Sancocho saved me. I was six years old when I first came to the mainland. I didn’t speak a lick of English and I missed Puerto Rico terribly. I didn’t understand what winter was or why the cold never seemed to go away. My mother would make this hearty stew and it would take me right back to my Abuela’s house in San Juan. […]
My digital pressure cooker is one of my most used kitchen tools. I’m a busy mom and the ability to make a one-pot meal in half the time is something I can’t pass up. So much so that I wrote a cookbook of my favorite Caribbean recipes made easy with Quick Pot, one of my favorite brands of digital pressure cookers. […]
Spring is here and nothing quite puts the season on the plate like a batch of ratatouille. If you've never had it, it's a vegetable dish usually made with onions, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. The veggies are sauteed or roasted with a little oil until they've softened and released their juices. Ratatouille can be served hot or cold or in a Disney movie prepped by the cutest team of rodents ever. Traditionally, ratatouille is accompanied by a few slices of crusty bread to sop up its savory sauce. I wrapped my ratatouille with a pie crust and dressed it with an herbaceous lemon ricotta to create a one-pot dish [...]
What I love the most about social media is that it allows me to connect with people that I would never have met otherwise and my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE is getting a message from another Boricua who feels as strongly about Puerto Rican flavors as I do. I recently received this note from Hilarie Santiago: Dearest Monti, I've been a huge fan of yours since your appearance in Master Chef 3. I truly identified from the beginning, being a Puerto Rican mom, hustling to make a better life for her baby. Let me just say, you are a fantastic mom and Danger is a lucky little guy, to have [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
July 25th is National #HotFudgeSundaeDay. It also happens to be Danger's birthday (he's turning seven) which makes this day one of The. Biggest. Days. of the year for me. What better way to celebrate than with a tropical, coconut hot fudge sundae! My little man Danger loves sweet fried plantains (he may not have been born on the island but that kid is Puerto Rican I tell you!) and he loves chocolate, so I combined those flavors with one of our favorite things in the world: vanilla ice cream. This is a really easy quick sundae but if you don't have sweet plantain, you can substitute a ripe banana or [...]
When it comes to building flavor, the french have mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots) and creoles have the holy trinity (onions, celery, bell peppers). Puerto Ricans have sofrito. While it is the base of hundreds of Puerto Rican dishes, sofrito is derivative. You see Puerto Rican cuisine is the original fusion cuisine, with influences from Africa, Europe, and Asia. Much of our food is adapted from different cultures and sofrito is no different. This powerhouse of flavor was brought to the island by Italian immigrants that relocated in the 1800's during the Second Industrial Revolution. The Italians (along with other Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Corsica) were granted land after swearing loyalty [...]
It doesn't matter where you are in Puerto Rico- your block, your school, or in a downtown plaza- someone will always be selling frozen fruit juice pops called limbers. My Abuela Alicia lived in a tenement building in Rio Piedras and had a neighbor that would sell them out of her apartment. My brother and I would hand her fifty cents through a gap in her wrought iron door and in return we would get two little dixie cups filled to the top with frozen sweetened coconut milk. It was the tastiest way to stay cool in a world with no air conditioning. These frosty, refreshing treats are named [...]
Spam makes some people shudder. I mean, it's pressed meat out of a can. I get it. But if you were raised on an island, like I was, you grew up on it. And if we're keeping it 100% real, Spam is much better for you than a hot dog. It's only got 6 ingredients! Spam is so legit Monty Python dedicated a sketch to it! Am I the only that's wondered what "Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and Spam" would taste like? Don't answer that. Sometimes you just need a little Spam in your life. [...]
