So many new things have been happening in my life, so I had to step away from the blog for a few weeks. I started my senior year of college, I landed the internship of my dreams, and a new room mate moved in! Now that things have settled a bit, I knew it would be the perfect time to have old and new friends alike over, and cook a fabulous meal. This menu is one I’m sure we’ll remember for a long time: Tilapia with Tomatillo Sauce, Avocados with Creamy Maque Choux, and Margaritas Granitas. Let’s get cooking!
This Adventure started two days ago on Sunday. My good pal Christy and I took our weekly trip to Trader Joe’s, but we chose the absolute worst time possible: 7pm. Sunday evenings at Trader Joe’s are easily comparable to an active war zone. People are rude, and there is next to no inventory. There were no vegetables or chicken, and half the store’s shelves were completely ransacked. I just wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible, so I left nearly empty handed.
I needed a full day to recover from that fiasco, and on Tuesday morning after class I headed to Whole Foods in Chelsea to pick up the rest of the ingredients I needed. I grabbed tomatillos, cilantro, tilapia, avocados, and lime pops. This experience was painless, and pretty cheap — maybe I should shop at Whole Foods more often.
I had to make one more stop at a local liquor store to pick up tequila and Cointreau for our special margaritas tonight. I don’t go to the liquor store often (I know, that may be hard to believe) so the cashier had to guide me on where to find what I needed. $50 later, not only are we stocked for tonight, but also for the next 2 months.
Fast forward to this evening. Classes let out early thanks to a Jewish Holiday, so Krystyna and Taylor came over at 7. We immediately got to work chopping everything up. Taylor was in charge of the tomatillos, and she was so intrigued by the vegetable. For those of you who don’t know what Tomatillos are, they are Mexican green tomatoes, but oddly enough, they kind of taste like apples. Once everything was chopped, I cooked the fish while Noelle and Mikella made the margs…actually making the margaritas was more like a 5 person job. No one could figure out how to work the blender, so I stepped in and saved the day.
While everyone enjoyed their homemade frozen margaritas, Taylor and I cooked away. I handled the sauce for the tilapia, and she prepared the avocado stuffing. Everything smelled so good, and we were all so excited…then the smoke alarm went off. Honestly, it’s not an uncommon occurrence in my house, so once we shut it off we were ready to eat.
Everyone served themselves family style, and we all migrated downstairs to our massive dining room table to eat.
We all had our moment of truth together. 3..2..1.. Spicy goodness! This tilapia was cooked to perfection (courtesy of moi) with just the right amount of kick from the spices and sauce. Tilapia is so delicate, and I was worried the spices would have ruined it, but it was so delicious. The stuffed avocados were a big hit too. It was great opening all six avocados and seeing the perfect green/yellow color in every single one. We all had a tough time scooping the flesh out of the skin, but the taste was spectacular. Creamy corn and peppers overflowed each avocado half, and they were all devoured quickly.
Christy and Nico showed up an hour late, but they still enjoyed and scarfed down the rest of the food — they showed up too late for margaritas, though.
Now time for the ratings. The Tilapia with Tomatillo Sauce receives ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. There was so much hype leading up to this recipe and it did not disappoint. It was somehow spicy, sweet, and savory, and melt-in-your-mouth — aka a masterpiece. The Avocados with Creamy Maque Choux receive ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. Avocados are arguably the best food in the world, and I don’t know why I never stuffed one before. The creaminess of the filling played well with the creaminess of the avocado flesh. I think I could’ve eaten 5 of them. Finally, the Margaritas Granitas receive ♥♥♥♥♥ (5) hearts. If you know me, you know I love frozen margs (especially the ones from Mickey Spillanes) and these margaritas rivaled the best of the best. They were tangy and sweet with the perfect kick. Now whenever I’m craving a marg I can make them in minutes from the comfort of my own home. Score!
This meal was all around perfection, but I think my favorite part of tonight was seeing my friends mesh together so well. Mikella just moved in, and they made it a point to include her and make her feel welcome. These are the kind of moments with my people that make my heart full, and I can’t wait for all of us to get closer and create many more memories like the ones we made tonight.
Until next week!
Mary Honkus
Chronicles of EVOO 