To not understand about "leftovers"?

[user1477282676]

I keep reading threads about leftovers...people going on about how nice they are, how they love them and even arguments about what happens to them.

I never really have any from Christmas dinner! No more than from an average Sunday roast anyway....a few potatoes and some meat.

Is it because we only have myself, DH and two DC for Christmas dinner? Do people cook WAY too much?

What ARE these leftovers anyway? Is it piles of meat and a load of crusty stuffing? Dried up parsnips?

What's the deal?

You are supposed to have leftovers because it's feast time not bloody Sunday roast.
So we have a cooked ham, roast beef for Christmas Eve/ Boxing day and a turkey/ goose for the main event regardless. Tonnes of veg and other bits.
You can't possibly eat all that in one or two days...that's the whole point.

A whole turkey is a huge bit of meat so it's highly likely there will be loads left. It's common to factor this in for sandwiches, part of a Boxing day meal. If you have guests it's better to over cater than under provide. So yes any homemade sauces, stuffing and veg could be going spare and why throw it away. Then of course there may be a gammon or other joint in the mix.

Then people may get more of a range of things like cheeses or pate in than usual. Especially if you have visitors and don't know how much people may eat and when. They're not so much leftovers but a challenge to think of ways to eat! Then people buy it all in because what with all the visiting they don't want to think about cooking when you can whip out another buffet, or get home and have salad and cold things from the fridge.

We did pork but cooked double because we wanted plenty leftover. When we do a roast we always do extra meat and roast potatoes because whilst the oven is on we may as well use it fully and have some easier meals during the week. Potatoes get fried up with eggs and mushrooms, sliced on top of a shepherds style pie, part of a Spanish type omelette. Any roast chicken scraps become lunch sandwiches. Roast beef chopped and become a chilli. Pork becomes a hot sandwich.

If you've gone to all the effort you may as well get more than one meal out of it.

The week between Christmas and New Year is like Ready, Steady, Cook. We open the fridge, see what we've got and think about what we can cook!

Yes, that's how batch cooking works. It's usually much less effort and washing up to make a big dinner and reheat some of it than two (or more) separate meals. You're right that some things work better than others. My reheated roast veg were just as good (very nearly) as the first time through.

I aim to do too much meat and roast pots (normal roast or xmas) as I use them to make stuff that everyone likes after - sliced shallow fried roast cold roast pots come out like super-crispy chips (I suppose they are double cooked or whatever the posh chips always say) and I love cold meat as it comes, with pickles, or to make into pasta dishes / curry etc etc

I don't aim to have other veg left over as I find leftover brocolli etc just no thanks.

Each to their own - that's my preference though.

We don't have leftovers and don't do much extra than a normal roast. I am not keen on a traditional xmas dinner and find it pretty bland. This year we had a stuffed turkey cushion (3 adults and 2 toddlers), pigs in blankets, roast spuds, carrots and parsnips, red cabbage and apple and sprouts and bacon. Gravy, bread sauce and cranberry and port sauce. Christmas pudding and cream.

I think when you have a small family it's easy to cater exactly. I never buy more food at xmas or things like selection boxes because we just never had them at home growing up. I am an only child and it was just me and mum and dad and would always have a duck so there was no left overs.

Boxing day is always the better food day, Milanese veal/beef wellington and ginger trifle - still no leftovers tho!

We try to minimise leftovers from Christmas dinner, the last thing any of us want is more of the same food the next day. Turkey gets frozen to use in stir fries and soups, gravy frozen, stock made from any leftover veg and the carcass and frozen. There are only 5 of us so it's pretty easy to cook the right amount of potatoes and veg.

OP, I'm the same as you in that I don't tend to cook much more than is required. If there are any vegetables left I throw them away and if there is any meat left we have it cold the next day because I don't like reheating meat.

We went to the in-laws this year, but last year we had leftover broth, and turkey enough to do a risotto and sandwiches. Despite not hosting this year we still have masses of cheese, chocolates and a panettone.

even for a regular sunday roast we make sure we buy enough for left overs. A roast is a cheap meal if you make 3 days worth of eating out of it, it's a very expensive meal if it's just one meal. it's a false economy to spend a few quid less and end up with no left overs. There's often not much in it £ wise to get a slightly bigger joint or bird but for that it can be spread out for days.

You say you "hate waste", but cooking a roast takes quite a lot of gas or electric. I think it's wasteful to cook a roast for just one meal

I cook Christmas lunch just for me and it would be unthinkable for me not to do extra roast potatoes and veg to make bubble and squeak to go with cold meat, ham, stuffing and salad on Boxing Day which is almost my favourite meal of the year.

If that's not something you enjoy then I guess you will cook sufficient only for the main meal.

DP and I like the simplicity of ordering from the M&S Catalogue but they really dont do portions for two. We do like a large range of things we dont have at any other time though - red cabbage for example. Hence we have left overs but our xmas food shop is usually done in 30 mins (pick-up order and then add things like milk, bread etc.) and we are done and we have enough food to last us a number of days so we dont need to worry about food shops or even leaving the house except for dog walks.

We like to improv leftovers with whats lying around into meals. Today DP did some brussel sprout/bacon/cream combo for lunch and I've done carrot and honey soup for dinner with the last of some nice bread. We will probably have to go to the shop soon though as we are almost out of leftovers and will need to restock the improv ingredients.

Its our Xmas so we dont mind of others like the OP dont understand it.

We always cook more, makes it's easier for the next meal. Ie if we cooked a roast dinner on the Sunday, then the leftover chicken would be shredded, stock saved, then it's easy to make a quick chicken risotto the next evening for dinner as the meat and stock already done.

