A Spoonful of Sofrito: How to make a delicious Ramen!

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

How to make a delicious Ramen!

Sofrito Lovers,

Ramen is an amazing versatile food.  Yes, I recognize that the flavor packets are a sodium bomb, that the noodles are a bit sketchy, and that a diet rich with instant Ramen leads to several gastrointestinal issues.  But, if you partake of this vice in moderation and with creative substitution you can create amazing dishes that rival some of the best ramen dishes in NYC.

Trial and error are the keys to healthy and delicious ramen! You have to be willing to experiment with various spices, herbs, veggies, and proteins to transform instant ramen into a culinary work of art. 

Check out this YouTube tutorial from Martin Parrao and start working on your own ramen recipes.  This video has inspired me to think about some Boricua style ramen recipes; lets see what I can come up with when I combine ramen, sofrito, and sazon! 

Watch and then go taste for yourself!  ¡Buen Provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Reese's Nutrageous Snack Bites

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

Reese's Nutrageous Snack Bites

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Check out my latest tasting video below!  Watch my reaction to Reese's Nutrageous Snack Bites!  Did I like it?  Did it live up to its hype?  Watch, then go taste for yourself!  ¡Buen Provecho!

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Prison Dish: P's Jail Break

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Prison Dish: P's Jail Break

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Prisoners are incredibly resourceful, especially when it comes to their food!  A few days ago, Emmymadeinjapan posted a video of dish called P's Jail Break from a prison recipe book titled, Commissary Kitchen: my infamous prison cookbook by Albert "Prodigy" Johnson.  

Diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease, Johnson managed to stay healthy while incarcerated by creating healthy recipes from the items he could find in the prison commissary, what was sent to him, and cafeteria leftovers.

After watching Emmy's video, I looked up the book and was fascinated by Johnson's life as a Hiphop artist, his no nonsense approach to prison culinary culture, and the recipes he came up with and inherited from other inmates.

Watch the video below and give the dish a try!  I'm going to be sampling it soon myself!  I'll let you know what I think!  Watch and go taste for yourself!  ¡Buen Provecho!

If you're interested in purchasing Johnson's cookbook, then click this link to Amazon!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Cliff Bar tasting Video

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Cliff Bar tasting Video

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Check out my latest tasting video!  Watch me taste a Mint Chocolate Cliff bar!  Will I like it?  Is it a nice minty treat or is it a chocolate disaster! Watch the video, then go taste for yourself!  ¡Buen Provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: La Loba Cantina

A Spoonful of Sofrito: A pinch of advice that will add a lot of flavor to your life.

Eater's review of La Loba Cantina

Sofrito Lovers,

I CAN'T WAIT TO TASTE THE FOOD AT LA LOBA CANTINA! Eater.com's Robert Sietsema has written a review of Brooklyn's La Loba Cantina that has me salivating and itching for the weekend to get here so I can trek out to the BK!

As you all know already, I love Eater.com and their brilliant staff writer Robert Sietsema!  I think his reviews are captivating, engaging, and incredibly informative.  His latest review is of La Loba Cantina in Brooklyn, a new Mexican eater that serves Oxacan food.  This type of regional Southern Mexican cuisine is rarely found in New York City and boasts unique dishes heavily influenced by the  Indigenous Mixtecs and Zapotecs peoples.

I dare you to read Robert's review and not want to run to the BK as fast as you can.  I'm salivating just writing this post! Enough of my fan boy gushing-read his review and get your ass to Brooklyn!  Go taste for yourself! ¡Buen provecho!

Oaxaca Finally Comes to Brooklyn at La Loba Cantina…Well, Almost
Eater's senior critic awards two stars to a new Mexican restaurant in Kensington, Brooklyn

by Robert Sietsema, October 18, 2016
Photos by Paul Crispin Quitoriano

Mexican food enthusiasts generally agree that the country’s most exciting eats are found in Oaxaca. In this rugged land of scenic beauty in southernmost Mexico, indigenous Native American tribes like the Zapotecs and Mixtecs still make up a large part of the population. The cooking is exceedingly time-consuming, using ingredients like nuts, herbs, fruits, chocolate, and dried chiles to make complex sauces in earthen hues called moles, which often date to pre-Columbian times. The corn-based antojitos are different, too, including garnachas, tlayudas, tetelas, and tamales that come wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. One taste of real Oaxacan fare and you’re hooked.

Check out the rest of the article here!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Chicken and Corn Chili

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

Chicken and Corn Chili

 

Sofrito Lovers,

As you know, I am a weekend Top Chef and last night I kicked serious dinner ass with my version of Goya's Chicken and Corn Chili!  

Folks, this chili was awesome!  I modified the recipe slightly because my finicky partner David doesn't like chickpeas, so I substituted them with pinto and black beans. He loved the chili; that plate was licked clean!

I hate to sound like a Goya shill, but the recipes on their website are pretty cool.  For a novice weekend Top Chef like me, it's a god send; the recipes are simple to follow, quick, and flavorful!  Yes, Goya pushes all their products on you, but what do you expect, it's their website! I suggest you "do you" and use whatever products you like. 

Check it out this recipe for yourself and as always: Go taste for yourself! ¡Buen provecho!

Check out the recipe for Chicken and Corn Chili here!

 

 

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Best Ramen places in NYC!

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

Best Ramen places in NYC!

Sofrito Lovers,

Eater.com has done it again: Another Best Ramen places in NYC List!  If I've said it once, I've said a thousand times, I love Eater.com's lists.  The ramen places eater.com has selected are amazing!  many of these places are renown for their food, service, and style; my favorite is Jin Ramen in Harlem!  I'm a huge fan of Ichiban, near Union Square, and Zundo-Ya, in the Lower East Side, as well!

Now that it's getting colder, it's time for hot delicious bowls of ramen!  Check out the list, choose a place, and enjoy an incredible bowl of soup!  Slurp away my friends, slurp away!  It's totally fine in Japan and in most Ramen places, but make sure you ask! You don't want to slurp yourself into an embarrassing situation! As always: Go taste for yourself! ¡Buen Provecho!

Sietsema’s NYC Ramen Heatmap: 28 Bowls To Try Right Now

by Robert Sietsema Oct 13, 2016, 4:33p

Despite the availability of chilled noodles at some ramen parlors during the summer, ramen remains a cold-weather dish for most of us. At Eater NY, we generally won’t touch it until we see the first squirrel scamper up a tree with an acorn, or the first tippler enter a bar wearing a sleeveless down vest. Anyway, summer is gone both officially and figuratively, and it’s time to throw away your bowls of poké and start dreaming about ramen.

Hard to believe it’s been three years since our last ramen heatmap, and the world of ramen — or New York’s version of it, at least — has undergone some startling changes. Not only have other forms of noodles exerted pressure on ramen (we’re thinking of the newly popular udon, in particular), but our sophistication where ramen is concerned has been growing, not only in quality and variety of the noodles and broths, but in forms of presentation as well. Whereas, in 2013 we could confidently recommend 12 spectacular bowls, we now offer more than twice that many for your delectation.

Note: Restaurants are listed based on geography; south to north through Manhattan, then north to south through New Jersey, Queens, and Brooklyn.

Check out the rest of the article here!