Leftover Do-over: brazilian ribs Â» meaty saucy taco

Dear reader, I would ask you to close your eyes and picture this, but obviously if you closed your eyes you couldn’t read about what it was I wanted you to picture. So, picture it (eyes open): piediena romagnolaâ€”pan-fried flatbread with cheese and prosciutto cotto, with a special avocado sauce.

What did you see in your mind’s eye? I think I can tell you what you didn’t picture.

A ham quesadilla with guacamole. But that’s what was put in front of us at Vinoteca on Hillhurst. I suppose that technically, a tortilla is grilled flatbread. Thankfully, we were too hungry to complain, and the portions were large enough to temporarily overcome the feeling that we’d been had by a menu-writer who preferred “truthiness” to truth.

We also ordered the Braziribs, which were pretty good, although not stunning.Â (According to the waitress, men prefer the ribs and women prefer the Brazipork, so of course we ordered the ribs. No girly pork for this manly couple!) We took home a good portion (the wannabe-Italian-quesadilla-flatbread was quite filling) and Jens cooked up a leftover do-over the next day.

(Thanks to our friends who came up with the name for this type of post. Royalties are paid in dinner currency.)

Leftover Do-over: Vinoteca Braziribs Â» Meaty Saucy Taco

brazirib leftovers (marinated slow-cooked boneless short ribs in a Brazilian pepper sauce)
shallot
garlic
cherry tomatoes, halved
corn tortillas

Sautee. Take off heat, add halved cherry tomatoes immediately just to warm them up. Fill a small/medium corn tortilla to bursting. Dash of salt or (if you’re Jens) Herbamare. Eat. Don’t wear light-colored clothes. Marvel at the fact that the ribs are even better as tacos, especially when you’re not cranky about quesadillas that lied to you.

I am so baffled by Jens’ ability and motivation to create something new from leftovers. I do one of two things with leftovers: reheat in the microwave when I realize there’s absolutely nothing else to eat; or throw it away once I decide that I’m not going to eat it no matter what.