Leftovers

Here is an excerpt from the blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " Sometimes, especially after a long day, the most satisfying meal is one that doesn't require a trip to the store. Indeed, everyone needs a few recipes that can be pulled together, even when it seems that there is nothing in the fridge. Or when the few ingredients on hand are nearing their expiration dates. As a lovely package of Baby Bella mushrooms stood out in my nearly empty refrigerator, I thought to myself: frittata.

You'd think that life would be good for all the beautiful Baldwin boys. But not so, says Billy, younger brother of Alec. Every time he wants to compete for a cool movie role, the name Tom Cruise pops up, he says. "In my age category, there's only Tom Cruise," Baldwin, who was born in '63, told W magazine. "If they don't get Tom Cruise, it's up for grabs for everybody else: Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Billy Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Val Kilmer, or John Cusak. We're all waiting for his leftovers - or maybe smaller pictures that don't have the money or the scope for a Tom Cruise.

Pennsylvania is doing something about government waste, though not the kind people often complain about. It is trying to make sure that no food served at state functions goes uneaten. A new administrative directive issued by Gov. Casey requires vendors doing business with the state to make a "good-faith effort" to donate wholesome leftovers to nonprofit groups serving the needy. The order lists specific groups in 35 counties, including Philabundance in Philadelphia, and three organizations in Harrisburg, where the state conducts most of its business.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink (HPBooks, $7.95) is a practical kitchen guide that attempts to help you solve the problem of what to do with all the leftovers that tend to clutter the refrigerator. It also provides insights into saving dollars on food shopping and points out the practicality of cooking ahead. The softcover book, written by three best-selling food authors - Karine Eliason, Madeline Westover and Nevada Harward - is divided into five chapters: shopping with savings in mind, big-batch cooking, cooking with built-in leftovers, preparing ahead and fitting leftovers into your menu-planning.

As preparations begin for what is probably the biggest meal of the year, some cooks may already be wondering what to do with the inevitable leftovers. For help in that regard, we talked with several chefs who will be turning out turkeys by the dozens tomorrow. Among the pros, none plans to use leftovers on later menus - with the possible exception of making turkey stock for soup or gravy. In restaurants, where the plan is not to have leftovers, any excess typically becomes the staff dinner, fills "doggie bags," or goes to local food banks or charities, we were told.

Leftovers again? Thanksgiving turkey and trimmings can lose their allure after a few days. After all, how many turkey sandwiches can one family eat? But with a dose of creativity borrowed from culinary traditions in other parts of the world, or even other neighborhoods, those leftovers can seem inspired. The trick is to transform the turkey into dishes that have nothing in common with the Thanksgiving feast. "Turkey is so easy to use in all kinds of dishes, just like chicken," said Maximo Baez Berg, a longtime maitre d' and waiter who was born in the Dominican Republic and lives in Center City.

The best way to cook in the summer is to do as little of it as possible. But after we've used up our biweekly pizza delivery and our quota of tuna salads, what then? One way out of the kitchen is to use the barbecue to get a head start on a week's worth of meals that need little more than assembly each night on their way to the table. By starting off with a gala cookout, and by preparing enough food to ensure a small amount of leftovers from each course, we can create the foundation for a whole week's worth of menus.

No, Craig Bennett of Mount Laurel is no member of the Polar Bears, the club that starts each year by diving into ice-cold waters. But there he was yesterday in Moorestown, celebrating the unseasonably warm weather in a T-shirt and clearing away leftovers of last week's blizzard.

Lock in leftovers These silicone tie wraps are reusable, heat resistant to 482 degrees, and lock in place, so bagged leftovers stay fresh. They're dishwasher safe and come with a five-year warranty. In green only. Save that manicure These gloves let you scrub potatoes and other vegetables while preserving your skin, and your fresh manicure, if company's coming. The rough-textured knitted-nylon gloves rinse clean, and they can also go into the dishwasher or washing machine.

Consider the forlorn fate of a super PAC that has outlived its political purpose: Once flush with cash in support of a rising Republican candidate trying to dodge Mitt Romney's mallet in this year's primary game of Whac-A-Mole. Now, sitting on a pile of greenbacks, its man beat back into the annals of presidential history and no spending goals in sight. So what happens to the millions collected by such groups on behalf of the Rick Santorums, Rick Perrys, and Jon M. Huntsman Jrs. of this world when these would-be presidents wind down their campaigns?

