Hurricane Lunch For The Hawthornes: Stuffed Peppers. Then Dinner: Clams And King Crab.

Nothing like stuffed peppers oozing ooeygooey cheese to jump start the ol' appetite.

Before Earl hit, Mr. Hawthorne went out in the garden to pick peppers, since otherwise they might have ended up in the ocean, about 4 miles east of us. Here are my ingredients: peppers Zatarain's red beans and rice (I'm semi-ho-ing this.) hamburger meat chorizo can o' corn jalapeno tostados Monterey Jack cheese (not shown)

I mixed the rice, water, and some butter in my pan ... ... and brought it to a boil. Turn down heat, cover, and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes or as Chef Anne Burrell idiotically likes to acronymize, BTB and RTS. That's bring to boil and reduce to simmer!

I started on browning my hamburger meat ...

... and added salt and pepper and a few poufs of cumin.

I had a log of chorizo which I thought was more sausage-like, but turned out to be salami-like. I chopped that along with some onions ...

... and added them to the hamburger.

I sliced the tops off 3 peppers, chopped the tops, ...

... and added in the chopped pepper tops.

I added in a can of drained corn and heated through.

Counter clockwise from top left - red beans and rice, hamburger mixture, Monterey Jack cheese, tostados, and peppers, ready to be filled.

I put in some of the hamburger mixture ...

... then some cheese ...

... then a few pieces of tostado ...

... and some rice mixture. Keep layering as much as you can.

Top with more tostados ...

... and Monterey Jack cheese. Pour a little water in the baking dish and bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly and brown.

These were enjoyed by all three of the Hawthornes. The chorizo lent a smoky paprika flavor to the mix. The hamburger mixture would be good on a tortilla chip with sour cream. And I do so like beans and rice.

I got to use my new condiments I received in my care package from Zzzadig, one of my readers and internet friends. Nice touch to the stuffed peppers and thanks again, Zzzadig. And what else sustained the Hawthornes during this anxious and meteorologically stressful time? I know you must be asking this.

Littleneck clams:

Just steam in a little water

until they open up.

Dip in butter and lemon juice.

Delicious oceany goodness. And King Crab legs:

Just steam to heat through. These were already cooked, then frozen.

I love it when I can pull out a chunk of meat like this. One must maintain one's strength in the face of inclement weather.