what's the best way to eat a leftover french fry?

i love to eat. 

i love to eat because i love food. 

i also love eating food out.  like at a restaurant.

you might think i was a snob then when it came to food. not so. to ensure I have enough money to eat not just out, but also in, and during the week, and on the weekends, and also so two cats can eat, i tend to eat really cheap when left to my own devices. understand "cheap" doesn't mean gross. it does mean "simple" or "repetitive" or some might even go so far as to say "unimaginative". 

i subsit on a regular diet of: spinach, hummus, milk, peanut butter, bread, pita chips, and cheese. this is the trader joe’s booty every week with the possible addition of edamame, ice cream, and wine. (and subtraction of peanut butter. even i can't get through a jar of peanut butter a week.) and actually, the wine isn’t so much the exception as it is the rule.

supplementing these groceries are leftovers, which i very much respect and thrive on. there's a certain art in preparing leftovers--the goal, in my mind, is to get them to meet or beat their previous taste. (okay, perhaps it's not an art, but certainly a challenge.) at this point, presentation is no object. so there's no fretting there, plus the food is free, and if you went to the trouble of taking the food home you know you already like it! and yet, many people don't like leftovers. i know this because they put them in the work fridge after lunch and then the same doggie bag sits there all week. neglected. like an unwanted puppy. 

i'm guessing they're just approaching their leftovers in the wrong way--mainly with a microwave. people think leftover=microwave. to that i say: amateurs!! again the goal is get them to meet or beat their previous taste. often this is done without a microwave, as it tends to just make everything mushy and inconsistently warm throughout.

i find that many leftovers are actually best eaten cold even if the meal has warmth inherent in its original meal. pizza is probably the most obvious with chinese food a close second. other foods include macaroni and cheese, along with most pastas, any cream-based soup, and stir fry.  the huge exception is cheese. anything that involved melted cheese originally should be eaten warm upon leftovers. except with pizza. (that's why it's the huge exception. duh.)

my other favorite method is the toaster oven. when not wanting cold pizza: toaster oven. when doing up casseroles that need the cheese melted: toaster oven. for anything liquid, put it back in the pot! it only takes a bit longer than the microwave and gets it much hotter in the end. 

that's not to say i shirk the microwave though! oh no. i appreciate the modern technology, and at work it's my only option for "heat". but it must be approached with foresight and care. for instance, i had a leftover veggie burger with french fries the other day. most people would've just popped that in the micro for 45 seconds and been done. amateurs.

french fries have become my white whale, with the proper way to reheat them eluding me every time. the best i've come up with is just letting them warm to room temp. yep, i take my leftovers out of the fridge around 10am, so by 12:30 the fries are room temp and pretty much the same texture as they were originally. for the sandwich, i heated that in the microwave but not before taking the lettuce, pickle, and bun OFF. if you're not disassembling your food before microwaving, you're probably not doing it right.

welcome to the blog. home of neuroses and things no one else would dare waste time thinking of, or certainly not admit to it.