Surely you didn't think I was out of leftovers?


Sunny Side Up Crabwiches for Two

Slice one purple onion and toss it into a frying pan with melted butter. Let them caramelize a little bit, then add about a cup of crab meat to the pan. Saute a minute longer, then remove from pan and reserve. Take 2 pull apart rolls and slice them lengthwise. Turn on broiler. Wipe out frying pan and fry eggs sunny side up. Toast the roll halves under the broiler. To assemble, place two roll halves on plate, mound a quarter of the onion/crab mixture on each and top with fried egg. I liked this with salsa, and Mr. Strangely thoroughly liked his before I even got the salsa out of the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Bread Pudding with Nutty Brown Sugar Sauce

Take that extra package of rolls you had laying around, and pull them all apart into pieces. Lay these pieces in a buttered casserole (I had enough for a pie pan) and leave them out overnight. In the morning, take the last little bits of your leftover sweet potatoes, which by now are all soft from being reheated so much and the maple syrup and brown sugar crust have evolved into toffee... and tuck them all around inside this pile of bread. Press down on top so the potatoes and bread get all smashed together. It should look a little something like this:


Now, beat three eggs (if you're using jumbo eggs from the store, you'll probably only need 2) and combine them with a cup and a half of milk. Add a capful of vanilla and about a half cup of brown sugar. There are many recipes for sweet potato bread pudding, the ones that call for naked sweet potatoes use about a cup of sugar. Be sure to adjust for the sweetness of the leftovers you are using. Take this mixture and pour it slowly and carefully into your dish of bread and sweet potatoes. Let it soak in a bit as you pour so you get the whole thing nice and saturated. When you've poured all your liquid in, press again gently on the bread to help the custard penetrate. If you can't see the custard creeping up the edges of the pan, add a little milk. Let this sit for about 30 minutes while you preheat your oven and enjoy a nice cup of coffee. When you're both ready, plop it in the oven at 350 for about 45 minutes, turning once so it gets evenly browned.

Meanwhile, start your brown butter. Take about 6 tablespoons of butter and let it melt in a saucepan at medium low heat. Watch it carefully, stirring every now and then. Over time, it should get nice and dark, the color of an old penny.


Now carefully add up to a half cup of brown sugar, she guessed. I am still working out this sauce, and I used a quarter cup with a lot of butter leftover at the end. Let us know if you wind up using more and how it works out! Turn the heat up a little bit and stir the brown sugar until it melts/dissolves. Be careful not to burn the butter at this point... smell it from time to time and make sure it never goes from "nutty" to "ugh". It will still be all clumpy and nasty looking as it mixes with the butter solids. Now, turn off the heat. Pour in about 3 tablespoons of milk. Beat it quickly though it's hissing at you. Something magic happened at this point... the weird chunky sugar mixture at the bottom of the pan became a beautiful brown sauce with melted butter floating on top.

I poured this into the stock separator we got as a wedding gift. This let me pour the sauce out from under the butter and drizzle it artfully over my beautiful bread pudding...

Yum.