Recipe: Pieces of Leftovers Salad

When I was growing up, I was taught on how to prepare my own snacks. Food that doesn't require cooking like PB&J sandwich or bread and butter or Chiz Wiz. When I was old enough to reach the stovetop, I was taught how to cook simple foods like fried eggs, spam, corned beef, meat loaf and other foods that require of either scissors or can opener. No biggie. It was a matter of opening a canned food and turning on a stove. The big challenge was when you are faced with raw ingredients and making something out of it. Recipe books come in handy when it calls for a certain dish and your ingredients happen to be complete. But what if your pantry runs low on grocery and you don't have time to shop. Ding, ding, ding. It's 6:30 pm and you need to fix dinner by 7:00 pm for the kids. Time to bring out the Rachel Ray in you.

This is one of my RR moments. I opened my fridge last night and this is what got.

• Iceberg and Romaine Lettuce leaves
• Eggs (hard boiled and cut into wedges)
• Bunch of grapes and grapefruit I bought 2 days ago. (you can substitute apples or pineapple)
• About 200 grams of Leftover Sukiyaki Beef (stir fried earlier with Terriyaki sauce)
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Balsamic or Red wine vinegar
• Honey
• Parmesan Cheese

Prepare the lettuce leaves on a salad bowl. Arrange the eggs, grapes and grapefruit on top.

Reheat the beef by quickly stir frying it in a hot pan. Careful not to overcook it. Remove beef immediately and arrange on top of the salad. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

For the dressing, deglaze the pan used for stir frying with about a couple of tablespoons balsamic vinegar to get those beef and terriyaki drippings and flavor into the dressing. Turn off heat. Add another couple or more tablespoons of EVOO and season the dressing with a bit of honey to taste. Add salt if necessary. The terriyaki sauce in the leftover beef adds saltiness to the dressing. Drizzle and toss with the salad. Serve. Great with crusty buttered baguette.

November 16, 2011: Romaine and Iceberg Lettuce, terriyaki beef, hard boiled eggs, grapes, parmesan cheese, dressing.

November 23, 2011: Romaine and Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, kutchay tips, roast beef and dressing.