hungry sofia

Dec 13

I Still Want To

Today marks a year since I put up my first post, I want to eat my Christmas tree, so I thought it would be appropriate to re-post now. When I started, I had a vague notion that I wanted to write food and that all my titles would end in ellipses. Since then, I’ve found my focus, spoken to hundreds of people willing to answer thousands of questions, and become the person at the restaurant who photographs her food. I was worried that I would run out of things to write but I’ve kept this site going and had the opportunity to write here, here and there. I must have really been hungry.

Dec 10

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December Daze

Decembers are a blur whether or not it’s snowing. With no plans to host, I’ve decided to spend the holiday party season as a kind of foreign exchange student. I’m just showing up when asked and however they’re celebrating, I’ll just go with it. Last Christmas was my family’s turn to have Noche Buena dinner and before that I had a party for friends before everyone went their separate ways, so it’s just not my year. Read more

Dec 8

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The Lists

With so many “best of” lists coming out not only for the year but the decade, it’s good to have a focus. Looking at the best of cookbook lists that are coming out, I realize that the year has gone by in blink and I have a lot of reading to do. From what I’ve seen so far, I’m happy that Francis Mallmann’s Seven Fires is popping up, hope to see Michelle Bernstein’s Cuisine á Latina included on more, and need to make jasmine rice pudding from The Craft of Baking, by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox, immediately.

Click here for Caroline Russock’s Cook the Book take on Serious Eats and here for Eat Me Daily’s roundup. Finally, just for fun here are the top 10 flash mob pics of 2009 in case you missed any.

Dec 6

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Figure Eights

There’s always a point when I finish a post and choose a country category that feels a little dishonest. Well not so much dishonest but not the whole elephant either. When I decided to write about Latin food, I knew that it would be a fuzzy focus and difficult to define. Buñuelos, fritters popular throughout Spain and Latin America, are a good example. Originally from the Iberian penninsula, they’re either Arabic or Sephardic, or maybe both. Typically made from a wheat-based dough that’s flavored with anise, they’re rolled into balls or discs and deep fried then topped with a syrup or honey. Read more

Dec 4

Playing with Food

I am always inclined to buy fresh quinces. I think it’s the soft gray down that clings to them so that they appear freshly hatched, like apples in baby blankets. Actually using them however is a different story. Too often, I leave them on my counter to look pretty and forlorn until I make a last minute attempt at transforming them into some kind of edible paste or jelly. It seemed a shame to always take something fresh and sugar it down to pulp, no matter how delicious it is with manchego. Determined do it differently this time, I started to look for quince recipes that didn’t end in membrillo. Read more

Dec 1

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Puro Chile

I was excited to read about the opening of a store in Soho dedicated to the sale and promotion of Chilean gourmet food products and wines. I’m always searching for new ingredients and it’s good to have a new focus for my obsession. Puro Chile, a Hitchcock-sleek light box store on the corner of Center and Grand, is definitely obsession worthy. What’s most surprising is how warm the space becomes the moment you step inside. The staff is genuinely enthusiastic and the sparse room is dominated by a large tasting table at the center. Though they’re inventory is still growing, the shelves are lined with avocado oils and wine vinegars Read more

Nov 28

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Elena Ruz

The Elena Ruz sandwich always seemed a little out of place on the menu. A combination of roasted turkey, cream cheese and strawberry preserves, it floats alongside the heavier ham, lechon asado and cheese melds of Cuban lunch menus – lighter and prettier with a first and last name. Named for Elena Ruz, a Havana socialite who had the unusual combination made to order for her at El Carmelo. Then a fashionable cafe in the 1930s, it landed on the menu becoming a popular item. According to later interviews, her parents were scandalized to see a sign for “Sandwich Elena Ruz 25 centavos” on display, though as she pointed out the other sandwiches only went for 10 cents at the time. Read more

Nov 25

Anticipation, Apples, Almódovar

I’ve always loved the day before Thanksgiving. Even as my crepe paper pilgrim hat was melting in Miami’s November heat (started out as a Pilgrim lady ended up as the Wicked Witch) in school or a last minute deadline turned my half day into overtime as an adult, I could buzz along on anticipation alone, excited for the days ahead. For a few years I’ve had my own pre-Thansgiving rituals – early day (a day off with a dash of reprieve), quick stop by the Union Square greenmarket for northern spy apples (they go top secret on me when I need them for pie), and an early afternoon movie, ideally the newest Pedro Almódovar which seems to arrive just in time.

Nov 23

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Holiday Nesting

Its bothered me for awhile that I haven’t included more Puerto Rican recipes. There are so many similarities with Cuban food, that I dip towards the more familiar Cuban side when in doubt, like a bird flying with one wing. Recently, I found a copy of Carmen Aboy Valldejuli’s classic, Puerto Rican Cookery, which I hope will restore the balance. There are many reasons to love this book. To name a few, words like carefully and thoroughly are in bold making the recipes more emotional while delicioso and sabroso are translated to”Caribbean” when no other word will do; Rafael Tufiño contributed illustrations; and there’s a sweet black and white picture of her husband, Luis Valldjuli serving her a rum drink from the chapter he contributed on the back cover. Read more

Nov 20

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Snow Days

Though it’s typically full, it’s rare to see a line outside of Versailles restaurant in Miami. It’s only on the rare cold night that it actually reaches capacity, especially when there’s a run on churros. Any day that dips below 65 becomes an impromptu holiday in a summer town, a Miami snow day of sprinkled sugar and fried dough. The lines form and the usual late night orders for medianoches and mariquitas become churros and hot chocolate.

I think it’s the special occasion quality I associate with churros that keeps me from buying them in New York (though I’d never pass them up in Madrid – I’m not crazy). Yesterday, deciding I needed a little Christmas now, I brought out the churrera, that my mother who hates to cook but loves kitchen gadgets sent, and my Read more