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A few weeks ago I had some friends over for dinner, a sort of girls' night in while my boyfriend was out of town. In fact, I had taken the opportunity of his long work trip to have as many of these nights as I could work out with friends (girls' night is not really the same when boys are around). When I served up a platter of eggplant parmesan crostini for the girls to nibble on while I finished the main course, they were obviously impressed. Not only was I making dinner, but it appeared I had taken the time to laboriously fry eggplant slices, smothered them in marinara, and layered the slices with cheese, all for a humble dinner party appetizer.
Lest I appear too Martha Stewart, I quickly assured them the eggplant parm was not as elaborate as it appeared. Yes, I had made the eggplant myself complete with homemade marinara, but I had made it for my dinner two nights earlier. They were simply helping me work through the leftovers.
This is not the first time I have repurposed my dinner from one night for appetizers a couple nights later. It is a tactic that serves a dual purpose: I get to make dinner for myself and prep for a dinner party at the same time. With the holidays upon us and the pace of entertaining kicked up a notch, repurposing leftovers for dinner party appetizers is a trick more people should embrace.
Crostini is one of the best ways to utilize the leftover strategy. Kind of an open face sandwich designed to be eaten in a few bites, crostini are a blank canvas for all those vegetable sides or sauces taking up space in the refrigerator from earlier cooking endeavors.
The eggplant parmesan crostini was a natural. The dish takes well to reheating and the toasted bread nicely absorbs the juices from the marinara. A few nights before that party, it was some leftover braised red chard that found its way onto a crostini smeared with goat cheese, the creamy cheese balancing with the acidity of the red wine vinegar in the chard dish.
If I have some cooked broccoli or rapini lurking in my fridge, particularly if it was roasted, I will pair it with white beans on toasted bread. The beans get a quick turn in the blender with garlic, sage, and olive oil. The pureed spread makes a nice thick schmear on crostini before being topped with the broccoli, a certain sweetness from the beans balances the bitterness of the greens.
Apart from crostini, I find any sort of leftover rice dish, particularly risotto, natural candidates for appetizers at later meals. Risotto binds easily with a little egg and breadcrumbs to make crispy risotto cakes when pan-fried. These eat well alone but also might work for a heavy appetizer, say an wild mushroom risotto cake topped with a single slice of medium rare sirloin and a drizzle sour cream thinned out with milk. Wild rice will work well for cakes as well. For the more adventurous, a ball of leftover risotto wrapped tightly around a cube of melty cheese like mozzarella and deep-fried is the classic Italian appetizer arancini.
Sure, I cheat a little when entertaining. But where I may be no Martha, slaving away all day in a kitchen for one meal, I’m happy to spread the work out over a few days, and feed myself dinner a couple of nights in the process. In these busy holiday days of entertaining, consider this entertaining trick an early Christmas gift from me to you.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1209-leftovers-as-appetizers/
Tonight's Dinner, Tomorrow's Appetizer
A few weeks ago I had some friends over for dinner, a sort of girls' night in while my boyfriend was out of town. In fact, I had taken the opportunity of his long work trip to have as many of these nights as I could work out with friends (girls' night is not really the same when boys are around). When I served up a platter of eggplant parmesan crostini for the girls to nibble on while I finished the main course, they were obviously impressed. Not only was I making dinner, but it appeared I had taken the time to laboriously fry eggplant slices, smothered them in marinara, and layered the slices with cheese, all for a humble dinner party appetizer.
Lest I appear too Martha Stewart, I quickly assured them the eggplant parm was not as elaborate as it appeared. Yes, I had made the eggplant myself complete with homemade marinara, but I had made it for my dinner two nights earlier. They were simply helping me work through the leftovers.
This is not the first time I have repurposed my dinner from one night for appetizers a couple nights later. It is a tactic that serves a dual purpose: I get to make dinner for myself and prep for a dinner party at the same time. With the holidays upon us and the pace of entertaining kicked up a notch, repurposing leftovers for dinner party appetizers is a trick more people should embrace.
Crostini is one of the best ways to utilize the leftover strategy. Kind of an open face sandwich designed to be eaten in a few bites, crostini are a blank canvas for all those vegetable sides or sauces taking up space in the refrigerator from earlier cooking endeavors.
The eggplant parmesan crostini was a natural. The dish takes well to reheating and the toasted bread nicely absorbs the juices from the marinara. A few nights before that party, it was some leftover braised red chard that found its way onto a crostini smeared with goat cheese, the creamy cheese balancing with the acidity of the red wine vinegar in the chard dish.
If I have some cooked broccoli or rapini lurking in my fridge, particularly if it was roasted, I will pair it with white beans on toasted bread. The beans get a quick turn in the blender with garlic, sage, and olive oil. The pureed spread makes a nice thick schmear on crostini before being topped with the broccoli, a certain sweetness from the beans balances the bitterness of the greens.
Apart from crostini, I find any sort of leftover rice dish, particularly risotto, natural candidates for appetizers at later meals. Risotto binds easily with a little egg and breadcrumbs to make crispy risotto cakes when pan-fried. These eat well alone but also might work for a heavy appetizer, say an wild mushroom risotto cake topped with a single slice of medium rare sirloin and a drizzle sour cream thinned out with milk. Wild rice will work well for cakes as well. For the more adventurous, a ball of leftover risotto wrapped tightly around a cube of melty cheese like mozzarella and deep-fried is the classic Italian appetizer arancini.
Sure, I cheat a little when entertaining. But where I may be no Martha, slaving away all day in a kitchen for one meal, I’m happy to spread the work out over a few days, and feed myself dinner a couple of nights in the process. In these busy holiday days of entertaining, consider this entertaining trick an early Christmas gift from me to you.
Braised Red Chard and Goat Cheese Crostini
Made with black pepper, salt, red chard, olive oil, onion, garlic, white wine, red wine vinegar, sugar, thyme
Made with black pepper, salt, red chard, olive oil, onion, garlic, white wine, red wine vinegar, sugar, thyme
Serves/Makes: 24
- 1 bunch red chard
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 pinch sugar
- 1 thyme sprig
- salt
- black pepper
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1 large baguette
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Clean chard well and pat to dry. Trim woody ends off the red chard. Cut remaining leaves into thin strips about 1 inch thick.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Thinly slice onion. Add to oil and saute for 4-5 minutes until soft. Mince garlic and add to onion, saute for another 2 minutes.
Add chard in batches, stirring until wilted slightly. Add wine and vinegar, thyme and a bit of salt and pepper. Cover pot with a lid and let simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, slice baguette on a strong diagonal. Toast in the hot oven for 6-8 minutes until browned.
Remove bread and arrange on a platter. Smear each slice with a bit of goat cheese.
When chard is done, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Top each goat cheese covered bread slice with a bit of chard.
Serve immediately or at room temperature.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/1209-leftovers-as-appetizers/