How to Cook Creatively from Leftovers & Storecupboard

So many recipes in books and online, while they may be very good recipes, are just that – a recipe. No suggestions or ideas for how to cook creatively by varying the recipe for different ingredients, how to season to taste, food pairing, or how to use different components in the dish – spices, herbs, different cheeses, etc., what to do with leftovers or how to change a dish to make it exactly what you fancy aka creative cooking.

To me these are all very important factors in cooking.

Cook Creatively with What you Have

I generally make dishes up as I go along, even professionally, depending on what I have available, hence the “Sudden” in this blog’s title, so the ideas I give are not necessarily ones you see every day. Spontaneous cooking is like that!

Cooking with Leftovers

(which are not boring!)

Of all the foods in the world leftovers are my favourite ingredient and using them my favourite way to cook. If I find myself with random bits and pieces to use up, I am delighted and often inspired; I enjoy the challenge of making them into a good meal and then I enjoy eating it! 

This is a fun and economical way of discovering new ideas and dishes; sometimes the result of playing with leftovers is so pleasing that the end product has become a regular on my menus.

7 Kinds of Leftover Food

There are many ways leftover food can happen, for instance …

~   the remains of a dish when  nobody wants any more
~   the last few scraps of ingredient which are surplus to the requirements of a recipe
~   by-products of cooking for instance a Parmesan rind or potato skins.
~   something forgotten lurking in the back of the cupboard such as a tablespoon of marmalade or half a packet of peanuts.
~   a very small amount of something you wish you had more of e.g. two squares of chocolate and four friends
~   accidents, for instance what to do with the result of having sat on a packet of biscuits.
~   too much of something having been over enthusiastic when picking blackberries or due to two for one offers.

Of necessity, as leftovers occur in random amounts, many of my ideas and recipes are flexible. Here is an index of my recipes for leftovers on this blog.

Of course, some leftovers can simply be reheated, here’s some advice …

How to Reheat Leftovers

~   Always reheat food to piping hot, at least 75^oC/165^oF and maintain this heat for 2 minutes.
~   If reheating in a microwave stir the food around a couple of times to avoid cold spots.
~   Do, however, remember that foods can be spoiled if reheated to too high a heat, life’s never easy, is it!  Here’s a lot of help for reheating all sorts of leftovers without spoiling them.

Useful Ideas and Advice about Leftovers

~   Learn how to store leftovers properly.
~   Understand the difference between “best before” and “use by”
~   Don’t overload plates – these leftovers are the hardest to use up although, of course, easier within the family.
~   Read my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers. Yes, this is a plug but a damn useful one as it will be a real help if you have leftovers and no idea what to do with them. (You will find some of the information on this post in the book but LOADS MORE too as it gives ideas for 450 potential leftovers.)

Storecupboard Ingredients
(including Fridge and Freezer) to help Cook Creatively

I’m not going to list here what you should keep in stock, you know your own habits and preferences. It may that you eat a lot of fish and chips at home so that malt vinegar is an essential or perhaps you’re a bugger for cream teas and always have clotted cream to hand.

Food Storage Tips

~   Seal open packets with clips or clothes pegs or transfer contents to airtight containers to keep them fresh.
~   Keep the fridge at below 4° C / 40°F and the freezer at -18°C /0°F or a bit below.
~   Cool leftovers as quickly as possible before chilling.
~   Never put warm food in the fridge.
~   Don’t leave unused tinned food in its tin – once opened put it in a covered container in the fridge.
~   Store raw meat and fish at the bottom of the fridge where it is coolest and where they can’t drip onto other things.
~   It is useful to freeze liquids and sauces in ice cubes so that you can take just what you need.
~  When ripe many fresh fruits give out a gas called ethylene which hastens the ripening of other fruits so either avoid this effect by keeping them separate or make the most of this gas by storing unripe fruit in a paper bag with ripe fruit.

Basic Recipes

Many basic recipes can be varied ad infinitum with different main ingredients, various additions, seasonings, cooking methods etc.

It’s a good idea to collect some basic recipes somewhere: online, in books or in your head. For easy reference write them all into a kitchen notebook which you can refer to when cooking rather than having to look them up. Start a basic recipes collection to work with.

Here’s some to start with …

Easy and Very Flexible Soup Recipe

Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Basic Recipe

Rich, Quick and Easy Luxurious Cream Sauce

Easy and Delicious Meat Sauces

Guidelines for Making Bean Dips

Risotto – Basic Recipe and Ideas

Basic (but Brilliant!) No Churn Ice Cream Recipe   

Tips that help Cook Creatively

~   Experiment – gently. Try a new spice, add some fresh herbs, or stir in a little cream.
~   When adding things to a recipe do so gradually, taste frequently and when you get it just how you like it make some notes in the above mentioned notebook.
~   Here are lots of food pairing suggestions to give you some ideas of what tastes go well together.
~   Change the texture (I always like a bit of crunch with creamy dishes!) – add some nuts, sprinkle with pangrattato (lovely crunchy breadcrumbs flavoured however you like) or serve with croutons – homemade of course, from leftover bread!
~   If things go a bit wrong here’s some ideas of ways to correct things if you have an Oops Moment in the Kitchen!

Don’t Experiment when Baking ~ well not much!

Successful baking requires a carefully controlled chemical reaction to work properly. Measure accurately, scales are much better than cups for this. Here are some conversion charts that should help.

By all means add nuts, fruit, chocolate chips, spices, a different glaze, etc. but don’t mess with the ratios of the main ingredients (flour, raising agent, sugar, fat, eggs, liquid), the order you add them to the recipe or the cooking temperature, or you risk a failure.