Do you have a creative way to use leftovers?

I hosted some friends for lunch last week and it was the perfect opportunity to make one of my favorite summer recipes - Lobster Cobb Salad! It’s one of those recipes you might not notice in my book Family Style because it wasn’t paired with a photo, but it’s really elegant and easy.

I think of this salad as a special summer meal when you have guests you really want to make happy. And if lobster is too expensive, you can always substitute chicken or shrimp!

Ask Ina:

“I’m always trying to think of ways to use leftovers, but turn them into a ‘new’ meal so my family doesn’t get bored. What can I do with cooked fish?”

When I ran Barefoot Contessa, my specialty-food store in East Hampton, we sold thousands and thousands of crab cakes every summer. I love making crab cakes, but you can also make them with all kinds of leftover fish, particularly cooked salmon, shrimp, or lobster.

Depending on the fish, just add enough breadcrumbs to each mixture to be sure the cakes barely hold together. That’s the secret to all the delicious, moist fish cakes you get in stores! If you’re not sure what sauce to serve the fish cakes with, Mango chutney (freshly made or bottled) is delicious.

Here are a few of my fish cake recipes you can use as a jumping-off point for leftovers:

Fish & Lobster Cakes - Cooking for Jeffrey
Salmon Cakes
Lobster Corn Fritters - Barefoot Contessa Foolproof

This Week’s Favorites:

• I’m interviewing my friend Jennie Wallace at the Bridgehampton Library at 5 o’clock on Friday, July 10, about her fabulous book Mattering. I hope you can join us!

• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is one of the great plays in American history, and it’s currently on Broadway starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf. They were so captivating that I didn’t breathe for the whole two hours! The show is playing until August 9. If you have a chance to go, don’t miss it!

• I had the most wonderful 4th of July dinner with friends! What did you do to celebrate America’s 250th birthday?