Here is an excerpt from the blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " Sometimes, especially after a long day, the most satisfying meal is one that doesn't require a trip to the store. Indeed, everyone needs a few recipes that can be pulled together, even when it seems that there is nothing in the fridge. Or when the few ingredients on hand are nearing their expiration dates. As a lovely package of Baby Bella mushrooms stood out in my nearly empty refrigerator, I thought to myself: frittata.

Tables across the country will be overflowing with myriad traditions on Thanksgiving Day. Most will have turkeys, some will have ethnic eats such as ravioli, collard greens, or kugel. But there's one thing all the holiday revelers will have in common: Scouring the fridge the next day and gorging on leftovers. "I actually look forward to the leftovers more than the dinner itself," says Peter McAndrews, chef and owner of Philadelphia's Modo Mio, Monsù, and Paesano's. It's a sentiment many hosts would repeat.

Faced with competing demands for $29 million in unspent economic-development funds - including from food banks with a "pending crisis" - a Delaware River Port Authority panel may decide this month how to spend the money. South Jersey food banks, struggling to meet a 70 percent increase in hungry residents, want $2 million of the money as was promised them two years ago. The Food Bank of South Jersey plans to meet Wednesday with its network of food pantries and soup kitchens to discuss a $300,000 deficit and a "pending crisis" in funding.

Faced with competing demands for $29 million in unspent economic-development funds - including from food banks with a "pending crisis" - a Delaware River Port Authority panel may decide this month how to spend the money. South Jersey food banks, struggling to meet a 70 percent increase in hungry residents, want $2 million of the money as was promised them two years ago. The Food Bank of South Jersey plans to meet Wednesday with its network of food pantries and soup kitchens to discuss a $300,000 deficit and a "pending crisis" in funding.

At age 5, my daughter Sally could make lovely pancakes all by herself. Perched on a stool at the kitchen counter, she measured ingredients, cracked eggs, mixed the batter, ladled it onto the griddle, flipped the cakes proficiently, and proudly served them to the family. So, why, after showing such promise, is she saying at age 25 that she doesn't know how to cook? Somehow, in the years in between, too many other things took precedence. The all-consuming mad dash of studies-sports-friends-etcetera that started in high school continued right through college and then into her working life.

Although the contents of some students' lockers may look as if a bomb went off inside, a threat from a suspicious item at a Chester County school Wednesday proved unfounded, police said. At 11:46 a.m., troopers from the state police Embreeville barracks responded to Owen J. Roberts High School for a report of a suspicious item in the boys' locker room. Staff members had located a briefcase that did not belong to any of the students and had been placed in an unusual location, police said.

DEAR ABBY: My in-laws have a small dog, "Fluffy," who has come to rule their lives. That's OK, because it doesn't really affect me. However, we frequently have them over for dinner, and they insist on taking home a large portion of whatever meat was served to give to their dog. I'm not talking about scraps from everyone's plates - the amount they take would be a serving for another meal. I have objected to this practice in the past, but each time they come for dinner they seem to have "forgotten" the lesson.

DEAR ABBY : I am a weekly client at an upscale hair salon. I and most of the other customers are over 65. The owner, "Valentino," is a 50ish widower who likes to brag about his romantic conquests. My friends and I agree that his revelations are inappropriate and unprofessional. Should we ignore his behavior, or quit cold turkey and live with bad hair days? - Embarrassed in the Big Easy DEAR EMBARRASSED : Take Valentino aside and tell him privately, as a friend, that hearing the details of his sex life is embarrassing, and that some of his clients have mentioned they're considering changing hairdressers because of it. That should "snip" it. DEAR ABBY : A close family friend recently passed.

Leftover wine is a certainty at Rob Stewart's house. Not because he's a wine educator with 1,500 bottles in his basement, but because he and his partner of almost 24 years, Lisa Chedister, are serial entertainers. "We invite people over at least once a week. It's pretty casual, though," Stewart says. "Why not? It's expensive to go to a restaurant!" Chedister chimes in. Opened reds and whites never go to waste here. Stewart uses them for deglazing saute pans, for enriching his tawny-colored stock, which is long-simmered using a full bottle of wine, water, roasted chicken or duck or pheasant bones, onion, carrot, star anise, cloves, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves.