"Please Sir, I Want S'More"

August 26, 2009

As the school year is getting closer and the inevitable school orientations and back to school play groups and play dates are happening, it seems like everyone that I've talked to has gone to Hershey Park at some point this summer. And why not, there does seem to be something there for kids of all ages...rides, games and even some other treats.

Senor Food, one of the biggest kids I know (and I say that lovingly!) shares one of his favorite Hershey memories which just happens to be food related...

Senor Food:
"Let's start with the ultimate Hershey treat...and when I say ultimate, I mean it- the S'more. I hope most of you have experienced this culinary masterpiece previously. Now a regular S'more is made with 2 Graham Crackers, a marshmallow and a square of chocolate. In Hershey Park, they do things a little differently and while change isn't always a good thing, in this case it is a great thing! They use 2 giant sized soft, fresh chocolate chip cookies and in between they pack 10 marshmallows and 1 full Hershey bar!!! I recommend sharing it as it is just too rich to consume alone. The one problem is that you need to be inside the amusement park to purchase one so if you include that in the cost, it unfortunately does make this tasty treat kind of expensive, but in my opinion it is well worth it! If you find yourself in Hershey, this is not to be missed. Arriba!"

If you haven't made it to Hershey yet, it is not too late- they are open lots of weekends throughout the fall and I hear they have great Halloween and Christmas celebrations or there is always next year! www.hersheypark.com

Happy Trails!
Foodie

Empanada Mama, NYC

February 24, 2009

Foodie is pleased to announce the return of Senor Food in his second guest appearance:

Senor Food is back and this time I have brought with me a friend, and that friend is...The Empanada. Some of you may be asking "What is an Empanada?" An empanada (not to be confused with the Portuguese empada) is a stuffed pastry. The name comes from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. The empanada is made by folding a thin circular-shaped dough patty around the stuffing, creating its typical semi-circular shape. To put it simply, it is awesome! (definitions courtesy of Wikipedia and Empanada Mama's website).

I recently returned to Empanada Mama in NYC with a friend and it was even better the second time around. Now understand this is not a fancy place by any stretch of the imagination and I would not suggest making a special trip in to the city to eat here but if you are in NYC or are going to be and you want something a little different, it is amazing! The restaurant is small so if you are going for lunch, get there by 12:15 or after 2pm as it fills up very quickly.

I was not shy when I ordered and recommend you try as many varieties as you think you can handle. If you are a fan of foods that have cooked pineapples in them, I STRONGLY suggest you order the Hawaiian (ham, sauteed pineapples and mozzarella cheese). I also scarfed down a Cheese Steak, Reggaeton (Caribbean style roast pork with sofrito seasoned yellow rice and peas), Spicy Chicken, Beef & Broccoli Teriyaki, Spinach & Cheese, Mushrooms (sauteed portobello & white mushrooms with onions) and Chorizo.

Settle down with the judging as this was done over TWO visits, not just one. The empanadas range in price from $2.25 to $3.oo each. Very affordable, even in harsh economic times. The menu also offers many full entrees as well as salad, tapas and soup selections. They have a fun and interesting drink menu featuring Postobon Sodas, natural fruit shakes, coffees and hot chocolate.

It is something different when you just don't know what you want for lunch. If I could, I would probably head there right now.

Arriba!
Senor Food

PS: The guacamole is great and the website is a riot.

Empanada Mama
763 9th Avenue (between 51st and 52nd street), NYC
Phone: 212.698.9008
Website: www.empmamanyc.com

Share your comments on this blog by going to http://foodiefavorites.blogspot.com and clicking on "comments" at the bottom of the posting or share with a friend by clicking on the share/mail icon. Thanks for reading!

"Light" Rigatoni Quatro Fromaggio

January 22, 2009

In celebration of the Oscar nominations today, this posting is Foodie Favorites' version of "Dinner and a Movie". It is a first time guest blogger who does half the cooking in our house (or maybe more than half some months!) and this has become one of his specialties. Guys out there, this is surely a meal to impress the lady in your life and it is NOT a black diamond in the difficulty category. So, with no further delay, it is my pleasure to introduce Senor Food.

Senor Food:

Greetings allow me to introduce myself; I am Senor Food, the non-union Mexican counterpart of the great and illustrious Foodie. My take on things is a little different as you will see by my first foray into the food blogging world. I have decided to look at the long standing relationship between food and the movies. How many of us have had dates that consisted of dinner and a movie? My guess would be all. How many of us snack while watching a movie, again my guess would be all. So what is the relationship? Is it a cause and effect type of thing? Nah, food just rocks and we all love to eat it.

"Food, Glorious food" is what those adorable orphans sang in Oliver and by god they were right. Good food IS GLORIOUS! One of my favorite movies coincidentally has a damn good meal in it. The film is Tequila Sunrise, the stars are Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer and luckily for us, the backdrop is the fictional restaurant, Vallenari’s. During a pivotal scene in the film, police officer Nick Frescia (Russell) confronts retired drug dealer Dale McKussic (Gibson) about his involvement in the drug trade over dinner at Vallenari's, but the real scene stealer is the plate of Rigatoni Quattro Fromaggio that McKussic is having- Pasta smothered with a creamy blend of four Italian Cheeses. Perhaps it was the way hottie restaurateur JoAnn Vallenari (Pfeiffer) described the meal or maybe it was just the setting itself but it sounded so good I hoped to try it one day.

Lucky for me I am married to Foodie who in her years of collecting stacks and stacks and stacks of recipes came across the recipe. One day she handed it to me and said, “Senor Food, get to it.” Being both a fearful and smart man who knows his way around a kitchen I said to myself, “Self, lets make this meal.”

Below is the recipe and amazingly, it is simple to prepare, awesome to eat and most shockingly only about 485 calories and 12 grams of fat per serving (makes 4 servings).

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon stick margarine or butter

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

½ Teaspoon pepper

¼ Teaspoon salt

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated skim milk

¼ Cup (1 ounce) shredded fontina cheese

¼ Cup (1 ounce) crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese

¼ Cup (1 ounce) diced Camembert cheese

6 Cups hot cooked rigatoni (about 9 ounces uncooked pasta)

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

¼ Cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt margarine in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add pepper, salt and milk, and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and add Fontina, Gorgonzola and Camembert cheeses, stirring until cheeses melt. Stir in pasta and basil; spoon into each of 4 bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Now for those of you who have seen the movie and enjoy it as much as I do…

You are now ready to deport Nino the chef and cater parties for one of the most dangerous and notorious men to ever deal drugs out of Mexico ; Comandante Xavier Escalante a.k.a Carlos.

"WE’RE NEVER GOING TO GET TO FINISH THE GAME!"

If you haven’t seen the film well this is the perfect opportunity to do dinner and a movie with a special someone.

Disclaimer: Cooking this meal will not make you as good looking or as cool as any of the characters that are portrayed...

Adios!

Senor Food

Note from Foodie: I think that I first came across this recipe in Cooking Light magazine possibly as far back as the late 90's but I couldn't find it on the site when looking today. They have lots of great "lightened up" recipes though so check it out. www.cookinglight.com