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Lemon Blueberry Quesito

This easy-to-make lemon blueberry quesito ( Puerto Rico's version of the danish) is one of my favorite summer dessert recipes. OK, if I'm keeping it 100, I make it all year. But it's super awesome during the summer when I get a little crazy buying a ton of berries at the farmer's market. You can have this baby in the oven in under ten minutes and on your table in under thirty. When you choose fresh blueberries at the market, go for plump ones, dent-free, and a deep blue. Skip blueberries that have any red patches on them, as this shows they were picked before their time. Blueberries do [...]

#IslandFlavor: Piña Colada

The Piña Colada is Puerto Rico's National drink and today is national Piña Colada day! It's also my fave frozen drink so, of course, I have to give you my recipe and a little bit of history. As the legend goes, back in the way back, when the seas were ruled by pirates, there was a Puerto Rican buccaneer who had a ship full of super-depressed, thieving sailors. This pirate decided that the best way to perk up his shipmates' spirits was to get them a 401k plan. I kid. He got them drunk on a blend of coconut, pineapple and white rum and PERFECTION was born. Traditionally a Piña Colada [...]

Two-Ingredient Pie Dough

Nothing says summer’s here quite like a homemade fruit pie. Tangy blackberries, tart cherries, and luscious peaches are all in season and make incredibly easy fillings. It’s always a good idea to have some dough tucked away for a quick fruit pie. It’s a wonderful addition to a brunch or impromptu get-together. Drop it on the table and watch it get gobbled up. #Trust. If you’re intimidated by making your own dough, don’t be. It’s not as tricky a process as some would have you believe. My recipe calls for just two ingredients and a touch of water. The key step is to make sure all the ingredients are [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Asparagus Ends

I love asparagus season. The appearance of the vibrant green stalks on market shelves means spring (I.E. Foodie Christmas) is just around the corner. It's the most wonderful time of the year. (That last sentence should be sung in your best caroling voice.) Asparagus is ridiculously easy to prepare. Rinse the stalks and then bend them until they break. They'll magically snap exactly where the tough woody end and the tender spear meet. Isn't nature glorious? Of course, the tender part is the best part, but that doesn't mean you have to throw out the woody ends. They have just as much flavor and only need a little love [...]

#IslandFlavor: Empanadas Stuffed with Picadillo

Empanadillas work triple duty on my little island. They're served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner as an appetizer, main course, and even as a dessert. They are our version of the hot pocket (we freeze them for the future!), usually fried (though they can be baked BUT WHY WOULD YOU?!?!?), totally portable and mouth-wateringly DELICIOUS. Empanadillas are a pastry that can be stuffed with cheese, fruits, veggies, and every protein under the sun. But if you're going old school, the big daddy of all empanadillas is the one stuffed with picadillo. It's a sort of ground beef hash, stewed in a tomato-sauce-based sofrito with olives and raisins. You'll find [...]

2021-05-18T16:39:49+00:00By |Uncategorized|0 Comments

#IslandFlavor: The Freakin’ Rican Burger

Everyone has a favorite burger recipe and the Freakin' Rican is mine. I developed the recipe when I competed on Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef because it’s Puerto Rico in one juicy bite. The patty is made from 50% short rib, 25% sirloin and %25 pork shoulder, all coarsely ground. I season the patty with sazón, a Puerto Rican spice blend and then layer it with a chunky sofrito (flavorful tomato based sauce) and slices of creamy meunster cheese. Then come the smashed ripe plantains and strips of crispy thick cut bacon. I top those with tomato, onion, and arugula and sandwich all of it on a potato bun toasted with garlic [...]

#IslandFlavor: Abuela’s Rice and Beans

There's nothing I love more than getting messages like this one: My name is Jamie and I watched you on MasterChef and I just saw you on The Kitchen. My mom is from Puerto Rico and her mom used to make "the best" rice and beans. She doesn't know how to make it, she's not a good cook and she's been in America for a very long time. Do you happen to have a good traditional recipe for rice and beans? It seems simple but I wouldn't know where to start with seasonings. Thank you!!! Jaime, one of the biggest reasons I focus on Puerto Rican flavors is that they [...]

#IslandFlavor: Quesitos

My favorite part of blogging about Puerto Rican food is meeting others who miss it as much as I do. Ramon Novoa  is a FaceBook friend who shared his most loved #islandflavor:       "Quesitos were my favorite treat when I was a kid in PR. Whenever I go back to PR there are two things I need to have within the first 24 hours of my visit: a quesito and a mofongo, but not necessarily together. Every bakery in PR has quesitos on their menu but, in my opinion, the best come from the panadería La Ceiba, en la avenida Roosvelt and La Esmeralda in Guaynabo." I couldn't agree more [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Eggshell Tea

A big reason to #StopFoodWaste is to curb the amount of food that makes it to landfills. As wasted food breaks down it produces greenhouse gases like methane and CO2 that are released into our atmosphere, spurring climate change. The Food And Agriculture Organization conducted a groundbreaking global study on food waste and reported that food produced and not eaten creates about 3.3 billion tons of CO2.  That makes food waste the third top emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China. That's INSANITY right?? The good news is that every little bit of food that you keep out of your trash helps curb food waste's carbon footprint. I've [...]

#StopFoodWaste: Stale Bread

Like your boss's lame jokes, bread has a way of getting old FAST.  Thankfully there are lots of things you can do with stale bread besides throw it out. My favorite way to use a loaf that's seen better days is budin de pan,  Puerto Rican bread pudding. Traditionally budin is made with white bread, but you can and should use any bread you have on hand. I remember my mother mixing hot dog buns with hamburger buns, an old croissant and the butt of a wheat loaf into one of her budins. It came out amazing! There are hundreds of recipes for bread pudding but they all have a [...]

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