Hey ya’ll. We feel so lucky that Ridgewood survived Hurricane Sandy without suffering any major damage. Neighborhood folks Ridgewood Beat have tweeted details about A LOCAL DROP-OFF LOCATION FOR DONATIONS. (Oh, and HERE’S ONE MORE.)
In regard to food during the storm: is anyone else on a post-hurricane diet? Here are a few of the things we ate in the 24 hours before, during, and after Sandy:
Monday, 4pm: Snickerdoodles
I grew up eating these cookies but haven’t had them in years. Nowadays I opt for cookies with chocolate, but I didn’t want to go back out and I had all the ‘doodle ingredients already on hand, so the decision was made. I followed this recipe for the most part, with the following modifications: half the flour was whole grain pastry flour; I increased the baking time to closer to 12 minutes, which produced a soft interior with a dark golden, crispy bottom (but not burned, thanks to baking on a Silpat); and finally, I added cardamom to the cinnamon-sugar mixture that you roll the cookies in. I love cardamom; it is such a perfect and unexpected addition to so many fruity or vanilla-y baked goods. Unfortunately by noon the next day, I had eaten half the batch of cookies and felt kind of sick.
Monday, 4:30pm: Roasted brussels sprouts, carrots, and a few stray mushrooms
This was a use-up-the-perishables effort. I prepared them the standard way: halve sprouts, cut carrots in 2-inch chunks and slice in half lengthwise if large, lay on baking sheet with room to breathe, add hearty amount of evoo and s&p, bake in a 400° oven for 40 minutes or until vegetables are crisp and dark on the outside. I also threw in a few whole garlic cloves.
Monday, 6pm: Grandma pizza and garlic knots from Rosa’s
I didn’t know the pizza was coming, so at this point I was sort of full already. But still, I ate two pieces (my half of the pie was the plain half, not sausage) and a couple knots pretty quickly and saved the rest for later. Rosa’s serves perhaps the best pizza in Ridgewood, though we recommend that you opt for the simpler stuff like plain, margherita, or Grandma slices. Their calamari also looks great and we keep meaning to try it. And the garlic knots & sauce! We’re not usually garlic knot people — they just seem excessively greasy and I’d rather eat more pizza instead — but the soft, buttery, perfectly seasoned knots at Rosa’s really stand out.
Monday, 6:30pm: Chickpea-feta croquettes
Still working on the perishables at this point. I made these to eat later. Croquettes are a quick way to use up ingredients and kids like them. The recipe is fluid, but it’s something like this:
Mash the equivalent of one can of chickpeas. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, whatever other seasonings you want. Add a bit of bread crumbs. Add finely chopped and cooked vegetables (e.g. mushroom, carrot). Add a bit of hard cheese like parm (we were trying to use up the feta, remember?). Add an egg and mix well. Form into small balls or patties and pan-fry until golden brown.
Tuesday, 2:30pm: Korean food at Hahm Ji Bach in Flushing
We woke up to cold rain and wind, but we were very thankful to have power and our neighborhood mostly intact. We had to drive out to Long Island to retrieve my sister from her hotel (she was in town for work, which was obviously not happening). Driving back, we decided to stop in Flushing for Korean food. The lunch specials at Hahm Ji Bach are under $10 and they come with delicious soup and banchan. We had short rib bibimbap in a stone pot, kalbi (marinated ribeye), seafood pajeon (pancake) and a very tangy kimchi/beef/tofu stew that was even better the next day. No, it’s not Ridgewood, but it’s a nice option for a field trip; the Q58 bus goes from Ridgewood to Flushing, and the trip takes over an hour, so you’ll definitely be hungry when you get there.
There, that was our 24-hour food adventure. We should add that just a day later, on Wednesday, we partook in one more act of gluttony: homemade mac & cheese. It’s worth noting because it was EXCELLENT paired with the kimchi stew from Hahm Ji Bach. But we definitely need to eat less for a few days.
Frankenstorm provisions, we hardly knew ye but will eat you later.
Rosa’s Pizza
6265 Fresh Pond Road [map]
(718) 497-7672
