My obsession with Pan Sobao recipes is about as rabid as the one I have with Coquito. This traditional Puerto Rican bread is mildly sweet, soft as clouds, and extremely versatile. If you’re looking to introduce homemade bread into your baking repertoire, pan sobao and these recipes are a great start. Be sure to check back…
Pork
Citrus Herb Dry Brine for Meats, Poultry, and Veggies
This versatile Citrus-Herb Dry Brine is about to be your new best friend. Fresh citrus peels and an herb blend combine with salt to create this powerhouse. There’s no shortage of flavor in it, but the beauty of this spice blend is how versatile it is. A dry brine can infuse your poultry, red meats,…
Whiskey BBQ Sauce with Uncle Nearest Whiskey
I have to be honest with you and admit that the only way you’ll see me drinking whiskey is in a sour. Most often, I’m eating my whiskeys and bourbons. I just can’t do brown liquors, y’all. Too many run-ins in my young adulthood put me off of them altogether. But this Uncle Nearest Whiskey BBQ Sauce…
Ham with Spiced Brown Sugar Pineapple Glaze
This Ham with Spiced Brown Sugar Pineapple Glaze will steer you away from cloyingly sweet and overly clove-y ham this year. The easy-to-make, slightly spicy glaze is a tasty alternative to the syrupy coating you might be used to. By using a fully cooked ham, your entree is on the table in less time too….
Tripletas (Steak, Pernil, and Ham Sandwiches)
Tripletas (three-pleh-tahs) are a bakery staple in many Hispanic Caribbean ‘hoods. The “working person’s sandwich,” as I like to call it, is a meal-on-a-roll. In fact, since it has three different cuts of meat, a boatload of toppings, and a generous amount of condiments, it’s more like two meals-in-one. Though I know that many of you fine…
Gumbo with Andouille Sausage, Chicken, and Seafood
This flavorful stovetop meal is packed with juicy proteins- sausage, chicken, and two types of seafood- swimming in a thick broth that I can drink on its own. A portion of rice or potato salad, yes, potato salad, is the only accompaniment you need here. Do crackers and tabasco also work? Yes. But that’s a personal preference….
Creole Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage
If you’ve never made a batch of Creole Red Beans and Rice from scratch, you are missing out on so much. Canned beans can’t hold a candle to the texture and flavor of beans made from their fresh or dried state. The snap of a bean when you bite it, the spices and herbs that penetrate…
Pasteles Puertorriqueños (Puerto Rican Pasteles)
Pasteles are a Puerto Rican institution. Without fail, every Christmas, Puerto Rican kitchens the world over are packed with Abuelas and their acolytes, all with one mission: prepare, assemble, and package enough pasteles to divvy up amongst the family. Bundles of meat-filled, ground green banana patties are packed away into plastic bags. The family members disperse to their…
Chuletas Fritas (Puerto Rican Pan-Fried Pork Chops)
Let me introduce you to my go-to protein: chuletas fritas (CHOO-leh-tahs free-tahs). I marinate center cut, bone-in pork chops in a flavorful spice blend popular in Puerto Rican cuisine. After a nice rest in the marinade, I pan-fry the chops in a small amount of oil or lard until juicy and crisp. If you are…
Pernil (Puerto Rican Roast Pork Shoulder)
Let me tell you about the time my husband almost stabbed a guest in our home over the skin you see in the photo above. It was traumatic. It was scary. Totally justifiable, but still scary. That right there sitting atop that mound of deliciousness is chicharrón. Pork rind. Crackling. Heaven. It is one of…
