Leftover Pasta

Leftovers are the 800lb gorilla of my fridge. I see them there and think "man, I hate to throw this stuff out, but I don't really want to eat warmed-over chicken breast." This usually results in a bowl of completely usable food being ignored and eventually tossed into the trash. Last night, however, I was feeling inventive and thought I'd see what could be done with the remnants of Monday night's Kickin' Chicken Kabobs.

It turned out that using the kabobs again was easier than I had thought.  While at Kroger purchasing some salsa and bread bowl (post forthcoming) ingredients, I grabbed a box of fusilli pasta. Fusillis are the twirly-looking kind. I got back and cooked the pasta to al dente. While the pasta was cooking, I tossed my leftover vegetables and chicken into a skillet with a healthy dose of olive oil and basil pesto and cooked until warmed through. I drained and seasoned the pasta and served with the chicken-vegetable mixture on top. There was a nice byproduct in my skillet from the kabobs as well - a pan sauce in the skillet that I drizzled over the pasta before serving. I really wish I'd taken the time to snap a photo of the end result, because it came out beautifully. All the colors from the vegetables and chicken were too appetizing to wait for, so I just dug in.

So what have we learned today? Don't fear the leftover (cue the cowbell). Yesterday's meals have the potential to be more than just microwave fodder.   Chicken can be tossed with sauce or oil and thrown over pasta, beef can be put on top of a pizza or mixed in casserole, and so on. With a little imagination, your diners may not even notice the repeat.

Mike's Place

Well, we had dinner at Mike's Place in Conway last night. Mike's Place is renowned around these parts for their Cajun-inspired seafood and steaks as well as their appetizers. The meal started with a complimentary basket of bread and butter. The bread was made fresh and was very tasty. We then moved to an appetizer of shrimp and cheese fritters served with a homemade remoulade.



The fritters were great - nice and crisp on the outside, but full of creamy cheese and shrimp stuffing inside. The remoulade (basically a homemade tartar sauce) complimented the fritters very well.

The main course was an order of Mike's house special, the seafood crepes covered in a red pepper sauce. I was served a plate of crepes stuffed with grouper, shrimp, clam, veggies, and herbs and topped with a red bell pepper cream sauce. Some mussels and extra shrimp topped the crepes as well.



My crepes were a bit cold but still pretty good. The stuffing was creamy and complex, with lots of different flavors that still managed to work together. The mussels were cooked perfectly as well. I loved the creamy bell pepper sauce and I'll probably steal it to use at home. It tasted great with the crepes as well as a post-crepe bread dip (couldn't let all that sauce go to waste).



Tiff had a build-your-own platter with a crab cake (eh) and a delicious shrimp brantley (lots of rosemary...mmmm). No room left for dessert. Final tab (2 entrees, 2 waters) was around 50 bones after tip.

I enjoyed Mike's Place. The atmosphere was great, and the food was well-prepared and fairly priced for higher-end cuisine. If I lived in Conway, I'd probably be there pretty regularly.

I've got some chicken breasts in the fridge that need to be used. My first thought went to the grill, but now a pan-seared chicken breast is sounding enticing. It's being paired with frijoles negros with cilantro and lime, so I will have to keep the seasonings south of the border.