When there's no room in the fridge what do you do?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Inspired to ask this question by a recent article in the London Times, I began to consider something which has frequently faced me after a holiday meal ends.

How do you handle the enormous amount of food after the holiday meal ends?

Wrap up and send home packets of food with guests?

Stack the shelves of your refrigerator as high as they can go?

Toppling towers of goodies leaning precariously, yet far too good to waste?

[Lori in PA]

I am blessed with a second refrigerator in the basement. It is not large, but is a huge help. I confess: this is one of the most puzzling lifestyle differences to me between Americans and much of the rest of the world -- refrigerator size! We are a family of five and I cook from scratch. I depend often on planned-overs (leftovers on purpose) and also always have goodies like roasted tomatoes from last summer's garden in jars of olive oil in our fridge. I can't imagine my fellow egulleteers from around the world are terribly different than me in those two respects. And yet, they produce these amazing looking and sounding meals using under-counter fridges. WHERE ARE YOU KEEPING ALL THOSE INGREDIENTS?

[srhcb]

Inspired to ask this question by a recent article in the London Times, I began to consider something which has frequently faced me after a holiday meal ends.

How do you handle the enormous amount of food after the holiday meal ends?

Wrap up and send home packets of food with guests?

Stack the shelves of your refrigerator as high as they can go? 

Toppling towers of goodies leaning precariously, yet far too good to waste?

←

Around here, (Northern MN), the garage and car can serve as reserve capacity refrigeration.

SB (just don't forget about the fish in the trunk, or come about May ....

Edited December 25, 2005 by srhcb (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

I usually "layer" the leftovers like an ancient historical "dig" .. and have fun the next day "digging" through the layers of antiquities ... each one is a cherished "find".

[jackal10]

Give away what I can

Strip the turkey carcass (less room that way); confit drumsticks, rest in packages for freezing

Make stock with the carcass, gravy and anything else suitable ; reduce for less room

Sprouts and spuds -> bubble and squeak or thrown out.

Xmas pud fried for breakfast

[BarbaraY]

If worst comes to worst, you can rely on the good old ice chest that's been in storage since your last camping trip.

I am more inclined to do this before rather than after since I send food home with others as much as possible.

My fridge looks like a historical dig with adding to it.

[andiesenji]

I have two of the large Igloo Koolmate 56 Dual power AC/DC fridge/ice chests, which hold a lot, depending on how it is packed - you can set it on its back and the door opens up, or on the bottom and the door opens on the side, like a regular refrigerator. It works in the car, off a battery or inverter, as well as on regular house current. After it has been running for about 8 hours, it will even keep frozen food frozen when placed next to the cold air vents (and will freeze stuff that is left there too long).

They live in the garage when not needed but are lightweight and easy to carry around when you need them.

I put it in my van when I travel, fill it with perishables, plug it in to the service plug in the back and away I go, no need for ice.

I bought mine at Wal-Mart for 89.95, the Igloo site shows a much higher price but you can find them at sale prices at Target and other stores, usually at the beginning of summer.

Igloo electric coolers.

Edited December 26, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[mizducky]

Inspired to ask this question by a recent article in the London Times, I began to consider something which has frequently faced me after a holiday meal ends.

How do you handle the enormous amount of food after the holiday meal ends?

Wrap up and send home packets of food with guests?

Stack the shelves of your refrigerator as high as they can go? 

Toppling towers of goodies leaning precariously, yet far too good to waste?

←

All of the above. Plus ...

... nosh a whole bunch of the leftovers to make more room in the fridge.

Speaking of which ... I think I hear some leftovers calling my name right now.

[KatieLoeb]

If it's cold enough outside, the back patio just outside the back door works fine. Even though I live in the city, I have a walled in "slab" out back that is great for holding the big stock pot to chill and degrease, or the big pans of whatever. I also have a couple of large covered Rubbermaid containers out there just in case the neighborhood cats are feeling ambitious enough to get into my backyard, which is over a couple of brick walls. In the dead of a colder winter that works pretty well.

Otherwise, I'm layering stuff all through the drawers and such. My refrigerator normally looks like an archaelogical dig, so I try my best not to add more until the last thing has been tossed.

[Marlene]

I have two full size fridges plus two bar fridges that can be emptied to make room if necessary! Mostly, I try to send stuff home with people. After cooking for two days straight, the last thing I really want to do is eat the same food again. Not to mention the fact that most people in my house don't eat leftovers.

[therese]

I've actually got two extra fridges in the basement, one of which is only for beverages. The other was the result of kitchen renovation a few years ago. Very handy for large volume leftovers, but I do need to be careful to check it periodically for forgotten food.

A separate chest freezer as well.

[jsolomon]

Jack, how do you have leftover turkey drumsticks? The males in my clan make sure those are the first to go!

For me, it depends on the group I'm visiting (or if I'm at my home).

My parents: own 3 chest freezers. Turkey carcass gets stripped, breasts get sliced and frozen for sandwiches during fieldwork. Cranberries get eaten with turkey sandwiches over the next few days. Mashed potatoes get turned into double and triple batches of bread dough which get frozen and/or baked depending on the amount of family visiting. Stuffing gets eaten as midnight snacks. Pies are breakfast.

My fiance's family: everything gets portioned up and sent out with visitors.

My house: we start a bonfire in the grill and drink beer and nosh til the food is all gone, inviting the neighbors, friends, and Army buddies over if need be.

Edited December 26, 2005 by jsolomon (log)

[bavila]

I rely on the great outdoors and my neighbor's extra fridge and freezer. One year I brined a turkey in a garbage left in a locked pickup truck bed to avoid raccoons feasting on my bird.

[Kris]

I have an extra freezer.

I also rely a lot on putting leftovers into Ziploc storage bags. They take up a lot less room than the pots and pans that the food is originally cooked in.

[moosnsqrl]

This has touched-upon a source of much guilt for me...I try to be very ecological and not waste energy (I drive a mini, I turn off lights like a depression survivor, I re-use e-v-e-r-y-thing in every creative way I can think of and there is more recycling awaiting transport in our house at any given time than product awaiting use!). That said, we are a household of two adult humans and two felines and we have two full-sized refrigerators within 20 feet of one another. When I consider my non-US bretheren, many of whom feed families of 4 or more with what we, in the US, consider an "under-sized" fridge, I feel horrible. But it enables me to take advantage of the seasons' bounties and have beverages at-the-ready for company.

In spite of all of that space, our "main" refrigerator still looks like a "dig" (although not as bad as many of our friends' fridges...not to mention names, but Osnav leaps to mind).

I'm relieved to know that we're not the only hoarders out there. And, in our defense, we got rid of our ancient, inefficient 2nd fridge, and both of ours are fuel-efficient.