Food is life. Food is love. We embrace food. It’s delicious, we need it, and sharing a meal can create memories that last a lifetime. Right now, those of us that are stuck at home amid the coronavirus pandemic may not be able to sit down over dinner with friends and far-away family, but we can certainly share our love of food with one another by sharing recipes, cooking tips, family meal-time ideas and inspiring stories about foodies, restaurants, and chefs in our community. Here are some #foodiefun ideas to help us spread good cheer: 

 

Be generous with your take-out and delivery review and recommendations

With dine-in service off the table, eating more meals at home is a new routine for many families. The #GreatAmericanTakeout took off on Tuesday, March 24 by urging people to order to-go from their local restaurants. If you love a local restaurant, you can help them by ordering food to go and taking pictures of your food and tagging it in posts. Restaurants all around Irving are getting creative with their take-out, delivery, and curbside offerings including family-style meals, quarantine kits, and more. 

 

Try new recipes

If you are working from home, like me, you are probably on a schedule that includes coffee, breakfast, work, snack, work, lunch, snack, work, another snack, work, take-out, dessert, late-night snack. All those trips to the pantry take a lot of energy. Harness it - now is the perfect time to try some new recipes—if you have never made homemade pizza, roasted a whole fish, tackled Thai food or cooked meatballs from scratch—now is a good time to try!  Open yourself up to foods from other cultures, try something new, and share your favorite recipes your friends and family.

 

Discover Irving’s delicious eateries and chefs

There are so many talented chefs found right here in the Irving community, and they have some amazing and inspiring stories. Each #FoodieFriday, we'll showcase delicious dishes from our local chefs.

In this introductory edition of Foodie Friday, we feature our very own Eduardo Alvarez, Executive Chef of the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas and recipient of Northstar Meetings Group Unsung Hero Award. His yummy Cornflake-Encrusted French Toast is normally available on our banquet breakfast selection. But for now, you can whip it up at home. The kids will love it and most likely have fun helping you coat the toast in cornflakes. Chef suggests serving it with syrup (duh!), pecan praline sauce, sliced bananas, and cinnamon whipped cream.

Cornflake-Encrusted French Toast:
6 slices Texas toast bread, cut into triangles or strips
3 T unsalted butter
1 C maple syrup
3 eggs
1 C half and half
1 t vanilla
1 C sugar

Whisk the eggs, milk, and sugar in a shallow dish. Put the crushed cornflakes in another shallow dish. Soak the bread in the egg mixture, turning once, about 45 seconds - don’t let the bread get soggy! Let the excess egg mixture drip off, then added to the cornflakes, pressing gently to help them adhere. Set aside on a tray let dry for 45 seconds to a minute. Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium, add half of the bread and cook till golden brown on each side and transfer to a baking sheet.

Buen Apetito!