With the days a blur of pollen and rain showers and my 200th post coming up, I thought it would be a good time to take a break, update my site and catch-up on my reading.  ABC New recently posted a list of recent cookbooks on Latin cuisine and I can’t decide if I want to start with Nirmala’s Edible Diary by Nirmala Narine, Jose Pizarro’s Seasonal Spanish Food – a finalist for this year’s Julia Child IACP award for a first book, or Daisy Martinez’s latest – Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night (click here for her interview with A Chica Bakes).   I’ll probably go with The Brazilian Kitchen by Leticia Moreinos Schwartz because it’s because it’s been leading my wish list since I tried her recipe for coconut brigadeiros last month.  There have also been some interesting one ingredient articles.  Now that the weather is fit for wandering, I plan on seeking out new markets and sources to include here.  Apart from last week’s look at cilantro, which always elicits strong opinions, John Willoughby’s Pimentón: It’s Spanish for ‘Better Than Paprika’ had me triple checking the denominations of my paprika, and I’m still not sure what the Indian spice asafetida does but can’t wait to find out.    That’s my spring break plan – cooking, reading, and shopping.  I’ll be back next week, still hungry and with a lot to talk about, unless I decide to ditch it all for sunbathing, flirting with Ivy Leaguers, and bebop.  Stay tuned.

I know a Kat who sees hearts.  In leaves and trees, sidewalks and shadows, waffles and gelatos and a million other places, she spots them and posts them here at iseehearts.  I’ve sent her a few that  she’s included.  Less poetic than Kat’s, they typically involve food – like the heart shaped olive over my papas a la huancaína or a piece of garlic in a jar of marinara sauce – so I was very proud when I spotted this album cover in Park Slope.  Once you’re looking, they pop up everywhere.  If this Valentine’s Day doesn’t bring you all the hearts and flowers you’d wished for, you’ll keep an eye out for some unexpected ones.

]]> http://hungrysofia.com/2010/01/23/class-break/feed/ 0 hungrysofia http://hungrysofia.com/2009/12/21/mean-reds/ http://hungrysofia.com/2009/12/21/mean-reds/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:09:59 +0000 hungrysofia http://hungrysofia.com/?p=2956 ]]> I hadn’t planned on going to Fifth Avenue and when I did it was grudgingly. I was rushed, I was cold, it was Christmas but didn’t feel like it. I was having the mean reds. When I found myself just a few feet away from Tiffany & Co., the breakfast cure was so close it was worth a try. I wasn’t Holly Golightly, but it was Tiffany’s and it worked. Bright and precise, it really does turn the reds to rubies and the blues to sapphires for the moment you’re there. The best holiday songs are about the Christmas you’re not having so it was relief to find a place that’s just what it should be in a season of high expectations. If you find yourself with the same situation and no yellow cab to get to 57th Street, here are a few Tiffany windows to tide you over.

Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store (365 State Street, Brooklyn, 718.522.9848):  I miss Five & Dime Stores.  Technically, I missed them by about 20 years except that there was one last hold-out where we used to beg my grandparents to take us.  If I was a kid now, I’d probably beg them to take me to the Blue Ribbon General Store.  It’s the perfect mix.  Spy glasses, candy dots and lady bug tea sets alongside wine bottle thermometers ($12.95) and wool and cashmere shampoo ($18).  Thinking practically, I could use the 6-piece nesting bowl set ($34) though I have to admit that my heart raced when I saw the 6+ Playful Chef cooking set ($39.99).  If I could add it to my Christmas list in 1981, I would.

Exit 9 (127 Smith Street, Brooklyn, 718.422.7720)

If the pristine stores along Court Street were sixties girl-groups, Exit 9 would be The Shirelles, sweet with a drape edge.  They always have a handful of the cool kids cookbooks to flip through and changing selection of essential kitchen gadgets like a gun-shaped egg fryer ($8), Divide & Pepper shakers ($10), and Bombs Away shot glass ($22).  My personal favorite is the Oh Snap! Moustrap Cheese Slicer ($14.99).  Not that I suggest springing a trap on your guests, but would if hurt if they think you just might?

Jonathan Adler (378 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, 718.855.0017):

According to their manifesto, colors can’t clash, tassels are the earrings of the home, minimalism is a bummer and happiness is chic.  At their Atlantic Avenue store, they prove it because you can’t stop smiling from the moment you walk in.  The pop menagerie ornaments make porcelain cuddly ($24-28), the elephant bottle topper wears its heart on its tail ($18), and the whale butter dish make you want to crawl inside ($68).

