A Spoonful of Sofrito: Honey Boo Boo Cooking with Mama June!

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

Honey Boo Boo Cooking with Mama June!

 

Sofrito Lovers,

Yesterday, I was searching through YouTube for foodie videos and I came across this series of posts by Ghost0Stalker420, which feature all of the cooking segments from TLC's Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.  I couldn't believe my luck!

For those who don't know, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was a reality show that followed the misadventures of a self-described "red neck" family from the South.  The show's break out stars were Honey Boo Boo (Alan Thompson) and her mother Mama June (June Shannon).  The whole family was a hot mess, but these two were the hottest of the messes!

Occasionally, the producers would film Mama June "cooking." My favorite is the recipe for "Sketti" (Spaghetti for the rest of us), which features her signature Ketchup and butter sauce. These segments are priceless; I'm going to let them speak for themselves.

Check out Mama June's Southern style cooking!  The gross factor is high on this one folks!  So get ready!  ¡Buen provecho!

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: The Hundred-Foot Journey!

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

The Hundred-Foot Journey!

   

Sofrito Lovers, 

Incredible foodie movies are far and few!  The Hundred-Foot Journey is an amazing film about a young Indian man who finds love and success when he relocates, with his family, to a small French village and open a restaurant.

This film is a wonderful celebration of romance, triumph over adversity, and INDIAN CUISINE!  The brilliant cinematography makes all the meals visually stunning and, of course, appetizing.  Besides excellent performances by Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal, I love how this film honors the art of cooking. It makes you want to run to the nearest kitchen and start creating your own culinary works of art.

Check out this heartwarming movie!  I've posted the film synopsis and movie trailer below. Watch it and then go have a nice meal! ¡Buen Provecho!

The Hundred-Foot Journey Film Synopsis:

Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is an extraordinarily talented and largely self-taught culinary novice. When he and his family are displaced from their native India and settle in a quaint French village, they decide to open an Indian eatery. However, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), the proprietress of an acclaimed restaurant just 100 feet away, strongly objects. War erupts between the two establishments, until Mallory recognizes Kadam's impressive epicurean gifts and takes him under her wing.

Purchase the film here on Amazon!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: ChefsFeed App!

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

ChefsFeed App!

Sofrito Lovers,

Once again, I've got an App that will make your foodie adventures through New York City extremely easy: ChefsFeed! ChefsFeed helps you find nearby restaurants, features professional cooking tips, and input from well-known and up and coming Chefs.

Recently, I fell in love with ChefsFeed the moment I downloaded it. I enjoy the amazing tutorial videos, gorgeous food photography, and easy to use search functions. 

Being a modern day foodie, I need the proper tech and apps to help me explore NYC's food culture and ChefsFeed has made that process very easy.  I highly recommend this app; it's fun, easy to use, and very informative.

Check out the App link down below and go enjoy some good food!  ¡Buen Provecho! 

Download ChefsFeed App here on Itunes.

A Spoonful of Sofrito: Americans try Latino Sodas!

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

Americans try Latino Sodas!

Sofrito Lovers,

You already know that tasting videos give me life! If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Watching people's reactions to new foods and beverages is hilarious and extremely entertaining!

The FLAMA video below features a group of Americans tasting sodas and beverages from throughout Latin America.  Their reactions are priceless; it's clear that their palates are designed for only Pepsi, Coca Cola, Sprite, and just about anything American.  They found most of the Latino sodas nasty or off putting.

I'm thinking of organizing a counter taste testing video! Usually, I find most Americans love those very same sodas when they taste them.  ¡Vamos a ver!

Check out the video and see if you can find the sodas and taste them for yourselves.  ¡Buen provecho!

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: The Ultimate Snickerdoodles!

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

The Ultimate Snickerdoodles!

Sofrito Lovers,

Do you remember Snickerdoodles?  Most people don't, they  respond with, "What?" or "What the hell is a snickerdoodle?"

Snickerdoodles are those delicious cinnamon and sugar cookies that are gooey in the middle and taste like heaven.  Occasionally, you could buy them in a pack in a Bodega or they were served as a treat in your school lunch.  

Snickerdoodles have never been as popular as chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, or your various Oreo-like cream filled cookies, but that have that distinctive cinnamon and sweet taste everyone remembers from childhood.  They were a random delicious treat that popped up here and there and were always a delight!

Well. to everyone's luck Serious Eats has published an amazing Snickerdoodle recipe on their website; I couldn't help but share it with you all.  I'm still a baking novice, but this is going to be one of my first projects.  Can you image an endless supply of rich, gooey, cinnamony treats?  I can!  I'm going to make it happen!  When I do, I'll blog about it and let you know how they turned out!

Check out Serious Eats Recipe for Snickerdoodles and taste for yourself!  ¡Buen provecho!

Click here for the delicious recipe!

 

A Spoonful of Sofrito: 10 Ways to Spot a Fake Chinese Restaurant!

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

 

10 Ways to Spot a Fake Chinese Restaurant!

 

Sofrito Lovers,

 

Did you know that most Chinese restaurants don't serve Chinese Food? Yes, folks, this is true!  Those pot-stickers, tostones, fried chicken wings, crab rangoon, and chicken with broccoli aren't real Chinese fare.  Now you're wondering, "How can I tell what is real Chinese food?"  Keep reading!

A few months ago, the video I embedded below was posted on Youtube by Strictly Dumpling and it has changed my life!  These 10 facts have helped me comb through the endless "Chinese" restaurants in NYC in order to find the true delicious diamonds in the rough! 

Strictly Dumpling's videos are wonderful!  Whether its fun facts about Chinese cuisine, cooking tutorials, or tasting videos, this channel is an amazing resource for all things Chinese food related.  After you watch the video below, skim through the channel, you won't regret it.

Take a look, find a good Chinese restaurant, and Buen Provecho!

A Spoonful of Sofrito: My Secret Chicken Recipe!

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

My Secret Chicken Recipe!

Sofrito Lovers,

I don't want to brag, but I make the best Fried Chicken ever. Yeah, I'm sure some of you must think I'm crazy, but it's the truth.  My recipe is incredible and everyone who tastes my chicken agrees.  The Colonel has nothing on me and that lady on the Popeye's commercials wishes she had my recipe. Those two losers don't come close to my incredible Pollo Frito!

Being an altruistic soul, I shall share my recipe.  Read it, cook it, taste it, and ¡Buen Provecho!

Ben's Famous Pollo Frito Recipe

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs of fryer chicken parts

3 eggs

1/3 cup of water

1-1.5 cup of white flour

Canola oil for frying

1 tsp of pepper for flour

Wet/dry rub for chicken:

1 tbsp of white vinegar

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of fresh made Sazon

1 tsp of fresh made adobo

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp oregano powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cilantro powder

1 tsp onion powder

Directions:

Wash chicken parts in cold water and pat dry.

In a large bowl, season chicken with wet/dry ingredients together.  Set aside the bowl for 15-20 minutes, or overnight, to marinate.  If you refrigerate the chicken overnight, then take it out and let stand until room temperature.  Never cook cold chicken.  Make sure you pat the seasoned chicken dry as well!

In a medium size bowl beat eggs and water.  In another bowl, mix flour and 1 tsp of pepper together.

Dip chicken into egg mixture and then lightly coat in flour.

Heat canola oil in frying pan on medium-high heat.

Fry the chicken until brown and crisp on both sides.  Usually, it takes about 4-5 minutes on each side, but you should use your instincts as well.  

If it looks cooked through, then remove from heat.

Place on a plate covered in paper towels to absorb the excess oil and enjoy!