Saturday, December 5, 2015

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Strawberry French Toast Roll Ups

A Spoonful of Sofrito:  A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life!


Strawberry French Toast Roll Ups

Sofrito Lovers,

A simple, delicious, and decadent way to start your day.  Who doesn't love Nutella?  Who doesn't love french toast?  Well, combine them and have an awesome breakfast-it's the most important meal of the day.  

Watch the video, get in the kitchen, and taste for yourself! ¡Buen provecho!



Friday, December 4, 2015

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Classic Latin Lunch Counter La Taza de Oro Has Closed for Good

 A Spoonful of Sofrito:  A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life!



Sofrito Lovers,

A sad day for Puerto Rican/Latino cuisine in NYC!  I will miss La Taza and their amazing food, incredible workers, and awe-inspiring Tembleque (No one makes Tembeque like theirs!)

Classic Latin Lunch Counter La Taza de Oro Has Closed for Good


Sad news out of Chelsea: La Taza de Oro, the classic lunch counter and arguably New York's most iconic Puerto Rican restaurant, has shuttered for good. The restaurant had been closed for the last nine months because of a full vacate order from the Department of Buildings, and though owner Eric Montalvo originally planned to reopen in 2016, he decided to close shop due to fresh financial burdens, per Vanishing New York. According to the DOB, the order was placed because of falling bricks and a Fire Department request for a structural instability request, but Montalvo, who owns the building, says the bricks fell from a neighboring building's façade.


Thursday, December 3, 2015

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A One-Day Food Tour of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, New York's Most Diverse Dining Destination

A Spoonful of Sofrito:  A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life!

 Sofrito Lovers,

Serious Eats publishes some of the best food culture articles, reviews, and recipes in culinary media.  The article below is amazing!  I'm planning an excursion to Queens ASAP!  

Queens culinary culture is incredible!  I hope to see you at some of these amazing eateries!  Read the article and go taste for yourself! ¡Buen provecho!



[Photographs: Max Falkowitz, unless otherwise noted]

A One-Day Food Tour of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, New York's Most Diverse Dining Destination



 Whether you're just visiting New York or you've lived here all your life, chances are you haven't spent enough time exploring Jackson Heights, Queens. Take it from someone who lives there—truly knowing this immigrant-dominated neighborhood, where Colombians and Mexicans rub shoulders with Tibetans and Thai—is an impossible task. It's the New York dream writ small: astonishingly diverse, always changing, and endlessly interesting. Few other places on earth are as culturally rich and complex, and even fewer are dense enough to walk through in an afternoon.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Congrí recipe

 A Spoonful of Sofrito:  A Pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life!



Sofrito Lovers,

Here's my personal recipe for a classic Cuban Congrí (Black beans and rice) that I created based on other recipes I've seen in cookbooks, blogs, and Youtube.  It's my quick and simple way to prepare an amazing Cuban side dish that goes well with all types of meat and salads.  It's moist, flavorful, and just plain delicious! Now go taste for yourself!  ¡Buen provecho!


Congri (or Moros y Cristianos)

Ingredients:
2 Cups of rice
2 cans of Black beans with liquid
1-½ cups of water
½ green bell pepper
½ medium onion
2 tbsp of canola oil
1tbsp of sofrito
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp of pepper
2 garlic cloves (either minced or mashed in a pilon)
1 bay leaf
¼ of cooking wine
1 tsp of Salt


Directions:
Heat (medium high) the canola oil, then add the peppers,
onions, sofrito, and garlic, and cook until translucent.

Add black beans and stir and then add the dry seasoning.
Cook until it boils.

Add rice to the boil.  Mix together and coat rice,
then add water, cooking wine, and salt.  Taste, to see if it needs
more salt. Cook until water is evaporated.


Once evaporated, stir the rice (bottom rice up), cover,

and reset the heat to medium low and cook for 20 minutes.

 After 20 minutes, uncover and mix rice (bottom up).


Tuesday, December 1, 2015

New York's Craziest Sandwiches Strike Back



Sofrito Lovers,

I am an avid reader of NYEater.com because of their amazing restaurant reviews; their insight into NYC food culture; and the attention they give to restaurants throughout the City, not just Midtown and below. 

Check out this amazing article on NYC's craziest sandwiches!  Maybe, I'll see you at one of the spots below!  Now go taste for yourself! ¡Buen provecho!

 

New York's Craziest Sandwiches Strike Back

by ,

This decade might be dubbed the Era of Crazy Sandwiches, because every day more seem to appear. Consider them mini works of art: not only are many fun to eat (in some cases, only if you can figure out how to do so), but they’re beautiful to look at. Others are simply over the top, such as the Freight Train from Zaro’s in the Grand Central Dining Concourse, which is a study in modern excess. Here, then, is our fourth collection of strange sandwiches.

Freight Train — Of course it’s not good for you, isn’t that the whole point of this bizarrely overstuffed breakfast sandwich? It contains three eggs, four strips of bacon, two sausage patties, two slices of boiled ham, two slices of American cheese, and — here’s the coup-de-grâce — a layer of fried hash browns. This surfeit of ingredients is deposited on a croissant, which is fat-intensive by itself. For dieters, you can also get it on a bialy. The cost? $10.99, but that’s not bad for two meals worth of calories. Find it at: Zaro’s Bakery, Grand Central Dining Concourse, 89 E 42nd St, (212) 292-0160