I should have mentioned the opera last week, but I had my knickers in a twist about meat, so it slipped my mind. Forgive me, opera-goers. The most dedicated among you already have figured out how to feed yourselves in high style before or after the performance. But for opera newbies, here's the scoop. The opera starts at sunset, which is relatively
late at this time of year, around 8:30 pm, but the
parking lots open at 5:30. That gives you enough time to run home after work, slip into something a little less comfortable and get on with the grub.
With advance preparation you could host a little pre-opera dinner at your place. You could offer to provide grilled meat...er...main dish items, and ask your date(s) to bring side dishes and wine...er...herbal infusion or whatever fermented fungus brew you're into these days. My favorite quick dinner is built around a store-bought rotisserie chicken. In just a few minutes you can fry up a batch of calabacitas, toss a spinach salad or steam some
edamame
. Serve with a little reheated red chile, mango chutney or barbecue sauce and freshly baked baguette, corn bread or fluffy tortillas. Cheap, easy, done. And, if you like, the whole thing can be wrapped up and hauled down to the opera grounds for a tailgate meal.
You can also order your tailgate dinner to-go from your favorite restaurant. For my money, nothing quite beats hot fried chicken and cold beer for dinner on a summer afternoon, but it would take some balls to show up at
Carmen
with a bucket of KFC and a sixer of Pabst, wouldn't it? (I don't know about you, but I like an opera-lover with huevos.) I suggest you call your favorite restaurant a few hours (or days) in advance and ask if they can make your favorite portable. You'd be surprised how many local restaurants are happy to do this for the opera crowd. If there are a number of you ordering together, make it easy for everyone by asking for just one or two different entrees packaged family style. It will be less cumbersome, the food will stay warmer longer and it'll feel more like a real meal.
There are two other options available on-site. Again this year Angel Food Catering will be bringing pre-ordered dinners to their tent in the parking lot. For $30 you get dinner presented on your very own bamboo tray. This season there are four menus to choose from: Moroccan chicken breast, couscous, green bean salad and chocolate-coconut tart; Asian salmon, cucumber salad, noodle salad, snap peas and ginger shortbread; pork tenderloin with plums and port, vegetable slaw, orzo salad and mini Pavlova; eggplant rollatini with farro-zucchini salad, roasted artichokes and blueberry cheesecake. The dinner includes only water, so you'll have to bring along whatever else you want to drink. And you must call at least a day ahead (983-2433). Pick up your dinner starting two hours before showtime.
The opera's own preview buffets are a particularly popular option for folks who feel like they need a little warm-up before the performance. Served in the employee cantina, the $45 buffet is often created around the theme of the performance. During dessert an expert will give insight into the performance. The buffet starts about 2½ hours before the performance and you must call the box office (986-5900) to register.
The Total Pig's Tailgate Calabacitas
In case you've recently arrived from Mars (or the East Coast), calabacitas consists of summer squash fried with corn and chiles. It's a simple dish, sort of like succotash without the icky lima beans, and the quality of the ingredients matters more than anything else. I like to use Mexican summer squash, which are a sort of mottled pale green color. They're milder and sweeter than zucchini or yellow squash, but really you should feel free to use whatever you can find. This dish is at the height of perfection when the chile crop starts to come in (it's weeks away!!!) and you've got freshly roasted green chile. My second choice is freshly roasted poblano peppers, but in a pinch Bueno's Autumn Roast will do (look for it in the freezer section). Vegetarians can make this dish with olive oil, but, whoa, will your calabacitas really kick ass when you make them with bacon grease!
Serves 4-6
2 tablespoons bacon grease, unsalted butter or olive oil
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
2 summer squash (about 1 pound total), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large ears fresh corn (about 1½ cups kernels)
2 (or more) roasted and peeled green chiles, chopped
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano, optional
Salt, to taste
Get out your cast iron frying pan and put it over a medium flame. Add the bacon grease, and when it's melted, add the onion. Cook until softened. Add the squash and garlic, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, about 10 minutes. Remove the lid, add the corn, green chiles and Mexican oregano (if you like) and cook until the squash is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
What's your favorite opera dinner? Where do you like to eat? Where do you get your tailgate grub? Tell me and I'll share your tips with everyone else (
).
