hungry sofia » Events

Park Avenue Potluck

hungrysofia — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:13:06 +0000

With this week’s release of Florence Fabricant’s Park Avenue Potluck Celebrations: Entertaining at Home with New York’s Savviest Hostesses, The Naptime Chef is hosting a virtual potluck dinner featuring a slate of great food blogs. With proceeds to benefit The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, this new release feeds more than your cookbook addiction. I recently spent time with a friend whose son was being treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and was awed by the love and care the nurses and doctors showed, not only their patients, but their parents and siblings, during countless hours of treatment. It’s wonderful to find another way to support their work.

Fiesta Latina

hungrysofia — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:47:01 +0000

I watched the coverage of last week’s Fiesta Latina celebrated at the White House with sincere but vague interest. Though I was happy that it went well and proud as always for the recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, multi-cultural events at the White House have become frequent enough that you don’t expect any real surprises. That was before I came across on of my favorite food writer, Maricel Presilla’s account in “Cooking at La Casa Blanca: Behind the Scenes with the Fiesta Latina Guest Chef” in the Miami Herald.com. Click here for the for complete article.

Latest Scoop

hungrysofia — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 03:39:08 +0000

After last week’s break from posting, I was excited to get back in the kitchen. Fortunately, it was a giant kitchen at the French Culinary Institute for Pastryscoop.com’s Fall Conference this past Sunday where I volunteered for the day. I was assigned to a kitchen so I wasn’t able to see everything but demos that came to me were a great sample of the day. Here’s a brief overview for how it went:

I was a little relieved when I arrived in the morning and found out that my first demo would be with FCI pastry-chef instructor, Kir Rodriguez for Truffles: The Final Frontier. As a staff member, he would likely have everything he needed on site and as a former Franciscan monk he wouldn’t get too upset if he didn’t. From the moment he selected some lilting classical music to play in the background while he spoke, I knew it was going to be good. Then he made white chocolate passion fruit truffles dipped in sesame seeds, gingerbread truffles and dark chocolate truffles infused with limoncello that were great, proving it’s impossible not to like someone with a soundtrack.

Having eased into the morning, Adaptations: Changing Tried-and-True Recipes to Achieve New Flavor Profiles with Zak Miller, corporate pastry chef for Anthos, Mia Dona & Kefi, could not have been more different. It was all quart containers, boiling cream and whirring Kitchen Aids. With only two hours for each demo, we were well into the second hour with no dessert in sight, it was all chilling or baking. The only one who betrayed no anxiety about the time was Chef Zak who enthusiastically answered questions like he had all the time in the world. Of course, he knew something because all at once we had, as promised …

Roasted Apples with Apple Cream, Cinnamon Ice Cream and Graham Cracker Sable

and then…

Carrot with Ginger Ice Cream and 5 Spice Sable

and…

Thassos Sable with Orange and Coriander Ice Cream

for everyone.

The final workshop was led by Emily Wallendjack from The Cookshop. Definitely the smallest and possibly the youngest, the first word that comes to mind describing Chef Emily is precision. With less time to prep, she still finished ahead of schedule. I’d explain but a picture of the devil’s food cake, gianduja crunch, prailine crunch, frozen peanut nougat & chocolate shell candy bar that she created speaks for itself.

A perfect finish.

More Cookies

hungrysofia — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:19:10 +0000

I’ve written before about how much I like sneaking into One Girl Cookies kitchen and saw that they just announced their upcoming apple pie class for October 27. They make incredible cookies and pies so f you sign up for one of their upcoming classes, they’ll show you how they do it. Unlike a lot of demonstration based classes in New York, you really get to pound the dough at One Girl so if any one is interested they should reserve a spot soon.

An Argentine Affair

hungrysofia — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:54:30 +0000

When I found about An Argentine Affair to be presented by Trapiche and Michel Torino Wines on August 19th at Water Taxi Beach, I had mixed feelings. With the summer winding down, I’ve become skeptical of open air events that either become a bittersweet reason to fall in love with New York all over again or sand and paper plate push and shove events. With the promise of wine and Argentinian grilling, tangos, and soccer, this one seems worth the risk, especially with a portion of ticket proceeds benefit to Action Against Hunger,

More Than Chicken Salad

hungrysofia — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:58:49 +0000

My friend Mindy from Mindy’s Recipe For Disaster is offering an hour long chicken salad making session in exchange for a $60 donation to Tinh, a beautiful little girl with cerebral palsy she met in Vietnam. Before leaving finance to study at the French Culinary Institute and starting her very funny blog about her experiences, she volunteered in Vietnam one summer through the Global Volunteer Network. Since then, she’s been sending back money every six months to help Tinh. To read more, jump here for a great recipe. sweet story, and good cause.

Pretty Paella

hungrysofia — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:21:05 +0000

The first annual Paella Parade is this Sunday, June 7, 11:00 AM-3:00PM at Water Taxi Beach, South Street Seaport. It’s local chefs competing for most creative, best use of ingredients, best overall taste, paella parade pleaser and (my favorite) prettiest. Tickets are $25 for all the paella and wines from El Coto de Rioja you could want. I’ll find out this Sunday just how much that is!

Lucky Red Cakes

hungrysofia — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:04:32 +0000

Last night Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO hosted a party for Jennifer 8. Lee’s The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. It was a great event with Chinese ice cream, Thai beer, and lucky cakes from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Lee showed footage from her research into the true origins of General Tso’s chicken, chop suey and fortune cookies among others. It’s a great story about cultural adaptation and reminds us all that immigrants who speak with accents don’t necessarily think with them.

Republican Ginger Snaps and Democratic Cupcakes

hungrysofia — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 04:32:33 +0000

Like a few million others, I made my pilgrimage to Washington, DC this week to witness firsthand the presidential inauguration. In the days after the election, a lot of my friends talked of making the trip also, but once the excitement died down, most of them decided to stay home. Any other year or for any other president, I would have been one of them. The reason I didn’t is because of a conversation I had with an aunt who was fighting cancer. A lifelong republican and active McCain supporter, she knew I had volunteered for the campaign and was the first to call and congratulate me when Obama won. When I confessed that I had planned on attending but now wasn’t sure, she told me I simply HAD to go. Her HADTO made up my mind.

It took three hours through chaotic DC streets and an endless traffic tunnel to work our way to a spot where we could watch the ceremony on the JumboTrons posted along the Mall. It was during the next two hours of standing and waiting that the cold worked its way up through my legs and froze every cell in my body. Luckily, the day before I had visited my great aunt and uncle who live in DC. He’s a retired professor in his eighties and they’re both diehard conservatives. Over a gracious lunch, they questioned all of my political beliefs and most of my life choices then gave my sister and me a tin of ginger snaps and sent us on our way. When the cold set in the next day, I ripped into those ginger snaps like a starved wolverine. I’d be embarrassed about this, but I did share with my new inauguration friends and it really was so cold.

By the time the ceremony was over, I was completely numb from the cold. I managed a benjaminbuttonlike waddle for about the next half hour as we worked our way through the crowds. It wasn’t till the next day over cake and coffee at a Firehook Bakery that I was able to feel warmth returning. Mostly I felt grateful. Grateful that I had been there, grateful for the ginger snaps, and grateful to the woman who’s clarity and generosity had sent me there.