Reimagined LEFTOVERS

Raid the fridge, prepare some holiday treats ... and forget about a trip to the supermarket

One of my favourite times of the year is the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day because the fridge is full of delicious leftovers.

While I love a simple turkey sandwich or just straight-up reheating a plate of all the fixings, I also like to reimagine my leftovers into simple dishes without a trip to the supermarket.

For me, a good leftover recipe can be thrown together with minimal addition of extra ingredients and is easy to scale up or down — you never know how much you will have to work with.

Pancakes with Cranberry Sauce Star Tested

The tartness of cranberry sauce does a wonderful job of breaking up the sugary sweetness in desserts such as ice cream and cakes, but during the post-Christmas week I like to keep it simple and put a dollop of the sauce on top of pancakes when making brunch.

This basic pancake recipe from All Recipes is my go-to recipe.

It is the first hit on Google with more than 10,000 reviews.

The batter is quite thick and sometimes will not spread when it hits the pan, so flip it when the bottom starts turning golden brown and then press it flat with the spatula.

1-1/2 cups (375 ml) all-purpose

flour 1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp (17 ml) baking powder 1 tbsp (15 ml) granulated sugar 1 tsp (5 ml) kosher salt 1 egg 1 -1/4 cups (310 ml) milk 3 tbsp (45 ml) melted butter Vegetable or canola oil, for cooking pancakes Syrup, for serving Preheat oven to 200 F (93 C).

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Make a well in centre and pour in egg, milk and butter. Whisk until smooth.

In a large skillet over mediumhigh heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and heat till it shimmers. Ladle pancake batter, about1/4 cup on to skillet. When bubbles start appearing, flip pancake and cook for an additional minute or two until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

Store cooked pancakes in heated oven on a baking sheet to keep warm until ready to serve with cranberry sauce and syrup.

Makes about 10 pancakes.

KARON LIU TORONTO STAR Turn holiday dinner leftovers into more delicious meals. Here, stuffing becomes bread pudding, turkey is turned into a meatloaf, and cranberry sauce tops pancakes.