Leftovers of leftovers of leftovers

David has more or less insisted I write a blog about last night's dinner because he loved it so much. He also said I should write down the recipe, which I might in my little notebook, but in a way this is a futile exercise because it's a never to be repeated thing. The ingredients will never be the same - because this was not just a rehashing of one meal, it was a rehashing of two to make a third, with another remnant of yet another meal. However, I am yielding to pressure.

First thing to note is that I did not take a picture. To my mind it did not look that good. The base was pasta in a sauce - which I shall come to - then placed in a baking dish with some grated cheese and a kind of fried breadcrumb mixture from the freezer on top. I have tried to find something that sort of looked the same but have drawn a blank. They all look far too perfect. Of course I now regret there is no picture but never mind.

So how to explain its evolution. And perhaps the first thing I should note is that some of the ingredients are now rather old, and theoretically I should have thrown them out. But why if they look and smell alright? And David and I have lived for another day at least.

I think it all began with a sautéed chicken dish that I made a while ago. It had a creamy mushroom and Brussels sprouts sauce and I served it with a potato gratin that basically included the same ingredients as the sauce. There was a bit of sauce and gratin leftover which a few days later went into a fettucine pasta dish, to which I added some bacon and some more mushrooms. This pasta dish was the basis for the final baked pasta.

In between those first two dishes I had made a kind of choucroute with some bratwurst and debreciner sausages and a small chunk of ham leftover from quite a long time ago - but it's ham that had been cooked moreover in the Weber, but I did cut off large pieces from all the outer edges. Some of this meat was leftover and so I skinned the two remaining sausages, and chopped them up with the ham in my mini blender to add to the pasta. I think, in fact that it was this sausage and ham mixture that so delighted David.

To finish off the mixture which was now going into the baking dish I added a couple more sliced brussels sprouts and some cream - always cream. The previous pasta dish had been creamy - but from pasta water. And I didn't have any leftover liquid things, so it had to be cream.

On top went that breadcrumb mixture, which I vaguely remember had itself been made from leftovers that included peas and dark bread, maybe some nuts too, or lemon peel. I just cannot remember. These came from the freezer and were not very old, so perfectly OK.

To finish off - the last bit of my 'cooking cheese' - Coles tasty, which had been wrapped in greaseperoof paper and so had gone hard and cracked looking. Which is why when the dish came out of the oven it had not melted like it usually does - the grated shapes still remained, and it had also turned a bit red - which I really can't explain.

Served with a green salad. David was pretty ecstatic - a five star dish for him. And guess what - there are leftovers, which he can have for dinner tomorrow when I return from my posh lunch out with my daughters-in-law in the city tomorrow. I'll just have some bread and cheese.

I am currently reading Julia Baird's book Phosphorescence which is full of thoughtful things about how to be happy - at least I think that's what it's all about. Coincidentally this morning I was reading a chapter she called The Art of Savouring, in which she reports on the work of Fred Bryant, an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour in Barcelona who summarises the art of savouring as three things:

"Look forward to something; enjoy it when it occurs; and reminisce about it afterwards."

Or as Julia Baird puts it:

"The crux of savouring is paying attention to pleasure"

It is perhaps notable that in the examples that follow of particular instances of savouring, there are many about food, and sharing that experience seems to be a vital part of the whole thing. So here I am sharing David's joy at last night's dinner, and my joy that he liked it so much.

I have started on my next savouring experience - tonight's dinner - what to do with the leftover sauerkraut from the choucroute. A very short internet search gave me my solution - from the ever dependable Nigel - Sauerkraut, fontina and walnut galette although it won't be quite the same. I am hoping that the leftover filo pastry I have in the fridge is still OK and will use that instead of making the pastry - or even using my own frozen shortcrust pastry. I can't get Fontina, so it will probably be a mix of tasty and brie, and David's not that keen on walnuts so it may be pine nuts instead - or a mixture. And there are onions in there as well.

Anyway I am looking forward to it - and tomorrow's lunch too of course. Whether both sets of pleasurable anticipation will have the anticipated result is another matter. Julia Baird doesn't seem to contemplate the possibility of disappointment. Which is something to contemplate in itself. Is disappointment even possible or is it just manufactured?

So lots of fun with leftovers, with a faintly lingering worry about age of ingredients. I think that particular evolutionary tree has grown to its full height and will shortly - tomorrow disappear never to rise again - although maybe it has left seeds of ideas that might grow into something even better in time to come.

YEARS GONE BY

July 24

2024 - Self-doubt and a recipe - a similar experience perhaps

2023 - Wee drams

2022 - Pomelo

2021 - A surprise moment in time

2020 - Deleted

2019 - Duck à l'orange

2018 - Miso - yes or no?

2017 - L'Hostellerie de l'Abbay and Logis de France

2016 - A walk into Eltham