Catering in Washington DC – Leftovers!

Here is a GREAT way to use left over pasta.  Pasta Frittata.  It can be ANY type of pasta in a sauce, but the one I will talk about here is left over from a catered wedding reception the night before.  It’s our Bow Tie Pasta with Sun Dried Tomato, Feta Cheese,  and Fresh Dill Salad.  I blogged about it in an earlier post from our Springfield VA wedding reception lunch earlier this month.

Pictured above is an average sized frying pan.  In a separate bowl whisk 6-8 whole large eggs.  Then thoroughly mix with the left over cold pasta/sauce.  I added another chopped farmer’s market tomato, more fresh grated Parmesan, baby spinach leaves, leftover corn on the cob sliced off the cob. salt and pepper.  Melt several tablespoons of butter (or oil if you prefer) on a medium low heat and then add the pasta/egg mixture.  Cook this slowly so it doesn’t burn.  This should take at least 10-15 minutes.  Carefully loosen the bottom with a rubber spatula.  Here’s the only tricky part.  Flipping the pan.  I place a large cookie sheet over the pan, and using a kitchen towel to hold onto the cookie sheet and hot frying pan, quickly flip the pan over.  Once you have it out of the frying pan, melt additional butter in the empty pan, and slide the frittata back into the frying pan to cook the other side.  This won’t take nearly as long as the first side.  It should look like this:It should be golden brown and crispy at the touch.  Slice it in wedges and serve.  I’ve done this with our catered Linguine with Sun Dried Tomato, Cilantro and Parmesan, and you could also do it with Penne in a Vodka Sauce:

Take a moment.  Do you even know what you are looking at besides something yummy from the grill?  What was left over at my house was some multi grain hamburger buns, cheese, onions.  So I purchased some portobella mushrooms, sliced them and marinated them briefly in a balsamic vinaigrette.  Slice them at least 1/2″ thick so they don’t fall through the bars of your grill.  I place them on a medium hot grill, and when they are just starting to wilt I transfer them to a piece of foil set up on one side of the grill using indirect heat.  This keeps everything warm while you are cooking part 2 of the sandwich:

Grilled Sweet Onions!  Slice them thick, use that same Balsamic Vinaigrette, or any salad dressing you have on the shelf of your fridge.  Grill till soft.
I layered the mushrooms, onions,  and some Gorgonzola Cheese on the multi grain bun and they were outrageously delish.  Served with some chipotle seasoned sweet potato fries!

Left over food at a caterers house is just a way of life.  Cold rice makes an awesome fried rice entrée with left over chopped grilled chicken breast, garlic, ginger, veggies and soy sauce.

Left over risotto with some Manchego Cheese in the center makes killer rice cakes.
Of course, some things just taste awesome reheated  and not transformed:  Jambalaya or BBQ Pulled Pork.  Still, speaking of Pork BBQ, we have discovered there is practically an endless variety of options:  Nachos; baked potato topping; Summer Salad topping; even an omelet for breakfast!
Make a killer batch of  Pulled Pork BBQ, make a slow cooker full of this treasure, and then freeze it in smaller containers so you have ready meals in the time it takes to microwave defrost.  It’s one of the least expensive cuts of meat out there, pork shoulder, add a bottle of your favorite store bought sauce and you have a half dozen meals at the ready.  Of course, again, that’s if you make it to left over status in the first place.  If you have had that slow cooker doing it’s magic all day long and your family walks into the house – be forewarned, the heavenly aromas will probably knock their socks off and they will inhale the entire crock!
Bon Appetit, and do NOT be afraid of those left overs.  They are a working family’s best friend.  At least they are at this caterer’s house!
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