Odd Couples: Combining Leftovers for Dinner

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
published Apr 19, 2010
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What do you do when you have a little scoop of this leftover and another cup or so of that? In our house, we mix them together and call it dinner! In fact, dinner last night was the last bit of Peppery Whole Wheat Pasta drizzled with some neglected tomato soup, as you can see above. Do you ever combine leftovers into new dishes?

I inherited my habit of combining leftovers from my dad, a.k.a. The Human Garbage Can. He lives by the logic that if Dish A was delicious and Dish B was delicious, then combining them should equal something also delicious. Or at least edible.

If you think about it, combining leftovers can be a way of figuring out interesting new flavor combinations – or combinations to avoid. I remember a grain salad and chili incident that has never been repeated.

Are there any successful (or not) leftover combinations in your recent dining history?

Related: Cooking Confession: Do You Eat Your Mistakes?

(Image: Emma Christensen)

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