Tony-Themed Tasty Treats

Herein, some playful suggestions of what you might serve at a Tony Awards party. (I've book-ended the list with my two favorites!) For some treats, I've linked to recipes I can vouch for; for others, the recipes haven't been tested by me just yet. Some of the recipes included are my own. Enjoy!

• Will You Still Love Me Tamale (shout out to Beautiful); from Marcela Valladolid, corn tamales


• Of Rice and Minestrone Soup (shout out to Of Mice and Men); from Mario Batali, minestrone with rice and beans


• Oatmeal Raisin in the Sun Cookies (shout out to A Raisin in the Sun); scroll down for the recipe I've been using for years


• Lady Fingers at Emerson's Bar and Grill (shout out to Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill); from Emeril Lagasse, homemade lady fingers


• After Midnight Snacks (shout out to After Midnight); any leftovers will do, or whatever your favorite nosh is!


• Cous Cous Valentina (shout out to Casa Valentina); my "recipe": cook cous cous according to package directions, and add a generous sprinkle of cayenne pepper, about a tablespoon of honey and some toasted almond slivers (add more or less cayenne, honey and almonds depending upon your preference and portion)


• The Ganache Menagerie (shout out to The Glass Menagerie); ganache is pretty simple, but nevertheless, here's a chocolate ganache recipe from Ina Garten


• The Cobbler of Inishmaan (shout out to The Cripple of Inishmaan); from Tyler Florence, bourbon peach cobbler (it's delicious, and there's bourbon in it!)


• Mothers and Sundaes (shout out to Mothers and Sons); ice cream + lots of toppings


• Twelfth Date Night (shout out to Twelfth Night); from Dave Lieberman (who has yet to let me down with a recipe), ricotta-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates


• Outside Mullingarbanzo Beans (shout out to Outside Mullingar); scroll down for my recipe for roasted garbanzo beans


• A Gentleman's Guide to Olive and Murder (shout out to A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder); really any olive will do, though my favorite olives are castelvetrano


• Hedwig and the Angry Enchilada (shout out to Hedwig and the Angry Inch); another from Tyler Florence, chicken enchiladas with roasted tomatillo chile salsa

A few more thoughts:

• grill some pineapples (shout out to Cabaret), layer them with the lady fingers and drizzle with the chocolate ganache
• Ginger Ale the Way (shout out to All the Way)
• make hummus (scroll for my recipe) or order up a Mediterranean feast, a la Aladdin

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Recipes

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the brown sugar and butter. Mix in the egg, vanilla and milk. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Stir in the oats and the raisins. Grease a cookie sheet and drop batter using a spoon. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a large baking sheet on the center rack. Rinse, drain and pat dry 2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans/chickpeas and transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (about 2 tablespoons), and season with salt and pepper. (You can add additional spices to suit your taste; cayenne, cumin or coriander are good options.) Remove the baking sheet from the oven (please use an oven mitt!) and pour the garbanzo beans onto the pan. (The pan is hot so you'll hear a sizzle; try to reserve the excess oil.) Place the baking sheet back in the oven and roast (shaking the baking sheet now and then) until the garbanzo beans are golden brown but not burnt, about 20 minutes. You'll love this snack—it's like popcorn but better, and it's easy to expand the recipe.

Hummus

• 1 full head of garlic
• 2 15-oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
• 1 tablespoon tahini  paste
• 1 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne, to taste

Slice a full head of garlic just above the "equator." Make an aluminum foil pouch and seal the garlic in the pouch, drizzling the tiniest bit of olive oil and water over the garlic. Place the pouch on a baking sheet and put the sheet in a 400 degree, pre-heated oven. Let the garlic roast for 30 minutes, and remove from oven, opening the pouch to let the garlic cool off.

Once the garlic is cool enough to touch, squeeze the roasted garlic (but not the papers) into a food processor. (The garlic will smell delicious and get all over your finger. It's good fun.) Pulse a few times. Add the chickpeas to the processor and let it run for 30 seconds–1 minute, or until the chickpeas form a rough paste. Add about a tablespoon of tahini paste (err on the side of less paste; you can always add more), the juice of half a lemon and some olive oil. Run the processor to incorporate all ingredients. Add a pinch of cumin, a touch of cayenne, a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper and some salt. Run the processor to combine, adding olive oil until you get to your desired consistency. Taste the hummus and season to taste.