Transforming Labor Day Leftovers

In our minds, Labor Day marks the end of summer and beginning of the autumn and back to school (sorry kids!) season. We all enjoy munching on the quintessential American summer foods like hamburgers, hotdogs, and potato salad, but what to do with all the leftovers? Chef and cookbook author Joanne Weir, and chef and journalist Denisse Oller, have joined together to share their tips and tricks to transforming those pesky leftovers into a completely new dish.

First up, Joanne Weir. Weir is all about transforming food from one ingredient to another so we challenged her with classic Labor Day leftover sides green salad, potato salad, and corn on the cob.

Green Salad

Salad is one of those side dishes that you put out but always end up throwing away because your guests have so many other options to fill up on. Weir recommends experimenting with a homemade dressing to brighten the dish.

“Toss your salad at the last minute to avoid wet, soggy, and wilting lettuce,” says Weir. “After you have made your salad dressing make sure you taste it with a few components of the salad and not a spoon, that’s the only way you can get the true taste,” she continues.

Tip: Serve your salad slightly chilled, not ice cold, from the refrigerator. But don’t leave your salad out in the blazing sun, especially if there is mayonnaise in it. Bring it out at the last minute before you are ready to eat. Make a small amount and load up on hearty veggies like carrots or broccoli that you can toss into a stirfry for a leftover meal. 

Potato Salad

Whether you have a leftover bag of potatoes or a few bowls of premade potato salad, fear not. There are plenty of ingredients to toss in to avoid a repeat meal.

“For the potato salad, you can add any other herbs or condiments to it, that you want,” says Weir. “I like oven dried tomatoes, sliced fennel or cured artichoke hearts,” she says of ingredients that pack a punch of flavor when standing alone or accompanied in a dish. For those who want a little Latin flavor, try adding mango and avocado for a tasty zing, or chunks of chorizo instead of bacon

The day after, throw in some protein (like leftover grilled chicken), sprinkle with cheese, and bake for an easy casserole. Or warm it up on the stove with some stock, cream, and cheese for an easy, creamy potato soup! Remake your potato salad into something new with Weir’s recipe for Warm Grilled Potato Salad with Olives and Parmiagiano Reggiano.

Corn on the Cob

If you have leftover corn on the cob still in the husk, Weir suggests tossing it on the grill to preserve the flavor before cutting off the kernels. Store the kernels until you’re ready to use them in salads, soups, stews, or even as a topping for pizza.

Need some inspiration? Read on for Weir’s recipe for Grilled Corn and Arugula Salad with Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette. Have some leftover peppers and tomatoes too? Throw them in to amp the flavor.

Next up, check out Weir’s deliciously transformed recipes…

Warm Grilled Potato Salad with Olives and Parmiagiano Reggiano 

• 2 1/4 pounds small red-skinned new potatoes
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 green onions, white and green, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 1/2 cup imported black olives, pitted
• 3-ounce piece Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Get the full recipe.

Grilled Corn and Arugula Salad with Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette

• 3 ears fresh corn, in husks
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/2 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 bunches arugula, stems removed, about 8 cups
• 3/4 cup imported black or green olives
• 11/2 cups or 8 oz. red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3-ounce piece of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Get the full recipe. 

Next up, Denisse Oller transforms an entire Labor Day menu…

Denisse Oller accepted the challenge of offering up an entire menu of Labor Day leftovers, but this time around, it’s packed with Latin flavor.

“Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer and the big sendoff here is a BBQ with all the works,” says Oller, including a menu of hamburgers, grilled chicken, churrasco, roasted or grilled vegetables, guacamole, tomato salad, and of course, potato salad. “Most of the time with my family, every morsel is gone, but regardless, I always plan ahead. In my house, I don’t waste anything.”

Burgers, Grilled Chicken, and Churrasco:

“These ingredients are terrific for most croquettes the next day,” says Oller. Check out her recipe for Ham Croquettes below, and keep in mind hat any meat, like leftover burger and chicken, will do.

Don’t feel like cooking again? No problem. You can always freeze these meats for later use. Your croquettes will still come out crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside, regardless of how quickly you utilize your leftovers.

Oller uses her leftover churrasco to make, what else? Tacos!

“My leftover churrasco is cut in strips to make riquisimo skirt steak tacos,” says Oller. “I also dice my leftover tomato salad, adding red onion, cilantro, my favorite chile and lime, and there I have a great tomato salsa that goes beautifully with my meat tacos!”

Vegetables

Have leftover peppers and tomatoes that you didn’t skewer? Forget dipping them or throwing them into salads, bake them off instead.

“Roasted and grilled vegetables are superb for an end-of-summer vegetable tart,” says Oller. Chock full of potatoes, carrots, peas, peppers and mushrooms, your family will love this unique spin on veggies. Check out Oller’s recipe below. 

Potato Salad

Oller prepares her potato salad with scallions, cooking ham cubes, diced carrots and peas, boiled eggs, and mayo. But her leftover solution is something that will work with any type of potato salad.

“The next day, I mash the leftovers and I make delicious potato pancakes for the family,” says Oller. “I also add eggs, bread crumbs and whatever hard cheese I have from the day before. It’s really tasty!”

Bread

From buns to slices, your bakery basket is usually still overflowing after you party.

“Dried in the oven and ground, leftover bread is perfect for bread crumbs,” says Oller who also suggests using bigger, cubed pieces for croutons. “Of course, our meal would not be quite complete without a rich and comforting bread pudding. There’s no need to waste any bread!”

Now that you have some new recipes in your arsenal, you can finally get excited over the prospect of Labor Day leftovers, and surprise your family with something other than a dish they’ve seen before.

Next up, check out Ollers’s deliciously transformed recipes…

Ham Croquettes 

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon onion, finely chopped
• 3 ounces flour
• 1 cup milk, warm
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 cups cooking ham, minced (or leftover chicken, hamburger meat)
• flour for coating
• bread crumbs for coating 

Get the full recipe.

Summer Vegetable Tart 

• 8 ounces red potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch dices
• 8 ounces carrots, peeled and cut in 1/4-inch dices
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon palm oil
• 1 leek, finely sliced
• 4 ounces red pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon white ground pepper
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms chopped
• 3 ounces fresh corn kernels

Get the full recipe.