Latin American Cooking Across the U.S.A. (ISBN 0679444084)

Amazon.com Review:
If you've an unquenchable hankering for Latin American fare--say Cuban Salsa de Perro (Dog Sauce), Colombian Cazuela de Mariscos (Seafood Stew), or the Haitian confection of Bananas with Rum Butter Cream--you'd be advised to turn to Latin American Cooking Across the U.S.A. by Himilce Novas and Rosemary Silva. The authors explain the history of each dish, its typical presentation in its land of origin, and how to go about preparing it in an American kitchen. It's a wonderful resource for a wide audience, whether you have Latin American roots and want to cook the meals you remember from grandma's house, have traveled in Latin America and want to recreate the dishes you loved on vacation, or merely have a taste for the cuisine of Latin America and want the option of cooking it up at home. The authors collected a fine array of recipes--200 in all--a thorough sampling of soups, appetizers, and salads; entrees with poultry, fish, or meat; various rice, bean, and vegetable concoctions; plus turnovers, breads, desserts, and drinks--all versions of traditional dishes culled from individuals living in the United States so as to translate easily into American home meals. Replete with family stories and culinary history, the recipes are intriguing to try, easy to make, and resonate with the various flavors of Latin America. --Stephanie Gold

Excellent comprehensive collection of recipes:
I tried the Jerk marinade recipe for chicken and curry goat (lamb) and both came out delicious. Even though the jerk recipe I have been following for a while now calls for green onions and brown sugar, both of which are omitted in the recipe from this book, the result (it uses ginger and garlic that I havent seen in other jerk rubs before) was delectable. Following the recommendation of the author, we recently visited Vernon's Jerk place in the Bronx and were very pleased with the food!! I have been dabbling in caribbean/cuban/spanish cuisine for a little while now and this book is a must have if you wanna prepare authentic latin american dishes! This book also has a huge dessert section. Colombian American Guava Bread, Pumpkin Flan and Coconut Bread Pudding all came out excellent! Happy cooking! I am sure this will be a book you'll keep coming back to every time you feel like whipping together something spicy and exotic!

A great resource for Latin American cookery!:
This book features a wide variety of recipes from across the spectrum of Latin American cookery, including contributions by notables Celia Cruz, Cristina Saralegui and others. Our favorites have been the "Latin from Manhattan" chicken soup, pork and rice, black bean soup, chicken fricasee *and* the Guatamelan coffee. And this Thanksgiving I will be making the wine-infused turkey! Other recipes include pasteles, chicken and beef dishes, milk shakes and desserts. There are also interesting side articles such as "How Jamaican beef patties came to be sold in New York pizzerias" (I had always wondered about that!) A great resource for the novice or experienced cook!

one of my most treasured (cook)books:
This is a great cookbook. If you have any interest in cookbooks that are worth reading, as well as using to cook from, just buy it already. You will learn a lot about Latin American family traditions, too. More than 10 years ago, while browsing cookbooks at the Strand bookstore in New York, I came across this book, and discovered Puerto Rican holiday recipes. "Why not try them this year?", I thought. So, I made Puerto Rican christmas that year, and ever since. A testament to how good/authentic these recipes are is that in that first year, the guests included my (Puerto Rican) mother-in-law and a family friend in from La Isla. The results we warmly greeted. "Eddie's Puerto Rican Roast Pork" is one of those recipes that is super easy, but will result in an indescribably good dish, and a beautiful centerpiece to your dinner. I have made many of the other dishes, too -- all to great acclaim. Favorites inclue the "Arroz con Gandules", "Panama Canal Seviche", "Shrimp Seviche", both Flan recipes, and, of course, "Coquito", the yummy Puerto Rican version of eggnog, with rum and coconut. The stories are as good as the recipes, so even if you don't cook, the book is a terrific read. But, be warned, it _will_ make you hungry.

a pleasurable way to expand my horizons:
I wasn't sure at first if I was going to enjoy this cookbook because I am not at all familiar with Latin dishes or ingredients. The recipes in "Latin American Cooking Across the USA" are very accessible, as I've read many of them I've thought to myself "that sounds really good", even ones with ingredient combinations and preparations completely unfamiliar. I am happy that this book dispels the notion that all Latin food is super-spicy, there are subtle and flavorful recipes in this book not just heat ( I think Americans have gone way overboard with hot spices and garlic as if that is a guarantee of good flavor, which it is not). It is also interesting to see how recipes have changed because of availability of ingredients in the US or because of change in tastes by later generations. I can't wait to try so many of these recipes!

THE BEST AND MOST DELICIOUS RECIPES! WHAT A GIFT!:
THIS BOOK IS A KEEPER, FOREVER AND EVER. I FELT I WAS TRAVELING THE WHOLE HEMISPHERE WITHOUT LEAVING MY BED! NOT ONLY ARE THE RECIPES DIFFERENT, IMPRESSIVE AND EASY TO PREPARE, THIS BOOK IS A TREASURE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY ABOUT THE MANY LATINO GROUPS WITHIN OUR OWN USA BORDERS. I LEARNED CULTURE AND GOT A FEW LAUGHS AND IMMEDIATELY TRIED SOME RECIPES THAT REALLY IMPRESSED MY FAMILY. IT'S THE BEST COOKBOOK I'VE EVER HAD. IF THE AUTHORS READ THIS, I'D LIKE TO REALLY CONGRATULATE THEM FROM MY HEART!