Am I ever glad that I have never called myself an expert on anything. Especially not an expert on Dominican food. Every time I learn something about food in general, or Dominican food in particular, I’m justly reminded that there is much to learn, and with things changing all the time one never finishes learning.
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I think we should get a slogan, and if we do I have just the perfect one: Keeping spouses happy since 2001! Some of our favorite comments and emails from our readers tell us how proud they were to surprise their spouse with some delicious Dominican food. It’s not only wives, but husbands, too. It
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‘Tis the season. For this challenge our sponsor Holland House chose a theme that had me scratching my head and wondering how I was going to meet it: A light Thanksgiving dish with at least a hint of Dominican flavors. I have to say that it took me much longer to come up with something than it took me to
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I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that entertaining can be sometimes a stressing proposition. But it need not be. One thing I learned over the years is that, the host(ess) too is supposed to enjoy the occasion. What’s the point if not? So I have my to-go dishes that are perfect for entertaining:
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Welcome to my latest obsession: ripe plantains and finger food. Of all my obsessions this is probably the least insane one. I am sure you agree. Please say you do. The greatest thing about cooking is that it satisfies my mad scientist tendencies without having to harness the power of lightning or going through the
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It is said, not completely groundlessly, that New York City is the second biggest Dominican city. When it comes to our sites, we have more readers in New York than in any other city in the world. Watching Hurricane Irene head for New York filled us with the same sense of dread as the news
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Quipes, or kipes – I’ve found both spellings – are a Dominicanized version of the Lebanese kibbes, brought to our shores by a wave of Middle Eastern immigrants that arrived in the Dominican Republic at the end of the 19th century. Besides becoming a prosperous, respected community, these immigrants added several of their culinary traditions
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Regardless of the origin of this dish it has been adopted by Dominicans as another often-found dish in our picadera platter. There are many variations of this dish depending on which ingredients you are using. Here we present you with the most common one in the Dominican Rep. and give you suggestions on what other
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A very simple recipe that can either be served as an appetizer or as a side dish. If you serve it as an appetizer consider serving them with the dip of your choice (the yuca fritters go very well with mayo or tartar sauce). Time: 20 mins. Serves: 4 Before starting to cook: No previous
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Avocado sandwiches or pan con aguacate are a typically Dominican snack. The classic version is made with a pan de agua (the ubiquitous Dominican bread roll) sliced in half and filled with scoops or slices of avocado. There are varying schools of thought: some mash the avocado onto the bread with a fork, others leave
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It was love at first sight with Mr. Queso de Hoja, the cheese vendor, whose, uh, balls of cheese were always the freshest… Oh, how I miss the street vendors. All vendors really, but in particular, and in no small part due to their multitude, the food vendors, of course. The travelling hair accessories guy
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Santo Domingo has it all, some would say. Drive around the newer parts of the city, and they are all there, those familiar blots on the landscape of every modern city in the world. When I first arrived in the country over eight years ago, there were very few international fast food chains in evidence,
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Arañitas, “little spiders” in Spanish, is a treat for every special meal. You can use these as a side dish or as ‘munchies’. The difference in these two side dishes is what side of the grater you use. The arañitas should have lots of cassava threads sticking out in all directions, thus the “spidery” look!
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Niño Envuelto, which means “wrapped baby” literally translated, is a very delicious hors d’oeuvre that can be used as main course in your Dominican meal. Before starting to cook: Separate the cabbage leaves. Soak in hot water and 1 teaspoon of salt until tender. Ingredients: 3 cups of rice cooked using our recipe for white
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It was love at first sight with Mr. Queso de Hoja, the cheese vendor, whose, uh, balls of cheese were always the freshest… Oh, how I miss the street vendors. All vendors really, but in particular, and in no small part due to their multitude, the food vendors, of course. The travelling hair accessories guy
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Someone gave me a deep fat-fryer about a month ago and it sat in my kitchen, ignored, until just last week. I was having such a hard time with the notion of sinking foods into so much hot sizzling oil, tightly contained in a bin-like receptacle plugged into the wall. And my arteries collapsing under
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Pasteles en hoja are made with many ingredients that, although common in the Dominican Republic, might be hard to come across in your own country. Plan this recipe ahead to give yourself time to hunt down all the necessary ingredients it will be worth it. If you find it impossible to get the banana tree
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Let’s see, what is a yaniqueque and where did it come from? You know what? there seem to be a lot of theories and quite the disagreement. One popular theory is that it came from the British West Indies and it is a corruption of the name Johnny Cakes, a dish with which it shares
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A party’s not a party without a picadera – I may or may not have that printed on a t-shirt. Seriously. My experience with picadera in the DR is that you have to be pretty forceful to get any. If it’s a table laid out with food, you want to elbow your way in there,
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Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican recipes, recipes inspired by Dominican flavors, as well as the chronicles of the Aunties' adventures in the kitchen and outside.
