Good morning. If you live in the US, you likely have some leftover ham or turkey in the fridge right now. For those of you that can’t stomach the last of it, today’s main recipe might help you polish it off by changing up the flavor profile.

TRY SOMETHING NEW 🤯

Ham & turkey musubi

Musubi is a Hawaiian-born snack usually made with seared Spam. Since you likely have other kinds of sliced meat around from the holidays, why not use those instead?

Musubi Components

Meat

• Leftover ham & turkey, seared and sliced into a rounded rectangle shape

• Cooking oil

Musubi wrapper

• Nori sheet, sliced into strips

Rice

• Cooked white rice, preferably seasoned short-grain sushi rice [link]

Sauce

• Anything sweet & savory works here. Use up some teriyaki, or try: equal parts sugar, soy and/or oyster sauce, and a splash of sesame oil.

Instructions

1) Fry the meat: In a pan, fry up the shaped ham and turkey slices until browned on each side and warm. Remove, and optionally brush with some sauce.

2) Shape the rice into rounded rectangles about the size of the meat, but thicker.

3) Assemble & serve: Wrap with sliced nori sheets, enough to keep the meat & rice together. Keep the seam on the bottom, so it seals together.

• Serve with more sauce for garnish.

THROWBACK TIME 🍳

Tomatillo salsa

If there’s one salsa you need to learn how to make, this is it. Salsa verde teaches you how to balance acid and spice, and can be made either fresh or roasted.

It’s the most popular Mexican table and street salsa for a reason: It’s the perfect balancing counterpart for tacos, quesadillas, and gorditas, yet can also play the main role in saucing enchiladas.

Check out the video, or read the recipe here.

Because this salsa is packed with aromatics, color, and flavor, it also makes a great braising ingredient….

THE LEFTOVER SHELF 🥡

Tomatillo braised chicken tacos

Braising is a simple technique — you’re slowly cooking meat in a flavored liquid until tender.

• In this recipe, the salsa is a shortcut for flavoring the braising liquid.

Braise components

• Leftover salsa

• Chicken breast or thighs

• Extra water or broth

• Salt to taste

Taco serving components

• Tortillas, cheese (like queso fresco), limes, and cilantro

Instructions

Simmer: To a braising pot, add chicken and leftover salsa (enough to coat the pieces). If needed, add more liquid to submerge the meat. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 30 mins to an hour or until the chicken is cooked through and falls apart.

Shred meat: Let meat cool a bit to handle. Pick out any bones or skin, if used. Pick out meat pieces, and shred them, then return to the cooking liquid.

Serve: Warm up the mixture along with tortillas and serve as tacos.

FOOD TRENDS EXPLAINED 🚀

Croissant craze

Q: Why are croissants so popular?

A: For being such a humble pastry — it’s impressive how culturally relevant the croissant has become. From rolling up spirals of dough to cutting open a perfectly puffed croissant, croissants make for fascinating visual content, so maybe that’s why they’ve taken over our feeds.

• The impressive cross sections are possible thanks to the folding of dough and high-fat butter into many layers, a process known as lamination that results in the signature flaky texture.

• In one bite you’ll appreciate those delicately separated layers — a journey from the crispy exterior to a pillowy interior that melts on the tongue.

But their visuals and texture aren’t the only reasons they’ve gained widespread appeal.

• Because croissants are fairly neutral in flavor, they can be enjoyed in various sweet or savory ways – whether plain, filled with chocolate, as a vessel for ham and cheese, or in a smashed croissant sandwich.

Maybe the croissant is a sort of ambassador of French cuisine - finesse & flavor through laborious technique — but with only a few simple ingredients.

READER Q&A 🧠

Can we get the check, please?

Answer: At a restaurant, you should expect to pay more for food than what you could make it for at home — and that’s ok.

When you go out to eat, the cost of the experience, labor, ingredients, and everything else that comes with running a physical business is passed onto you, the customer.

1. Restaurants need to pay their staff, including chefs, cooks, and waitstaff, which adds to the overall expenses.

2. In the case of a sit-down place, front-of-house service also adds to the cost. A waitstaff contributes to the overall dining experience, so you’re paying for that staffing as well.

3. Restaurants have to pay for building upkeep, rent, utility bills, and operational costs & repairs — not to mention the litany of other expenses that come with running a business.

Does this mean you should never eat out?

Not at all. When you buy prepared food, you’re paying for someone else to do the thinking and take the time and effort to make a pleasing meal out of raw ingredients.

• Yes, you can almost always save money making meals at home — but the eating experience isn’t just about getting calories into our bodies, is it?

While cooking satisfying meals for yourself at home is a money-saving superpower, paying to dine at restaurants can have great value: be inspired by the food, think about how you can recreate it at home, and appreciate the service.

READER PHOTO SUBMISSION OF THE WEEK 🏆

Top-tier tofu

This week’s dinner winner is Carolyn L., who made Mapo Tofu. Beautiful presentation!

For tips on making great-tasting tofu, check out this video.

Reply with a picture of the best meal you made this week for a chance to be featured in a future email.

MORE YUMMY CONTENT 🍽️

A read: Reddit weekly cooking challenge list

In a minute or less: Why Ethan still has pickled onions in the fridge

What we’re watching: Using shredded chicken for meal prep

Food science: Why deep frying doesn’t have to suck at home

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