Brunch ideas to make with your leftover New Year’s Eve dinner
Holiday dinners are often hearty, rich and very generous. We always make too much for fear of not having enough, but also because we love to spoil our guests on this special occasion. So, if you find yourself with plenty of leftovers at the end of the evening, try repurposing meal items for your brunch the next morning to avoid waste! Here are plenty of ideas on how to reuse your leftovers.
Bread
Any bread from the day before is perfect to accompany all your brunch dishes. Here’s the proof:
- Slice your bread differently (into strips, thin slices, triangles, etc.). Toast the slices and put them in a nice bread basket.
- Turn your slices of dry bread into croutons to accompany your scrambled eggs, fine cheeses and morning jams.
- Toast slices of whole-grain bread and butter them. Then cut them into strips to accompany boiled eggs.
Cold cuts
On the day after this festive holiday, continue to spoil yourselves with delicious cold cuts for brunch!
- Top your omelettes with coarsely chopped sausages or dry ham. Accompany them with hash browns and onions for a champion’s meal.
- Place your salmon, duck or pork rillettes in cute little bowls and use them as a base for toast.
- Garnish your eggs benedict with prosciutto, sliced cured meat or smoked salmon.
Cheese
Who doesn’t like to start their day with fine cheeses? They’re impossible to resist!
- Remake your cheese board for brunch mode. Use a smaller plate, cut off the dry ends of the cheese, reassemble and fill your board with a mixture of fresh fruit like apples and grapes, as well as dried fruit and nuts. Remember to temper the cheeses before serving. It’s a great way to showcase delicious local cheese varieties and they go perfectly with an omelette or quiche.
- Grate your cheese to garnish quiches or put into omelettes.
Vegetables and salad
Add a little freshness to your table by reinventing your vegetables from the day before. Your guests will thank you!
- Thinly slice your roasted vegetables and use them in your recipes for savoury cakes or muffins.
- In order not to waste your big bowl of lettuces, accompany your quiches or eggs benedict with a small light green salad suitable for brunch. Garnish with orange supremes, diced apples or even dried cranberries.
Potatoes
This vegetable is part of every family dinner, but it is also a classic of more elaborate breakfast meals.
- Roasted potatoes – Cut the finely roasted potatoes and use them in a Spanish omelette-style frittata. Serve the frittata with a green salad for an express brunch.
- Mashed potatoes – Turn your mashed potatoes into hash brown-style breakfast potatoes. Make small balls with the purée, to which you can add fresh herbs, cheese, spices and flour so that it holds well, then brown everything in a well-buttered pan.
Turkey
Turkey, the star of holiday meals, is also invited to brunch as a savoury garnish.
- Shred the turkey, then use it as a garnish in savoury buckwheat pancakes, with Swiss cheese and fresh spinach. Not to mention a touch of maple syrup.
- Slice or shred your turkey, then incorporate it into your quiches. You can also vary the toppings with leftover grilled vegetables from the day before, such as carrots and squash cut into small pieces. For a little more freshness, add lemon and fresh thyme.
Yule logs and desserts
On this post-holiday morning, spoil yourselves with a small piece of yule log to accompany your morning coffee!
- Simply serve your log from the day before. Cut off the ends of the log, serve it on a smaller plate and garnish it with fresh fruit, and why not a custard? Add a touch of seasonal herbs, like rosemary, and we assure you that it will be all the rage at the end of brunch.
- Turn your panettone into decadent French toast! This traditional Italian dessert, which is halfway between brioche and fruitcake, makes the best French toast. Soak the panettone slices in a mixture of eggs and milk flavoured with cinnamon and vanilla, and serve with citrus syrup, yogurt and crumbled almond cookies as a garnish.