Yo Cocino Latino is out now! This is a collaboration with some of my favorite Hispanic food bloggers, in which we've shared some of the most popular recipes from our respective countries in a beautiful book I am very proud of. There's no better way to bring our traditional ...
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Easier, Quicker Air Fryer Chicharrones
Chicharrones are our national guilty pleasure, and not a thing that we make at home or consume often. Personally, the main reason I avoid it, is that I hate frying and the mess that comes with it. With an air fryer, you can make a quicker, easier chicharrón without the mess.And ...
Aplatanado: Becoming Dominican
Years ago my friend and then-roommate and I were regulars at Santo Domingo's Chinatown, an uptown section of Santo Domingo that Chinese immigrants (recent and older) have made their home. It's a vibrant community full of inexpensive restaurants and shops. A few of the "locals" ...
Traditional Dominican Drink Recipes - Complete Guide
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Roasted Eggplant Vegan Sandwich
One thing most vegans, vegetarians, and meat-eaters agree on, is that eggplants are an amazing vegetable. It's so versatile, and there's so much we can do with it. This vegan grilled eggplant sandwich may be a thing you can serve at the table, and few people will thumb their nose ...
Chinola Cheesecake Popsicles
If you haven't tried our Chinola Cheesecake recipe, you absolutely should, as soon as the weather is fit for baking. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and go for the much easier, quicker, and summer-friendly cheesecake pops version. ...
Yaroa Mixta (Dominican Loaded Fries)
Sometimes we're lucky to be alive to witness the birth of history (culinary history specifically). Yaroa is a newcomer to the street food scene in the Dominican Republic. This is a dish that checks every box in the "best street foods" checklist. ...
5 Spices and Honey Chicken and Potato Roast
Few non-vegans/non-vegetarians shun chicken, so this dish is perfect for most people, and it's also very summer-friendly. It takes a few minutes to prepare, leave it in the oven and you can then go keep yourself cool to prevent death from spontaneous combustion. ...
A Simple Guide for Complicated Times
Life is anything but simple these days. The only thing we can do right now is to try to live every day the best we can, and trust that this --like everything that humanity has gone through-- too shall pass. ...
Dominican Lent Food and Traditions
A few months ago we wrote a very detailed guide to Dominican Christmas customs (and an ebook), as Christmas is a time of the year that is associated with certain foods and drinks in the Dominican Republic. The same can be said about Lent, another important period for Catholics, ...
Oven and Air Fryer Tostones
Here I go again! Yes, I love our traditional food but I love trying to adapt our recipes to our readers' needs almost as much. And this is a recipe I keep getting asked for. Why air fryer tostones? I guess I could ask you guys who keep writing to me about it :) , but I'm ...
Cuban Vs Dominican Cooking
It’s not the first time we’ve touched on this, but it never ceases to fascinate us how two neighboring countries with a shared language and very similar gastronomic traditions require a glossary, or the services of an interpreter when discussing something as simple as food. ...
Cabbage and Minced Meat One-Pot Dinner
Not every meal has to be a feast; sometimes we just need something quick, filling, comforting, nutritious, and easy to make. What I have here is precisely one of these dishes. I have shamelessly stolen borrowed this dish from my mother-in-law, whom I have praised many times in ...
Dominican Christmas and Holiday Traditions
When temperatures start to fall and the sun begins to set a bit earlier, corner fruit stands and roadside fruit vendors in the central square or parque of towns and cities in the Dominican Republic start displaying their seasonal decorations: apples, mandarines, pears, and grapes ...
Keto Dominican Breakfast
If you are looking for the traditional Mangú breakfast recipe (Los Tres Golpes), follow that link. This is not that. However, if you follow a keto, LCHF or ketogenic diet, or are simply interested in lowering your carb intake, then yes, you've found the right place. This is ...
Guarapo de Jagua (Genipa Fermented Drink)
Guarapo de Jagua is one of those “obscure Dominican gastronomic secrets” that we mention so much in our blog. One of those recipes that sometimes we ask ourselves why even bother writing it. There is no glamor here. There are no secrets or tips. There is not much traffic on ...
Save Money Cooking at Home - 5 Easy to Follow Ideas
In times of crisis and financial woes (which may come at any or all times), we look for ways to spend less money on food. We bring to you some great money-saving ideas for feeding yourself or your family on a budget and still eating healthy and flavorful food. As a historically ...
Hello, Summer, My Old Frenemy!
My favorite joke about our Dominican weather is that we only have two seasons: Summer and Hell. It's a joke lost in translation, as “hell” in Spanish is just one letter from the word “winter”. We might be exaggerating just a tad. Weather is the one subject used everywhere to ...
Longaniza Hamburgers
Is it summer yet? Pardon me, but this concept of seasons is so foreign to us Dominicans. We seem to only have two seasons: comfortably cool, and hellishly humid and hot. Call them what you want. If where you live you can already drag the grill out of its winter hibernation, then ...
Guavaberry Drink and Jam - Cocolo Culture
"Drinking Guavaberry / Watching the sun go down / Woman, that's all I need! / In San Pedro de Macorís.- Guavaberry, Juan Luís Guerra For many Dominicans, myself included, the famous 440 song was the best introduction to Cocolo culture. In of all the ingredients that make the ...
Creamy, Cheesy Spinach with Smoked Pork Chops
Should you be asking yourself why two recipes back to back that feature spinach, the answer is "why not?" The main reason is that I already had a lot of frozen spinach at home that I needed to use; the second reason is that spinach is awesome, let me sing its praises... ...