hungrysofia

Jul 20

Ajo Blanco

I’ve wanted to post a recipe for ajo blanco since my friend Félix Ortiz told me about it several weeks ago. Waiting out the garlic scapes and spring varieties in the farmer’s market, I finally tried it when the first full formed garlic appeared. Trying to incorporate the mashing with the blending with the right amount of water, I ended up with three consecutive batches of garlic milk. If you haven’t tried garlic milk, don’t. Consulting Anya Von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table, I was able to figure out what went wrong. Without a mortar and pestle large enough to really work the oil into the bread and almond mixture, it didn’t emulsify the way it should, either too thin or too grainy. I switched over to the blender after making the initial paste and it gave me the right consistency in a few whirls. The final result was smooth, refreshing, and easy. Typical of Málaga, this creamy white gazpacho makes a great light, mid-summer meal.

Baseball Break

It seems that when the Yankees decided to move out of the cathedral, they had no choice but to move into Mount Olympus. As a Yankee fan, I’m a bit of a dilettante. I romanticized the old stadium I only visited occasionally while ignoring its season-long limitations. I thought I would miss it, though I should confess that I did not have a very good record there. Even during a winning season, they usually lost if I was in attendance. I was the reverse curse. I blamed myself for wanting it too much, avoided series with the Red Sox, and just prayed it wouldn’t be total blowout. I’ve watched the rally clip from Rocky II played on the jumbotron more times than I ever care to remember.

Something Sweet

This week I’ve been practicing my Abuela Carmita’s natilla, a traditional custard similar to the Spanish crema catalana. A teacher in Cuba, my sister and I were left with her in the morning to learn Spanish which our parents worried we’d forget. After making us cafe con leche with toast (sliced in thirds and sprinkled with sugar), she would start the natilla early so it would have time to chill. Setting aside the whites to make meringues later, she’d heat the milk and beat the egg yolks. My sister and I would watch her stir, ready to fight over the wooden spoon and the raspa left behind in the still warm pot after she’d poured out the custard into individual blue bowls. Mixing the meringue with my grandfather, they’d piped it into tiny mounds and set them to bake, then he would make lunch while we sat down to our lessons. Lamenting that if we still lived in Cuba we’d be learning French instead, she’d lead us through the letters and rhymes in our silabarios until lunch was ready. When it was finally time for dessert, my grandfather’s bowl would have the cinnamon stick and lime peel (not sure why) while ours had our initials written across the top in cinnamon (which I just realized is almost impossible to do). The crisp meringues would disappear in a puff leaving behind a slightly soft center while the custard was smooth and creamy but held its form. Teaching myself the recipe, I worried that the yolks would scramble and spent almost an hour in my sweltering kitchen stirring one batch over too little heat. Remembering her easy patience, I tried again. Getting it right on my third attempt, I can’t stop going to my refrigerator to look down at the same blue bowls finally full of my grandmother’s natilla. Read more

Jul 15

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More Than Chicken Salad

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.

Jul 13

Argentinian Spotlight

It seems I’m not the only one pre-occupied with Argentina these days…by far. After posting about my weekend stab at matambra, I saw this New York Times article, “Buenos Aires Spotlights Its Cafes” in yesterday’s travel section. A brief sampling, it highlights interesting cafes throughout the city from the famous ones like Las Violetas to a small bistro operating out of a building where they’d made coffins named Café Nostalgia. Here’s a clip of Carlos Gardel to test the saying that he “every day sings a little better”:

Jul 12

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Hunger Killer

I came across this recipe for an Argentinian matambre or “hunger killer” when I was reading about guachos in Savuer and had to try it. I was a little apprehensive about cooking it for three hours and so were the guys at Staubitz who butterflied the flank steak, but it worked well. There was another version on the site where the steak is seared first then cooked in the oven for a shorter time which I plan on trying soon. I choose this one first mostly because it was attributed to Rosa Angelita Castro de Flores from El Bordo de las Lanzas. I love a recipe with a landscape and with no immediate plans to go away this summer, it temporarily quieted my travel pangs.

So Near, Yet So Far

I had planned on including a recipe for Cuban pan de agua, but my bread went French on me and not in a good way. It was my third attempt, and I thought I had finally found my mistake. Having misread the recipe before, I measured everything out carefully, kneaded it, let it rise, and shaped it before putting into a cold oven with boiling water. The result wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t Cuban. Instead of a barely golden, plump loaf it had the dark heavy crust of a disappointed baguette. A friend suggested that just like a French soufflé needs quiet, maybe Cuban bread needs shouting. I’ll have to try that the next time.

Jul 8

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Next Stop

At the risk of losing points on my facebook “Are you a real New Yorker?” quiz, I don’t actually like to eat and walk at the same time (though just to be clear I can do it). Naturally, I was interested to read that Jesse, Bryan and Dave Vendley, the brothers behind the popular Calexico Carne Asada trucks in Soho were putting down roots and opening a new restaurant in Red Hook. Serving traditional Mexican street food from the California border town where they grew up, everything we tried – pulled pork taco with pickled red onion and crema, Anson Mills grits topped with fresh corn and jalapeños, carne asada burrito and cantaloupe agua fresca – was bright, well seasoned and straightforward. Read more

Jul 7

More Thirsty Spirit

Last month I’d posted this link to A Thirsty Spirit but had to mention it again. I try to keep up, but sometimes wine and spirits articles feels like work. Alexis has great stories about all things drunk, related in ways you won’t easily forget, and answering questions you didn’t know you had. Here are a few posts from this past week where sailors light their rum and tequila worms wear cowboy hats.

Jul 6

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Aurora’s Tortilla de Patatas

Given the option to spend a semester abroad in Madrid, I decided to go for the entire year, not realizing just how far I would be from everything and everyone. The family I had been assigned to live with at random didn’t help. From the first day, they made me feel like an wandering hobo or stranded motorist who’d washed up to their grim house to use the phone (except I wasn’t actually allowed to use the phone). For the next two months, I had a terrible case of homesickness. The city I’d dreamed of seemed completely closed to me. Family in Spain and a few friends got me through, but it wasn’t until I broke up my year with a trip home for Christmas and arranged for new housing that the spell finally broke. Mostly because of Aurora. Read more