One thing that many Italian restaurants are known for is their generous serving sizes. While you might be able to successfully eat your entire meal if you have a big appetite, it's also possible that you'll need to take at least some of it home with you. This can be good news, however, because you'll get to enjoy the remainder of the meal a day later. Your first instinct might be to pop the Italian food in the microwave and warm it up quickly, but there's a different reheating method that you should try. Here are some tips for reheating leftovers from your local Italian restaurant.

Use A Pan

There's no doubt that heating leftovers in the microwave is convenient and quick, but it can often leave you with a less-than-satisfying result. Italian dishes are often dense — think of lasagna, for example — and this can result in the outer edges of the meal being very hot and the inside being cool. You don't want to shop up an expertly assembled piece of lasagna to reheat it in the microwave, so consider using a pan on your stove instead. Place the leftovers in the pan with a small amount of water to create some steam and then cover the pan and set the burner to a low setting. Using this method will take considerably longer than using the microwave, but you'll get a good end result.

Add Some Cheese

Cheese is present in many Italian dishes, and some gooeyness can definitely add to the enjoyment of what you're heating up. A fun way to approach heating your leftover food is to grate some cheese and add it to the leftovers shortly before you're ready to remove it from the pan and eat it. In the case of lasagna, some grated mozzarella cheese sprinkled over the top of the meal will melt nicely and give you the texture that you want.

Consider A Side Dish

When you dine at an Italian restaurant but aren't able to finish your meal entirely, it's often the main course that you take home with you. You might have no trouble finishing your side salad and garlic bread or perhaps decide to avoid taking them home. As you heat your leftovers, consider making a quick side dish to enjoy when your food is ready. A Caesar salad is easy to make in a short amount of time, and you can even make a piece of garlic bread in the toaster. Doing so will give you a well-rounded leftover meal.