Hungry for Ryan Gosling

As many of you may know, I've been abandoned this week by my sister, Mariana, as she went on her honeymoon with her husband to Costa Rica. I did do some experimenting in the kitchen while she has been gone and made up a great recipe to share with our great readers but I have yet to sit down and write a post for it. However, I did not want to skip on our Hungry for Men Wednesdays post so here it goes:

There is a certain man that has been on my mind lately thanks to the previews on TV recently for Crazy, Stupid, Love. Not only are you getting the hilarious Steve Carell and the beautifully endearing Emma Stone but you are getting the lovely, sexy and deliciously shirtless Ryan Gosling. Some of you may remember him from waaaay back in the day in his role as Sean Hanlon, the self-proclaimed Ladies' Man, on Breaker High-that sweet TV series about teenagers who get to go to high school on cruise ship. And now, more than ten years later, he is playing a similar role in this romantic comedy.

My, my, my, how wonderfully you've aged dear Ryan. If you don't mind, I'd like to marry you. Just throwing that out there...

This is one movie I am definitely going to be making my sister take me to this weekend to make for my abandonment... I'm sure it won't take too much convincing!

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! Yum-meee!

-The lone foodie, Paula

Last Mango in Paris

Our fans are demanding more recipes. What do they think this is, a food blog?! Sheesh. But we are nothing without our fellow foodies, so here goes...

While we love to eat, there are some days where we just don't really feel like cooking. Despite some initial hesitation from Paula, Mariana has taught her that there's nothing quite like a good rotisserie chicken to save you on these days. The possibilities are endless! Tostadas, chimichangas, Justin's favorite grilled chicken sandwiches, salads, and more. On this particular day we decided to get creative with our salad and came up with:

Mango Chicken Salad with Cilantro Dressing

Serves 2-4

The Ingredients:

• One bag of baby greens
• One chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken, shredded
• One mango, chopped
• 1/4 cup of sliced red onion
• One large tomato, chopped
• One large handful of cilantro (technical, huh?)
• 1/2 large lemon
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• Salt

The Salad:

In a large bowl, throw in the baby greens (or whatever form of lettuce you prefer), the chicken, mango, red onion, and tomato. That's it. Your salad is done.

The Dressing:

In a blender, or in a handy Bullet like we used, combine the cilantro, juice from the lemon, olive oil, and a little salt. Blend until smooth. Add the yogurt and blend again. Check for consistency and taste, and adjust if necessary.

Pour dressing on salad and toss until well distributed. Serve and enjoy with a cool summer beverage like lemonade, iced tea, or mojitos.

One note on this recipe - we made it up. You may need to add more than the amounts we outlined above to make it just right. And on a related note, Mariana follows recipes and is very proud that she's learning to just make things up!

Don't forget about your music for the evening!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for Jim Halpert

Many people don't get it, but we love John Krasinski. Ironically, our love for him developed as we watched him fall in love with another girl on The Office, but we couldn't help it. He was so endearing when he did little things for Pam, so sweetly broken-hearted when he couldn't have her, and so adorable when he finally got his girl. And who doesn't appreciate a man who can make you laugh?

Paula will tell you that she's going to marry him, but if you ask anyone who knows us well, they'll tell you that he's actually perfect for Mariana. He's exactly her type - the dorky, yet somehow cool, guy who can make you laugh. It's a good thing she's married or John would have one serious stalker. Paula's on his trail though!

So for those who appreciate this incredible man that we are hungry for,  we give you Jim Halpert. *Sigh*

And if you don't like him, that's fine. You can have Dwight.

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! Yummy!

Mariana and Paula

Hungry for Men

We may have just started this little venture we call The Man Hunger, but we Vazquez sisters are already focused on what the fan thinks and wants. And we realize that you, the fan, may feel a little tricked. You may have seen the link, received your invitation, or just stumbled upon us and thought, "Oohers! A blog about the men these two sisters are hungry for! That sounds fascinating." Then you learn that it's really about the food we're hungry for, leading to some sadness and disenchantment. Now, I'm sure as you've seen the magic that we have to offer, what with posts about shells stuffed with goodness and mascots running into cameras for the sake of food, you've felt some of those feelings subside. However, we do not want to disappoint! So without further ado, we present to you:

Hungry for Men Wednesdays!!!!!!
(Cue the choir)

Each Wednesday, we will offer up a man (or two or three) that we are hungry for so that you may feast your eyes upon them. We will take suggestions and display a wide array of men for all tastes and likings. Even you straight men out there may find a guy in our gallery that makes you say, even if only to yourself, "Huh. He is hot."

So where does one start on such a quest? Well, these two sisters decided to go to their other obsession: Grey's Anatomy. Mariana is a long time fan and when the entire series was added to Netflix instant play, she decided it was time that Paula learn about the wonder that is Grey's. Thus, we are pleased to kick off Hungry for Men Wednesdays with:

The Men of Grey's Anatomy!

Mark Sloan aka McSteamy aka Eric Dane. There is not an episode in all 7 seasons that we have not said out loud, "My god he's hot!" Look at that smile, those eyes and all those gorgeous muscles... He can operate on us any day!

