Netflix makes leftovers pop with Best Leftovers Ever
The new Netflix show Best Leftovers Ever! turns old food into delicious dishes.
Do you like leftovers? Do you hate them because you never know what to do with them? Maybe you are not a fan of having the same thing twice. Well, Netflix just debuted a series that may totally change your views on leftovers.
The new series Best Leftovers Ever! is available for streaming now. The series is in a game show format. It showcases the delicious possibilities achieved by reimagining normal leftovers.
One of the great things about this show is the range of capabilities of all of the contestants. Every episode features three cooks, but unlike a show such as Chopped, not every contestant is a chef first and foremost.
The profession of every contestant ranged from professional chefs and restaurateurs to attorneys and insurance professionals. Every contestant does seem to have some idea of what to do in the kitchen. It is fun to watch someone close that is more of a home chef create some magic.
The first round is called the Pressure Cooker round. This is where you watch contestants take themed leftovers and recreate them into a completely new dish with a theme designated by the show. This is where you can watch the cooks turn holiday leftovers into a sandwich. It was amazing to see leftovers like apple pie, ham, and sausage stuffing into a riff on a Muffuletta sandwich.
Best Leftovers Ever! gives us two rounds of incredible food transformations.
The Pressure Cooker also brought leftovers from a cookout and saw them turned into an amazing looking beef and bratwurst chili con queso topped with blueberry candied bacon. This caused me to warm up some not as tasty jarred queso with some chips. Wasn’t the same, but I did feel like I was almost there.
After the Pressure Cooker round, all three contestants move onto the Takeout Takedown round. This is where each contestant gets a separate leftover takeout dishes such as leftover Thai (chicken pad thai), leftover Italian (pork Osso Bucco), and leftover French (cassoulet) and turn it into a completely new upscale dish.
In the first round, you can do something such as tacos. The second round requires more of an entree that is more refined and plated in an elegant manner. Do not let the requirements fool you because there were some great looking dishes coming out of this round.
Have you ever tried to turn leftover pulled pork and coleslaw into pork and ginger filled dumplings with a side stir fry? Me either, but it looked delicious.
There were also great items like gnocchi and a red sauce made out of leftover fried chicken tenders and french fries. There great looking items I may never venture to attempt like a Persian duck baby made using leftover duck confit. There were also great things more approachable such as mac and cheese out of pad thai. One ironic thing was the use of gnocchi as it appeared in four different dishes throughout the first season.
The main theme of the show is what can be accomplished with leftovers rather than wasting the food and throwing it out. The winner of each episode wins $10,000.00 presented as a “Casherole.” Throughout we are also presented with different tips and ideas for helping to preserve and reuse some of the leftover items featured in the episode.
This includes ways to use day old french fries, how to rehydrate and reheat yesterday’s rice, and how quickly you want to reuse leftover pasta.
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Best Leftovers Ever! is fun and light and does not take itself too seriously. The judge trio of host Jackie Tohn David So, and Rosemary Shrager often encourage contestants and give feedback to help them improve from the first to the second round.
It also gives fresh ideas on what to do with your leftovers whether it was something from your home New Year’s party or last night’s takeout from your local Chinese restaurant. I know I will spend the next week reimagining dinner leftovers.
Watch The Best Leftovers Ever! on Netflix.