Crab Tostadas

MG and I confronted two big questions today.

First… what do you make for dinner that will be satisfying and delicious, but super-easy because you started drinking champagne at four o’clock in the the afternoon and don’t have the energy to attempt anything even remotely ambitious?

Second… is it possible to eat a fantastic deep-fried tortilla loaded down with crab meat, jalapeño, avocado, tomato, onion, lime, and cotija cheese ONE-HANDED and NOT drop morsels onto the table?

The answer to the first question: Crab Tostadas.

The answer to the second question: No Fucking Way.

Continue Reading…

MG’s “Almost Famous” Tacos

If you can’t go more than a week without a taco, you need to come by my place sometime.

Tacos usually hit my table at least every seven days, packed with well-seasoned chicken or turkey simmered for at least ninety minutes in a bath of chopped onion, jalapeno and bell peppers, garlic and cayenne pepper (sprinkled in sparingly if guests are coming, generously if it’s just MG and me, and enough to turn the entire pan crimson if it’s me alone)

Apartment 402 was the place to be this past Tuesday night as MG made for me a celebratory “back from San Fran” mountain of crunchy-tender-succulent happiness that nearly made my eyes pop out of my head like a wolf in a Tex Avery cartoon!

Continue Reading…

Scrambled Egg Towers

Breakfast can be served 24 hours a day as far as I’m concerned so long as it’s my MG doing the cooking.  He’s a master at creating spectacular morning dishes that are so impossible to resist and so totally satisfying, I usually want to crawl right back into bed when I’m done with them and hibernate for a week.

MG can create gold from any ingredients (and more importantly, any lack of ingredients) lying around.  I’ll catch him surveying the contents of my cabinets and fridge and ask, “what are you looking for?” and without even glancing over at me, he’ll simply reply, “I’m just looking.”

Akin to the thrill of returning from a restaurant bathroom to find your food awaiting you at the table is the thrill I get from returning from picking up our morning coffees to find the most eye-popping breakfast coming together in the kitchen. This morning, he really outdid himself. I helped by having nearly every ingredient he went searching for on hand. Together, we are the perfect breakfast-making machine. All we need to do is throw in mimosas, Bloody Marys and maybe hire a Celtic harpist and we could open for business tomorrow!

Follow the link for more pics and the recipe.
Continue Reading…

New Year’s Eve Tacos!

I beg of you… if there is ANYONE else out there who isn’t long sick of the holiday season once New Year’s Eve comes around, please… e-mail me! I hate feeling like I’m the only one out there who can’t (and even if I could I wouldn’t bother to) work up any amount of energy for the night of December 31st. I don’t want to go to a party, I don’t want to go to a bar, I don’t want to go to Catalina, I don’t want to go to the top of a building with a spectacular view of the city, I don’t want to go to a specially-catered dinner at a local restaurant that includes a bottle of champagne, hats and streamers for the reasonable ticket price of $150 when I can normally go there and order anything for at least $125 less.

Continue Reading…

Tomatillo Sauce and Guacamole

Tomatillos are suddenly giving jalapeno peppers a run for the money as the primary Latin star of my kitchen. Lying in size somewhere between the cherry and the beefsteak, green and slightly sticky to the touch, they are strikingly appealing yet sadly hidden away by a curious and lackluster greenish-brown husk.  Also known as the “husk tomoato” or “jamberry,” the tomatillo has been a staple of Mexican and Guatemlan cuisine for centuries, both cooked and raw, primarily in sauces to amp up the flavor of the meal and to offset the flavor of any hot peppers included in a recipe.

Continue Reading…

Wipeout Enchiladas!

Here’s what you need:

• 2-3 cups of chopped cooked chicken
• 1 1/4 cups salsa
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1 cup white onion
• 1/2 cup chopped jalapeno pepper (if you want to beat the heat of these little guys, core them to get rid of all the veins and seeds, where all the capsaicin is concentrated
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 3 ounces of cream cheese, softened
• 1 avocado, ripe, peeled, pit removed and cut into approximately 10-12 lengthwise slices
• 4-5 large tortillas
• COPIOUS amounts of shredded Mexican cheese
• 2 small tomatoes (Roma size), diced
• 1 can of enchilada sauce (28 ounce can down to a 10 ounce can depending on how much you like – I prefer more rather than less
• hot sauce of your choice (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

And here’s what you do:

Shrimp Dip – Shrimp = A Big Bowl of Sour Cream

Shrimp are low in fat and calories… until you throw them in a bowl full of sour cream and mayonnaise. In my mind, shrimp need this kind of help in order to be enjoyed. They just don’t cut it for me unless drenched in something thick and powerful in flavor. I don’t want the natural taste of the shrimp to be overpowered, but merely complimented by something thick enough to stick to a cracker if I turn it upside down.

Continue Reading…