Of course if none of these work, there are alternatives (Dolls Canisters, $28).

The Future Perfect, (115 North 6th Street, Brooklyn, 718.599.6278):

Though they have a location in Brooklyn, I first came across them in their temporary Chelsea Market pop-up store.  Fortunately, they put it where I would definitely find it, directly behind the Jacques Torres.  While it’s only a small selection from their store, the items seem to vibrate as though emitting seussian brain waves.  It’s easy to see why a perfect future might include Jason Miller’s Seconds dinner and desert plates ($90-$132, set of 4), Science Series glassware ($56-356), and a maison serving dish from Access Paris designed by P. Martinez ($45).

Fork & Pencil (221A Court Street, Brooklyn, 718.488.8855):

Finally, the store closes to home hits closest to home.  A combination of antiques, jewelery, books, stationary and toys, all profits go to support local charities.  I love looking through their well-chosen vintage housewares and I’m always surprised of how affordable everything is.  It’s a reminder that however ornate or decorative they seem now, they were meant to be lived with.

I was as shocked as everyone else when I read this morning that Condé Nast was closing Gourmet magazine.  Well, possibly a little more shocked.  Even though I read the rumors on different sites, I thought the magazine could struggle on in some form till better days.  Unlike other embattled titles in the internet age, I felt a a real attachment to my Gourmet magazines.  Despite the growing piles, I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out.  A few weeks ago, in an Ikea-inspired organizational fit, I brought home magazine folders and finally stored them away.  It was obvious the magazine had gone on a reluctant diet.  Lined up on my bookshelves, you could literally see it disappear as their ad sales dwindled.  A few weeks ago, I came across an old issue in a thrift store from January 1961.  It was their twentieth anniversary edition and included an article about champagne, quotes from Voltaire, a recipe for peacock, and Bach themed feature on preparing chicken breast in between vintage ads.  Of course, I could find most of Gourmet’s old recipes online, but only if I already know what I’m looking for, and then they’ll all look the same.  I thought this quote from the publisher, taken from the inaugural issue and reprinted in 1961, prescient:

To those who would like to share a gourmet’s joie de vivre, GOURMET will speak that Esperanto of the palate that makes the whole world kin…good food, good drink, fine living…the universal language of the gourmet.

-Earle R. MacAusland, Publisher, Gourmet Magazine, 1941

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 are never a match for the opera’s courtesans and gypsies.  The angelic Marchesa Attavanti is only ever seen on the canvas Tosca’s lover Cavaradossi is painting, leaving Tosca to fill the stage and quiet the city noise.  Thrilled with the performances but disappointed in the new production by director Luc Bondy, the simulcast ended with the ovations and boos of the Lincoln Center audience.  This year the city shouted back.

Maybe it’s because of the “what I did on my summer vacation” essays, but summer always feels like a project.  You’re given 2-3 months to put together a set piece for future memories and expectations are high.  Even as an adult, fall blends into winter which blends into spring, but summer stands apart.  It’s hard not to spend Labor day weekend thinking about what I did or didn’t get to do.  It also marks my 100th post since I started writing this blog, though some days, I’ve felt like it’s been writing me.  Still, I love where it’s taken me, and I’m still hungry for more.  I wanted to end the season with fresh cava sorbet, a mix of Spanish sparkling wine, strawberries and oranges.  It seemed like the right palate cleanser to catch my breath, send off summer and start making plans for fall.

Cava, Strawberry and Orange Sorbet
I found several online recipes combining cava and pre-made lemon sorbet.  A popular Spanish combination for parties and celebration.  Other champagne or cava sorbet recipes called for adding egg whites to the cava, but the reviews were mixed.  I chose this one from Bon Appétit (May 1992) because it was very straightforward.  The only change I made was using unsweetened strawberries instead, so the flavor erred on the side of cava.  Click here for the original recipe.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 10-ounce package frozen, unsweetened strawberries, thawed
1 cup orange juice
1 cup brut cava (Spanish sparkling wine)
Fresh strawberries

Stir sugar and water in small saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil. Transfer to large bowl or pitcher and let cool.  Puree strawberries in processor and add to syrup. Mix in orange juice and cava. Refrigerate strawberry mixture until well chilled, at least two hours.

Process strawberry mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer sorbet to covered container and freeze until ready to serve.  Top with fresh strawberries.