I also couldn't be bothered to go to all the effect of cooking something that takes time like a beef bourgenion for it to last only one meal. I would cook that about 6hrs, so prefer to make enough for 3-4 family size meals , the all eat one portion each and freeze the rest into portions for 4 people x3 more meals. That way a week or two later dinner is a simple take dish out freeze, thaw and reheat. Serve with mash and veg

Funny about warmed-up food? Loads of stuff in pubs and restaurants is warmed up. Bought soups, ready meals, varioys frozen things - all pre-cooked and warmed up at home. As long as you practise good food hygiene it's all fine.

I made a ham.
Had some of it yesterday, cubed and fried with left over roast potatos and sprouts. It was yummy.
Had ham fried rice today.
Its all finished but covered basically three meals, including Christmas day :)

We don't have leftovers as when I was a kid I always hated the fact that my parents got in a massive Turkey and we then had bloody leftovers for the next week. I love Christmas dinner but am not then wanting it on repeat. Do not want soggy warmed up veg and dry turkey.

There's only 3 of us eating any veg, so no leftover cooked veg, but we always have plenty of meat.

Xmas eve - baked ham - has been getting snaffled for breakfast by DS2 and DH and then at lunchtime by any or all of us.

Xmas day - 3 game roast. Deeelicious sarnies, with a bit gone into the freezer for sometime in the new year.
Pigs in blankets - I deliberately prepare more than I need and cook another batch. DS1 had some in a sarnie for breakfast on boxing day! They've also been getting eating with lunches (we just have bread and salads with whatever we fancy or a few days after Christmas)

Stuffing. I always cook a selection. This year, aside from that in the 3 game roast, I cooked some sage and onion and chestnut. They got finished, this lunchtime, by the boys.

Boxing day - 3 fish roast. I had the last slice cold for my lunch today. Actually enjoyed it more cold than I did hot!

I ended up with 2 very different joints of ham, so boiled the second, less pretty (but much tastier) one, today. I'll slice and freeze some, use some in a chicken and leek dish, tomorrow and I'm sure DH will make a big dent in it at breakfast time!

I'm totally Christmas dinner.
Not a fan of turkey at the best of times but DH and 2 DC love it so I relented.
6 hours of solid cooking + overnight turkey prep for a glorified roast. Yes, we had all the trimmings. To be honest the thought of having to eat them for days on end is quite depressing.
The family have enjoyed 2 days of turkey though.

I deliberately overcater at Christmas so that I can just eat from leftovers for a week - ham, bubble and squeak, turkey, french bread, cheese, pate etc, and I don't have to cook unless I feel like it. I'll soup the turkey, make fricassee, turkey and ham pie and curry for the freezer, and soup the stilton or make pate with it, so I have a starter if anyone comes to dinner. There are never any leftover pigs in blankets as people tend to nab one each time they open the fridge. The smoked salmon gets put in sandwiches, or in scrambled eggs for breakfast, so everything is used.

And I forgot about the red cabbage. I actually do batch cook that, about a week or two before Christmas, then freeze it in portions for two (DS1 hates it). It's actually 10x nicer frozen then heated through in the microwave than it is freshly made.

I did try the M&S one, one year, but found it inedible as it was just dominated by bramleys, which made it far too acidic and everything was cut far too coarse.

We had a leg of lamb between 4 of us. Leftovers were lamb, roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots and green beans, enough for DH and me. The DC had supper earlier, pizza.

Well, there's only 2 of us and Christmas would be sodding miserable if I only bought a joint of meat that served 2. We may not be many but we still want a lovely dinner - and Christmas is not just any old roast!

Leftovers:

Did a turkey crown from the butcher, have at least 3 double portions of turkey in the freezer. Will do turkey tetrazzini this week (now a Christmas tradition, do it every year), some will go in a raised pie with leftover ham

Duck - ate today, have the carcass in the freezer for making stock later (best risotto of the year), enough duck fat rendered off today for a year's worth of roast potatoes, have picked the carcass over - big bits will do a couple a great meals, shredded bits will make rillette, giblets will go in ragu.

Ham - from Boxing Day. Bought monster ham after regretting having a small one before. Cold cuts this week, have big slices in freezer that can be served as gammon, some for the pie with the turkey, bone + meat which I'll make stock with and do a ham + bean stew, plus loads more I haven't had ideas for

Roast veg - intentionally made too much so have enough for hash this week, will also make some sort of veggie burger with them and the leftover bread sauce

Stuffing - will use some in pie, some in hash

Red cabbage - lasting ages, bit fed up with it now, may freeze whats left and come back to it

Have some Jansson's temptation knocking about from Boxing Day which we have with the ham, prob another 2 days worth

Then there's pudding - Christmas pudding goes on for several days, first few with brandy butter and cream, later with custard. Half a pannettone in the freezer which will eventually come out for bread and butter pudding.

Everything, absolutely everything will get used. It's a sad day when we reach 'the end of Christmas' some time in the spring.

I didn't bother with a turkey, this year, as we all much prefer the dark meat and for every portion of leg meat, there's about 4 of sodding breast, even on a well exercised free range bird!

There was eight of us (me, Dh, DC x4 and DGP) we got a turkey that serves 16 and cooked roughly two pigs in blankets each and four small stuffing balls plus veg and roasties. The children love cold pigs and sausage meat stuffing so had that in sandwiches for Xmas day tea and Boxing Day lunch. Boxing Day was cold cuts and mash with salad and pickles. Today was a slow cooker turkey casserole. We love the fact that there's always food on hand so there's no extra cooking, the older children can help them selves more and the meals for the best two days are minimal prep.

It all depends on how much is left over eg when there have been business events usually any food that gets left over is put to one side then is open Buffett for anyone else.