It’s hurricane season on Long Island and we’re all standing by to see what Irene brings us. At Cuvee Bistro at The Greenporter Hotel we are prepared with plenty of bottled water, ice, food, wine, candles, flashlights, batteries and more. And if you didn’t prepare, come in for dinner! (631) 477-0066.
Many people want to know what meals they can prepare while anticipating a storm. With fear of power outages you might want to prepare a large casserole dish of something that would feed many people and would hold up at room temperature (besides eating out of cans). This is the perfect time to cook a favorite family recipe like an eggplant parmesan or a lasagna along with plenty of pasta and well seasoned-sauce. I specify well-seasoned because dishes with condiments like salt, garlic and oil will preserve a dish served at room temperature. If you pick your tomatoes today, you can serve freshly sliced tomato (keep your tomatoes whole and only slice what you are using for that meal) everyday while the others ripen.
Cheese and crackers, cured sausage, focaccia with olive oil and herbs, crostini, pickled vegetables, olives, Parmesan cheese or Pecorino will make your table come alive. Decorate with fresh herbs in small vases.
I would love to have any of your family recipes and know how you prepare for large gatherings. For those of you in coastal towns like ours, take precautions and cook a meal!
And for more tips on getting through the storm well-fed, check out Leeanne Lavin’s column on Examiner.com
