Daily Beast | hungry sofia

Nov 30

Catching Up in November

I almost skipped my catching up post because I could not believe (accept) just how fast November went by. With the holidays only starting, I don’t expect it to slow down any time soon (plus the Rockefeller Christmas tree is lit so there’s no going back). My list of things to do and see keeps growing. I finally went to Eataly a couple of weeks ago and though it was hard to navigate the sea of people I can’t wait to go back. Click here for Serious Eats’ coverage of the opening. I’m also looking forward to visiting the new Plaza Food Hall by Todd English. It’s may be over the top but I can’t resist Fifth Avenue in December. Read more

Feb 25

Catching Up in February

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve talked about what I was reading, but I didn’t want to let February go by without pointing to some really interesting articles. Of course, the El Bulli story has continued to develop with the announcement that it would close permanently in 2012 and re-open as a non-profit foundation 2014. There were two interesting pieces in the New York Times Diner’s Journal by Grant Achatz and Frank Bruni about the very different emotions the restaurant inspired. Read more

Jul 24

Una Causa

I was curious when I read Katie Workman’s post in The Daily Beast about the rivalry between Peru and Chile over the potato’s origin. I asked my aunt, who has lived in Lima enough decades to put down her own roots, if it was true. When I received an all caps email from my usually soft spoken aunt, I knew not only was it true, it was serious. I could see why countries would fight over it. Comforting and generous, potatoes lend themselves to almost everything. Regardless of its origin, I was curious to know what Peruvians did with them. She directed me to a friend’s website, Yanuq, an extensive source for traditional and contemporary Peruvian recipes and ingredients. I started looking at recipes for causas, mashed yellow potatoes seasoned with aji amarillo, lime juice, and oil and then stuffed with anything from octopus in olive sauce to chicken and beets. Deciding to start picnic simple, I chose the causa de atún, a jelly roll or brazo gitano style loaf filled with tuna, tomatoes, and avocados. Despite a wide market search, I wasn’t able to find the Peruvian aji amarillo but followed a suggestion on eGullet to use habaneros soaked in milk as a substitute. Still, my market search did bear fruit since I found fresh chirimoyas instead with the sticker declaring them the product of Chile. I wonder what Peru thinks of that? Read more