Derrick Shepard aka McDreamy aka Patrick Dempsey. That hair alone can put you in a love trance! He's been in our heart from the very start when he played the very nerdy but endearing Ron in Can't Buy Me Love. And now, playing the wonderful part of brain surgeon, he makes you wish you had Alzheimers, just so you can be part of his medical trail and get to see him in scrubs.

Owen Hunt aka Sexy Leprechaun aka Kevin McKidd. Now there is man you want to get lost in a natural disaster with! This is one ginger that we will follow anywhere! War, hospital shooting, on-call room... You name it, we're there!

Jackson Avery aka No Shirt Necessary aka Jesse Williams. This is the sort of man that makes you think that fate must truly exist. Why else has he come into our lives as a sexy young doctor than to give us the will to find out his address so we can stalk him and wait for the perfect moment to "bump" into him and let him fall in love? And let you touch his yummy muscles...

Eli aka Go Dr. Bailey! aka Daniel Sunjata. I mean look at him. He's just so... Those eyes are just... with that smoldering look... And that smile is like... *Sigh* He's just so fantastically indescribable.

So there you have it! The visual buffet of gorgeous, sexy, handsome, incredible, life-saving men of Grey's!

Bon Appetit! Buen Provecho! YUMMY!

Mariana and Paula

Shell Games

Stuffed Shells with Marinara Sauce

Serves 4-6

Our parents like to come up to Tucson on a fairly frequent basis. They do their shopping, and we eat together. This weekend my dad had just gone to the dentist and could only have soft foods so we decided to make stuffed shells, borrowing a basic recipe from Giada de Laurentiis and then making it our own. Ever the organized cooks, Paula took the lead with the shopping and the shells, and Mariana was in charge of the sauce. As you may have read on our About Us page, we get a big part of our love of food from our parents. However, this also means that while we are trying to be nice daughters and cook our parents a yummy and easily chewable meal, we have to repeatedly kick our mom or dad out of the kitchen!

The Ingredients:

• 1 box of jumbo pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 3-4 Italian sausages
• 2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 pinches of dried oregano
• 24 ounces basic marinara sauce
• 30 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 1/3 cups grated parmesan
• 4 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Bottle of red wine

The Sauce:

In a large saucepan, start heating the olive oil. Slice or uncase the Italian sausage. We used turkey sausage in an effort to be healthier, but you can use any kind. Add to sauce pan and begin sauteeing. When it has almost finished cooking, add the onion and continue to sautee. Finally, add the garlic and finish cooking. Set aside in a bowl.

Keep the saucepan over the heat and add a couple splashes of your red wine. Let the alcohol burn off and then add the marinara sauce. Mix in the sausage/onion/garlic mixture, sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on low as you prepare your shells, mixing from time to time and adding more pepper flakes, oregano, or salt if needed.

The Shells and Stuffing:

Before you start the sauce, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water and then the shells. Cook for 6-7 minutes, so that the shells are partially cooked. They'll finish cooking in the oven. Once they're ready, remove from the water one by one with a slotted spoon so that they drain. Lay them out on a greased cookie sheet, making sure to keep them apart so they don't stick to each other.

In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, parmesan, egg yolks, basil, parsley, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 F, and don't forget to check on your sauce!

Grease a large baking dish and then spoon in enough sauce to cover the bottom. Then take each shell and spoon in the ricotta mixture. Arrange the shells in the dish and then spoon the remaining sauce over them. Sprinkle the mozzarella over them.

Place the dish in the lower third of your oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until everything is heated through and the cheese on top is golden brown.

Serve, garnish with basil or parsley, and enjoy with a glass of red wine!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Mariana and Paula

Bonus! A little music for your meal...

Meet Lexi, the Man Hunger mascot!

The Man Hunger is proud to introduce one of our team mascots, Lexi! Beyond being super cute and adorable, you could say that she is almost an average dog... Almost. Lexi knows her basic doggy commands and then she knows her food commands. This includes 'hungry', 'eat' and the mother of them all, 'FOOD'! Should you mention these words in casual conversation, her ears perk right up! If you say any of the three magic words directly to her... Well, you can watch the video below and find out what happens!

This Man Hunger mascot is clearly as enthusiastic about eating as her lovely owner is! And don't worry, Lexi was promptly rewarded with a nice meal after such a wonderful display of passion for food!

Be sure to check back in for new posts, yummy recipes and to meet our second mascot, Lola!

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Welcome to Man Hunger

We've all experienced it. The feeling that your stomach is a bottomless pit and for as much as you feed it, it's never enough. Man hunger. It's an intense thing.

Recognizing that we are not the only ones who have had the man hunger, we have decided to begin our quest to fight man hunger... through a blog. We realize that if a large steak is not enough to extinguish it, words will probably fail as well, but we must try!

Our artillery will include:
Cooking - As we test out new recipes, or recreate old ones, we'll document the process so you can try them out.
Reviews - We are fans of other people's cooking! Should we taste something amazing made by someone else or at a restaurant, we'll be sure to tell you.
Thoughts - The Cookie Monster fights man hunger. So does the Food Channel. On occasion we'll give you our opinion on these brave soldiers. Or just ramble on about food.

One warning - We can be quirky, sarcastic, and often find ourselves hilarious. Our writing will reflect that.

Bon appetit! Buen provecho! Yum!

Mariana and Paula