Spitzhauben Chickens Photo: birdyboo/Flickr

• Poor cluckers. A new report says that poultry is the main culprit behind U.S. food poisoning.
• Roof gardens are changing skylines from New York to San Francisco.
  
• It may not have spurred the passion of "Before Sunrise," but one European train ride led to an Endive Cheese Tart.
• Thailand's Isan region cools things down with a Green Papaya Salad before getting hot and spicy with Larb.
• Troubled times have led to downsized weddings and homespun matrimonial eats like teeny burgers and jalapeno poppers.
• Berlin is host to a new world of hidden, homegrown restaurants.
• Locanda Verde, a new restaurant in downtown Manhattan, inspired this recipe for a Sugar Snap Pea Salad,
  
• The Minimalist adds a peanutty crunch to chicken soup.
  
• Move over, California! Long Island wineries like the 9-year-old Shinn Estate Vineyards are finally getting some respect.

I realize that none of these ingredients are considered wild like the things I usually write about, but it keeps within my love of frugal foods. I love turning leftovers into something that makes people say you made this with what?

Leftover grilled chicken is a great starting point. I use it on top of salads, or as a great starter for fajitas. Endive, along with its cousins frisee, radicchio, and escarole, is a relative of the plant chicory, which is seen along roadsides all over the country. Don't expect to pick and eat wild chicory though. It is almost always too bitter to use. I will cover other uses for it in a later post. A few years ago I had the pleasure of attending an event at an upstate college where the chef went crazy on endive hors d'oeuvres. This wasn't one of his creations, but that event inspired me and started my love of this wonderful spoon-shaped green.

Separate your endive into individual leaves. Lay a thin slice of cheese (I used an aged swiss) along the bottom of each piece of endive, then add two to three small chunks of your grilled chicken, a small slice of avocado, some chopped sweet onion, and cover with alfalfa sprouts. Drizzle some olive oil over each one, and a small amount of sea salt and ground pepper. Serve any extra ingredients around the stuffed leaves.

I guarantee that your leftover-phobic family members will be cured after trying this.