kateq's Reviews
6 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 6Sort by: Title | Date | Rating
Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World
By Daisy Martinez
Hyperion - 2005
Eons ago in college, Cuban friends introduced me to the joys of guava and queso blanco--in New York it was cream cheese combined with guava paste on crackers (gallegos) sold in every bodega on the Upper West Side. Combined with cafe con leche, it was breakfast from heaven. This cake is a simple genoise, filled with that magical combination rolled up into a pretty "Gypsy's Arm." I go with the guava pasta which comes in tins rather than a guava jelly.
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Kale and Chorizo Soup (Caldo Verde) : page 66
So easy and so good! I had Daisy's sofrito in the freezer, some chorizo from D'Artagnan, homemade chicken stock, and half a batch of collard greens and some pot likker. (I know--substitutions). I followed instructions for a half batch, using the collards instead of kale and throwing in the pot likker with the stock. The underlying herbiness and peppery flavor from the sofrito provided a great platform for the soup. The potatoes and sausage and greens blended beautifully. The half batch made four big bowls of soup.
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Meatballs (Albondigas) : page 242
What's not to love? Classic meatball latinized--the sofrito and the rub add a kind of magical re-orientation. Meatballs and sauce which are so similar and remarkably different. My only reservation--I prefer to roast my meatballs rather than fry them and I did go with all beef.
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Puerto Rican comfort food! So good on a cold grey day...I used a lot more tomato in my sofrito and went for chopped stuffed olives. Also, there's no culantro to be had here so I used a double dose of cilantro. I had chorizo from D'Artagnan and the tomato I used was from what I put up this summer. All in all, a great dish. And it freezes well so that you can put a few portions away for a quick meal on the next grey day.
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Sofrito : page 6
With the exception of culantro (not to be found here), I made this as written, right down to freezing it in small portions. As a base for sauces, soups, meatballs and the like, this mixture is delicious. And it really does add a Latin flair. Having the little plastic bags of it in the freezer is so cool--I can toss it still frozen in the pan/pot and let it thaw while the pan warms. Addictive!
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Tomato Sauce for Pasta : page 243
A very nice sauce, but there is a danger of a slightly bitter aftertaste from the cilantro/culantro contained in the sofrito. Even as a cilantro lover, I do think real care is called for here and I'm not sure that the addition of additional cilantro or culantro is warranted.
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