General | hungry sofia

Aug 10

Launching Into OpenSky

I usually write about what goes in the pot, on the table, or fills the bowl. This post is about the bowl and where to find it. I’ve always found interesting things in my neighborhood – gadgets, housewares, and yes bowls. Shopping in Brooklyn stores is a unique experience. Relatively small, most shops have their own aesthetic with a limited but well thought out selection. Excited or bored, helpful or indifferent, there’s always the likelihood that the salesperson is also the owner/designer/artist/buyer of the merchandise your casually turning over and commenting on with your friends. It makes you think about what you say, and leave with a goodbye and thank you – like you would in Paris or an Ernst Lubitsch movie. Read more

Jul 31

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Catching Up in July

July’s been a quiet month so I thought I’d focus on some of my favorite blogs for my round-up. Liz Caskey from Eat Wine posted a recipe for Peruvian Shrimp Chowder that I can’t stop thinking about and will definitely try soon. If I’m looking for projects this August, I’ll definitely check Zarela Martinez’s site for ideas like this recipe for making your own chorizo oaxaqueno or her tutorial on home-rendered lard. Going through the markets this weekend, I realized that I haven’t paid attentions to the squash, peppers, and eggplants that have been coming in, so I was happy to find Dorie Greenspan’s guide to roasting peppers and David Leibovitz’s recipe for eggplant caviar. Read more

Jul 22

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Pastelitos de Dulce de Membrillo

I’ve always been drawn to recipes where you can manipulate an ingredient into an object or shape that more accurately captures its essence. It’s why I love retro dishes like fighting lobsters (don’t they look like they should be fighting?) or deviled eggs (yolks sent to finishing school). It’s what attracted me to these Argentinian pastries filled with membrillo and shaped into flowers. Fresh quinces have always remind me of perfumed apples so it’s fitting that boiled down with sugar and tucked into pastry dough, they bloom. Read more

Jul 6

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Taking Off, Cooling Down

When the heat broke last week, I thought we’d finally been granted a reprieve from the brutally hot New York summer. Little did I know that it was only recharging. From the number of friends posting screen shots of the weather forecast on Facebook, I know I’m not the only one mildly hysterical at the prospect of a 102° week. At least I had rocket pops on standby.

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! Fireworks provided by Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

Jun 30

Catching Up in June

Catching up in June, it seemed everything was moving more slowly. Maybe it was just having the time to read Christina Delsol’s Mexico Mix articles for the SF Gate about the slow food movement in the Yucatán and the discovery of chocolate starting with Moctezuma drinking “bitter water” (xocóatl) from golden goblets. Reading Chichi Wang’s post on Serious Eats on how to make Colombian-style chicharrones, I learned they do not grow on trees in grease-stained brown paper bags but can be slow cooked in a wok then fried in their own rendered fat. It’s not something I’d ever considered before but his step-by-step for the Nasty Bits made it seem too easy not to try. Meanwhile, Enrique Hernandez explored Miami’s changing/never changing Cuban restaurants for the Miami Herald and Ferran Adrià announced plans for a new restaurant in Barcelona.

Jun 25

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Hungry InStyle

A few weeks ago, I was very excited to give Michelle Hainer for InStyle, #85-87 of “101 Reasons to Smile This Season” for their July issue, which just hit stands. Used to being the lone voice on my blog, it was a thrill to see my recipes for grilled corn with chili, green onions with lime, and pears topped with prosciutto and Gorgonzola, tucked into the pages with sky high wedges, gingham tops and the new Javier Bardem movie. You can never have to many reasons to smile so I hope you’ll pick up a copy and also take advantage of the other 98. Read more

Jun 20

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Father’s Day

Whether he’s cooking for you or you’re cooking for him, happy father’s day to everyone spending the day in the kitchen! Read more

Jun 18

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Grilled Tuna Steak with Roasted Tomatoes

I wish I had the ability to just stroll over to the farmer’s market, grab a couple of beets, some Swiss chard, and an apricot and turn it into a feast by finding inspiration in the season laid out under tents and weighing down tables. But that would mean giving up the planning, the list, and the check off which I also love, especially the list. Read more

Jun 15

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Food is Art

I’ve written about the Red Hook Food Vendors before (click here) but it’s wasn’t until this past Saturday that I visited them on their home field for a tour led by Chef Aaron Sanchez, part of the Food is Art culinary program, a series of lectures, classes and special events curated by Zarela Martinez in conjunction with the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York. Read more