Late Night Snacks

My new neighbor, Gary, is one of the most fabulous men you'll ever meet. Not only does he dress like he owns Bergdorf's (in fact, he did a stint there as a personal shopper) but the man can cook. Last week, Read and I went out for a night on the town with our new neighbor. We crawled back to Gary's third floor apartment around 3am, all of us starving and nothing worth eating open in the vicinity. Not to worry! Gary had a few tricks up his sleeve and within 15 minutes we each had two perfect tostadas in front of us.

Corn tortillas went for a quick trip in a warm oven just to toast up a little while he worked on the toppings. He cubed up a block of mild Monterey Jack cheese, which he placed on the warm tortillas and popped back in the oven. Meanwhile, he whipped up a quick salsa of a couple of tomatoes we bought in a bodega in Times Square, red onion, hot green peppers and scallion. He browned a handful of ground beef and sliced a perfect avocado. All ingredients were placed on top of the melty-cheesey goodness and topped with a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze of lime. I have never eaten so well, so late.

So, this got me thinking--tostadas may just be the perfect late-night, go-to meal. The possibilities are endless. I'm thinking black bean and corn, or maybe some olives, or cojito cheese? Keep your fridge stocked with some corn tortillas, because you never know when you'll come home hungry.....and feeling inspired.

Photo courtesy of foodchannel.com