Hurricane Sandy Recipe Guide

Image, courtesy of Kimberly Conon

Ok...so you're stuck inside in this crazy hurricane we're having.  What to do? No...there's no way that I'm encouraging you to go out in this monstrosity, but if you are fully stocked (like my friend Kimberly - see her pantry in the above pic), you can certainly do some cooking.

Without further ado, I've put together a short list of Hurricane friendly foods that will last you for days and comfort you through this storm.  Hope you enjoy them with your loved ones, and if you have any recipes you'd like to share with me, I'm all ears.

Cozy Lamb Apricot Stew - If you have lamb, chicken, beef or any other protein, this is the perfect thing to enjoy and just let cook for a couple of hours.  It keeps well in the freezer and you can enjoy it on its own, with rice, potatoes or any other starch.

Dan's Turkey Meatloaf - Have ground turkey, chicken or beef on hand? This is a great way to use it, and make sure you incorporate tons of fresh veggies such as onions, peppers, garlic and whatever else you like.  A smokey BBQ sauce is a nice accompaniment.  

My Italian Gnocchi Bake - This dish is really easy and quick to make if you have some pre-made or frozen gnocchi in the house, a few different cheeses including ricotta and mozzarella and some marinara too.  If you have pesto already made, that'll do as well.

Chilaquiles - Do you love brunch the Mexican way?  An easy thing to put together is a mixture of fried tortillas, eggs, spicy salsa and your favorite veggies.  There's two ways to do it - to keep the tortillas slightly crispy, like my fried Jess does, or to make 'em all the way soft; the choice is yours.

Minty Pea Soup - Even though this is technically a summer recipe, I think a nice warm soup would be great right about now.  It keeps well in the freezer, and you can make it heartier by tearing big, chunky pieces of pumpernickel bread inside.  Watch them soak up into the broth and just devour.

MexiBBQ's Brunch Goodies

This past weekend, I had the great fun of attending a lovely birthday brunch for my friend Jenny at MexiBBQ.  A bunch of us ladies (and one gentleman) came out to enjoy some yummy brunch treats with a BBQ twist.  I adore this style of food, and haven't yet tried MexiBBQ's version, so I was curious to see how they'd stack up.  Overall, they did pretty well, even despite that it was way crowded on a football Sunday, when half of Astoria is in one place.  

Since there were plenty of tantalizing things on the menu, my sister-in-law Diana and I got a dish each and shared them, which proved to be a fruitful strategy. Here's what we tried:

Hangover Cure - Delighted to notice chilaquiles on the menu, I had to try MexiBBQ's version, as I wanted to to see how they'd stack up next to mine.  They totally rocked it, as the tortillas were the perfect amount of crispy and soft (the chilaquiles I made were just soft), and dressed with a combo of salsa verde and salsa roja, sliced grilled chicken and chorizo.  The latter ingredient had a hint of spice to it, which was great, but that was also dulled out a bit by the silky eggs that topped this thing.  I loved breaking the yolk and letting it seep into every crevice of this dish.  Rockin!

Shrimp and Biscuits - Diana had her eyes on this dish as did I, so we shared.  Slathered in a hearty sausage gravy, this was no light bite, but it was great in small quantities.  The shrimp was cooked well, but in my opinion was breaded a little too much - I would've liked something a little softer on the gums - while the biscuits were buttery and tender and just like they should be.  It was a fun-to-try dish but I'm not sure I'd order it next time.

Service and Cost:
Despite the restaurant being really busy, the service didn't suffer at all and everything was brought out really quickly.  Drinks kept flowing nicely, especially for the ladies who chose the unlimited mimosa option.  Kudos to the good staff at MexiBBQ!

Costs are affordable and set us back about $10-$16 for a brunch entree and then an $11 extra if you went with the unlimited mimosa option.
Haaapppy Birthday Jenny!

2.5 Mmmms

MexiBBQ - 37-11 30th Avenue, Astoria NY 11103
718.626.0333
N/Q Train to 30th Avenue
www.mexibbq.com

Chilaquiles...it's what's for Dinner

Once again inspired by my visit to the West coast, I remembered the delicious breakfast Jess made for me on my last day there. Tapping into her family's traditions, she whipped me up a plate of chilaquiles, which were to die for.  Explaining that her family's version was quite unique since they kept the tortillas crispy, I was in the mood to try it too.  While mine didn't stay crispy unfortunately, I liked them just the same and instead of eating them for breakfast, I enjoyed them as a special dinner treat.  Dan liked them too and compared them to Matzoh Brie.

Dinner Chilaquiles (serves 1)
2 eggs, beaten
2 corn tortillas, sliced into triangles
1/2 small red onion, chopped fine
2 tbs of pickled jalapenos, chopped (adjust portion to your taste, and if you don't like spicy food, you can omit this altogether)
Small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
Habanero salsa (or something of your choice, but it should be tomato based)
3 slices of fresh avocado
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Directions:
In a stainless medium sized skillet, heat oil until hot and then add onions, jalapenos and tortillas.  Cook for about 5 - 6 minutes, stirring to make sure that the tortillas get a nice, golden brown color.

Add eggs and stir in slowly with a wooden spoon to incorporate all the ingredients.  Add salt and pepper.  Lower the heat and mix in the salsa and stir for another minute or two.

Transfer to a bowl, season with fresh cilantro and top with avocado.