On leftover fries.

We've all been there. Maybe we went to Five Guys and got the large. Maybe we ordered delivery and they were so floppy they wound up in the fridge. Regardless of the circumstance, you have a wadload of fries sitting in the fridge, staring at you from a greasy bag or a moist clamshell until you give up and chuck them.

It doesn't have to be this way. Fries can be given a new life. All we have to do is fry them again.

You heard me. And of course, you don't have a deep fryer just lying around your house. And even if you did, you definitely wouldn't want to drop already-seasoned food back into it. No, we must look to the frying pan for this.

To make the potatoey bits more manageable in a pan, I highly recommend cutting them down into cubes before tossing them into a frying pan with a healthy dose of high-smoke point oil. Just fry them off, stirring occasionally (I like to use the cheffy panfloop), until they reach your desired level of crispness.

And what do you do with these crispy, nutritionally vacant bits?

Garnish soup. Like croutons, these hyper-crisp nubbins of potato will hold their own in moisture-rich environments. Not for long, of course - if you linger over your soup, add them in stages as you work your way down.

Serve alongside a braise. I can't tell you how often I braise chicken, usually with a big tough leafy green in the same pan. Call me crazy, but I like dishes that are ready whenever the fuck you feel like eating it. Of course, a good dinner needs balance in all things, and nothing in a braise comes out anything other than crazy soft. Counterbalance that with a little refried fries action and take it to the next level.

Make hash. While the potatoes are still in the pan, dig out a couple of wells in them, crack eggs in, sprinkle some bacon or cheese or what the what you have lying around on top, and drop it in the oven until the eggs are done to your liking. Voila, you have a quick and easy breakfast. And if you like your yolks runny, you're going to love them gooing all over crunchy chunks of tuber.

The sky's the limit, really. They make for a handy side or clever garnish, and they give you a quick and easy option when you need something on the rail. So don't throw out those leftover fries - put them to work.