure) I prepared some fresh asparagus by washing, snapping off the ends, and rolling in some melted butter and Italian bread crumbs (used my glass bread pan to melt the butter in the microwave and roll the spears.) Gave some spears of fresh pineapple a roll in the butter as well. Those I just put on the grill over medium flame. Added a pear-walnut-gorgonzola salad using a commercial mix of herbs and baby greens. Slices of purchased Black Forest roulade (way too much frosting!) for dessert.

Now I am running low on leftovers so will dig through the freezer for some that I put away for future use. The future is NOW.

I’m not sure why I get the cooking urge when it’s hot. Perhaps because I’m too lethargic to do much else!