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Posts from the ‘Manhattan’ Category

Jan 26

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Habichuelas Blancas Guisadas

When I was little and knew I was going on a trip, the first thing I did was pack my bags.  It could be days, weeks or even months away, but getting ready made me feel like I was already on the plane.  Sadly, I’ve completely lost my pro-active packing impulses.  Almost from the moment the itinerary hits my inbox, I start running through the list of things I need to do here before I’m allowed to go there.  This weekend, after booking my Easter trip to Puerto Rico and facing dementor-like winter temperatures outside – the kind that make you feel like you’ll never be cheerful again – I felt a little of the old packing impulse when I decided to make this stew of habichuelas blancas. Read more

Aug 13

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Summer Streets Break

I realized today that it was August, not that it was much of a secret.  I had a hint of it last week when I went to the farmer’s market to stock up on fruit and there were no peaches anywhere.  I’m sure there will be plenty in the weeks to come, but it was the first sign that end of summer was in sight.  Summer Streets, the three days in August where the city closes Park Avenue to cars and opens it to just about everything else has become my end of summer consolation. Read more

Apr 14

Asopao de Pollo

A few weeks ago, a friend gave me a list of Puerto Rican classics to try that included asopao de pollo.  As she described it, it’s a Puerto Rican risotto that’s not quite soup and not quite stew.  My soups often go to gumbo by mistake so I was curious to know what would happen if I made it that way by design.  At Jennifer’s suggestion, I checked my Puerto Rican Cookery book first.  I realized after additional searches that there were thousands of recipes for asopao, a one-pot, comfort food solution for family dinners and leftovers.  After reading them over, I finally circled back to Carmen Aboy Valldejuli. Read more

Feb 15

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Tiger’s Tale

Like most people, I’ve been overwhelmed by the perfect storm of holidays we’ve had this weekend.  Being stared down by Cupid, I could barely make out the Metal Tiger and Abe Lincoln standing behind him.  Throw my birthday into the mix and I barely have enough time to get my guilt in order before Ash Wednesday.  Nevertheless, I wanted to commemorate the Chinese New Year in some small way.  When I first came to New York for school, Chinese-Cuban restaurants were my link to authentic Cuban food.  Chinese staff speaking hyper-speed Caribbean Spanish serving roast pork with bean curd or fried rice with maduros over Cuban map placemats.   I realized this winter that the reverse was also true.  When I was considering buying some heavy tropical fruit to bring back with me from Miami, I realized I’d be better off looking for the same items closer to home in Chinatown. Read more

Jan 23

Class Break

I’ve owed my teacher Steven Shaw a rave since I took the first food blogging course at the ICC this past year.  He’ll be teaching the course again starting February 18 at the French Culinary Institute, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in new media, starting their own blog or food writing.  I browse listings for writing courses and workshops all the time.  While they sound interesting, the fear is always that you’re going to pay for a teacher to ignore you and your fellow students to analyze you, at best a writer’s group and at worst group therapy with deadlines.  Absolutely, none of these fears materialized in Steven’s class.  A founder of eGullet.org and James Beard award winning writer, he was beyond generous with his time both in and out of class, so that you saw real development in everyone’s blogs from week to week (plus the speakers were great and the class drew together a perfect mix of writers, chefs, and starters).  Click here for more information and here for five more reasons you should take this class!

Nov 8

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Kiosk Portugal

The first time I went to Kiosk to see their Florida collection I was apprehensive.  A curated collection of objects brought back from their travels, I worried that, taken out of context and back lit in their Soho space, the cans of Materva and La Cubanita guava bricks would be all hipster irony and no heart.  When I finally went, I loved it and was excited to hear they were hitting Portugal next.  I’d only been there once in college but it’s still my favorite vacation of all time.  For three days we drove along the southern coast only stopping to eat, swim and sleep.  Like previous exhibits,  Portugal. What a Beautiful Place! is small collection of shelves set up with light box view of a trip you wish you’d been on.  With Avril au Portugal still floating through my mind, I wasn’t expecting to find so many practical why-have-I-not seen-this-before items.  Here are a few pictures of my trip to their trip: Read more

Sep 22

Sound Break

I went to the Times Square simulcast of the Metropolitan Opera’s Opening Night Gala performance of Puccini’s Tosca this week.  Open air events in New York are a mixed bag.  They seem like a good idea but usually mean hours of discomfort and crowds fighting over patches of damp grass.  The Met’s broadcasts are the exception.  Before the city stopped traffic on 42nd Street, the Met was creating an island of sound in the middle of Times Square every September.  Last night, Karita Mattila’s Tosca threw jealous fits, betrayed a friend to the police, and killed a man – and she was the heroine.  Pure passion rarely leading to pure actions,  the quiet girl secondary roles Read more

Aug 23

High Line Break

My great uncle once wrote that he had an impure love for cities.  Though he was describing 19th century Havana, the New York City High Line is the perfect expression of the sentiment.  I’d been hearing about it since it opened but hadn’t gone till last weekend.  An elevated railway last used in 1980, it’s been transformed into an promenade cutting into the New York City Skyline.  With nature and design in perfect balance everywhere you look, it’s a beautiful tightrope.

Jul 31

If Only I Could

Deciding to take advantage of Friday night late museum hours, my friend and I made our way to the Rubin Museum of Art a collection of art from the Himalayas.  After a quick drink in their K2 lounge buzzing with after work chatter, we made our way to the quieter hum of Gods and Buddhas.  That’s where we found “The Lord and the Subjects Twenty-Five.”  Disciples of the 8th century Tibetan teacher, Padmasambhava, each figure represents the devotee and the ability they achieved through their dedicated practice of Tantric Buddhism.  Lang Palgyi Sengee was able to make rainbows appear in the sky, Drubchen Khyluchung Loba who was able to attract birds and teach them Buddhist doctrine, and of course my favorite, Ma Rinchen Chog, pictured above, was able to levitate cross-legged and make even stones edible.  Seemingly unattainable, at least it’s something to work towards.

Jul 30

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Milking a Coconut

I was looking at different dessert recipes when my cousin sent me one for a Venezuelan bienmesabe, a coconut custard cake that required me to crack one open and extract the milk.  Picturing hammers and machetes and emergency room visits, I thought she was crazy if she thought I was going milk my own coconut.  My next thought was where in New York to find them.  In Miami this would not be a problem.  Though Miami Beach has become unrecognizable in many ways, you still see men pushing grocery carts of fresh green coconuts along red hot sidewalks.  With one balletic move, they’ll swing a giant machete to cut a tiny hole just big enough for a slender straw for a coco frio.  Fresh or dry, I knew my best chance was Essex Market in the Lower East Side.  I found them straightaway at Batista Grocery.  The clerk helped me pick out a few by shaking them to make sure they had water inside and offered to crack them open for me to be sure that the meat inside was still fresh.  For a moment, I was tempted.  It would be so much easier, but I was decided and it seemed a shame not to go through with it.  After all, it was a  pretty common kitchen technique before we were all hooked on cans.  So here are some pictures along with a few things I learned by milking my own coconut… Read more

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