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Table Manners
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Come Over for Crusty CasseroleCan you serve leftovers to guests? |
Dear Helena,
Last night a friend called in tears to tell me she got dumped. I invited her over to dinner. I’d had some other friends over two days earlier, and I still had leftover curried lentil soup and butterscotch pudding. My friend and I had the remains of the soup and pudding and a bottle of wine and had a great time. I saw no need to mention I’d made the whole meal 48 hours ago. Is it OK to serve leftovers to guests? Is it ever not OK? Should you be honest about it with your guests, or can you fudge it a little? —Thrifty Hostess
Dear Thrifty Hostess,
Personally, I love being served leftovers, because it shows my host feels comfortable enough with me not to stand on ceremony. And now that many people are trying to economize, it doesn’t make sense to waste yesterday’s half-eaten roasted chicken out of a misplaced sense of shame. Plus, some dishes actually taste better after sitting around a day or two, like most soups, stews, and braised dishes. Here are some tips for making leftovers sexier:
Be vague. Though you shouldn’t lie and pretend you whipped up the cassoulet that afternoon, there’s no need to go into detail about the item’s age and provenance.
Shun the microwave. Molly Wizenberg, author of A Homemade Life, says, “The oven is much better at getting a little color on [leftovers], or even the toaster oven.” The microwave can have a weird effect on texture, turning pizza flaccid. And while the ping of the microwave is a lonely sound, the smell of something heating in the oven, or on the stovetop, makes a kitchen feel welcoming.
Reshape or replate. Don’t just set a Tupperware container on the table with a few forks. It only takes a minute to replate.
Add garnishes or frills. I had leftover artichoke soup at a friend’s house recently. It tasted wonderful, and I was honored that she shared it with me. Nonetheless, it was a weird whitish-gray color, and a bit of parsley would not have gone amiss. So snip some fresh herbs over the dish or add a drizzle of olive oil. A great bottle of wine will turn leftovers into a feast; if that’s not in your budget, a loaf of good bread or a freshly made salad or dessert could do the trick.
Finally, the one time it’s not OK to serve leftovers is if you’re having a dinner party, because guests usually have higher expectations when invited to an event rather than an impromptu weeknight dinner. Using leftover cooked ingredients is OK, like some roasted tomatoes or white beans, but you should not serve leftover dishes.
I think this is great advice. Bonus points for talking to Molly Orangette!
Is it leftovers because you made it two days earlier, or because you made it two days earlier and ate some of it? It's a fine line, isn't it?
Artichoke soup??? Recipe!!!!
A couple months ago I made a dish called Cochinita Pibli. Think pulled pork, Yucatan style. I made a huge amount because I wanted it to be 2 meals. I froze half so had 2 taco parties for 6 people each, 2 different groups of friends, and I am sure nobody looked upon it as leftovers. In these troubling economic times, when we get a good buy on meat, for example, why not make it into something that can serve your friends more that once? The freezer is your friend. And if the food's good, who cares?
Food's food. I'd hazard a guess the "leftovers" at most Chowhounds' homes are better than a "special meal" had at a gourmet-challenged household. Why not?
Leftovers = lovely goodness.
But I'd just as soon you didn't call me two weeks ahead of time and THEN serve me leftovers- With that kind of lead time, I must admit I'd expect you to cook me something new, at least most of it should be.
I think that in particular to the situation in the original question, absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's not as if you planned a grand dinner party, and served guests something you hauled out of the freezer and had planned to defrost for lunch, or a severely wilted salad.
Why was she dumped?
Depends entirely on the friendship and on how the dinner is billed. Something special for people you don't know well -- no leftovers. A casual on-the-fly dinner for someone very close -- leftovers fine.
If friends or family stopped by, we'd raid the frig for leftovers but if I was expecting or had invited people over for lunch or dinner, I would be preparing from scratch. Besides, those yummy more often than not make great packed lunch leftovers are for the COOK :)
My father made a huge pot of oxtail stew (think soup kitchen size!) for a family of 4. Obviously its not meant to be eaten in a day or even two (we freeze a portion). So if when family stop by and we serve them the dish a week later, I see us as serving leftovers. This is how restaurants do business as well.
Leftovers is fine to serve as long there is no saliva on it and if the dish actually improves with time.
My father made a huge pot of oxtail stew (think soup kitchen size!) for a family of 4. Obviously its not meant to be eaten in a day or even two (we freeze a portion). So if when family stop by and we serve them the dish a week later, I don't see us as serving leftovers. This is how restaurants do business as well.
Leftovers is fine to serve as long there is no saliva on it and if the dish actually improves with time.
I agree completely. Or you could repurpose your leftovers: make a few crepes and fold leftover meat inside, or spread leftover roasted/caramelized veggies with some cheese on puff pastry and bake for a savory tart. If it's a close friend over for a last-minute or casual meal there's nothing wrong with eating leftovers.
I'm assuming that the dumped friend was close enough to the writer of this post to be considered more like family than like a guest, if she was discussing something as intimate as a broken heart. And, it wasn't like it was a party or an occasion or anything. It was someone discussing a crisis/sorrow in life over a casual dinner with a friend on a routine day. So, it was perfectly all right for the sorrowing maiden's friend to serve the lentil soup. I'm sure that Ms. Brokenheart didn't see it as "being served leftovers," but as her caring pal sharing tasty food with her out of the kindness of her heart.
However, leftover lentil soup, yummy as it may be, would NOT cut it at a fancy dinner party. THAT is an occasion calling for elegant "company" food, freshly made. That is the time to make some kind of effort, some kind of attempt to make a good impression.