johnart said:

I love cooking for folk.
I'm not a very fancy cook. And I seldom follow a recipe to the T.

I pride myself on a lot of full (over-stuffed, even ) bellies.

My specialty would probably be Puerto Rican dishes, but I do a lot of other stuff (and make up stuff as I go too )

-- I was just talkin' about your culinary skills in another thread..

johnart said:

PositivityNYC said:

I do

I love to cook for others... I can cook anything, really.. but my 'specialty' I guess is desserts.. tarts, frozen tortes, various cakes, cookies (which, technically, are cakes...), pies, etc.

-- although I haven't made a pie crust from scratch in years; I don't enjoy that so much...

I also make a very nice lasanga, and I've seen ppl fight over my cheesecakes

If the pics aren't proof enough, my belly can vouch for her.

PositivityNYC said:

johnart said:

I love cooking for folk.
I'm not a very fancy cook. And I seldom follow a recipe to the T.

I pride myself on a lot of full (over-stuffed, even ) bellies.

My specialty would probably be Puerto Rican dishes, but I do a lot of other stuff (and make up stuff as I go too )

-- I was just talkin' about your culinary skills in another thread..

We should make Pastelon the next time you come over.

I do it by the Puerto Rican cookery book's recipe.

...more than less.

johnart said:

PositivityNYC said:

-- I was just talkin' about your culinary skills in another thread..

We should make Pastelon the next time you come over.

I do it by the Puerto Rican cookery book's recipe.

...more than less.

Thank you for providing that great link. That website is really interesting and also visually stimulating and very motivating.

Is the Puerto Rican cusine a tad spicier than other Hispanic cuisines? I´m asking because I spent quite some time in Costa Rica and I´ve also been to Cuba but the food, particularly in Costa Rica, was more bland than I expected. Cuba was a bit better even though they have of course a problem with the supply of ingredients but I was a bit surprised that in Costa Rica they hardly used any spices or more sophisticated ways to prepare stuff.

It seems to me that the Caribbean Latin countries cook spicier, a bit more sophisticated. I also noticed this when I traveled to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica....totally different ethnic people, and totally different food...much better than on the Pacific coast where almost anything was some deep fried chicken or pork served with plain, white rice. The Caribbean coast on the other hand was like a whole different world when it comes to taste.

I liked the Costa Rican breakfast ( Gallio Pinto, beans and rice with plantain and other stuff) but I wondered why they didn´t use more spices or onions or garlic or peppers or whatever.

What are your thoughts on this? Is Puerto Rican cookery a bit spicier than that, like, for instance, Cuban or Mexican food ( I know Mexico is a whole different geographic region , but still....) ? Does the fact that Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean influence the cooking?

KoolEaze said:

johnart said:

We should make Pastelon the next time you come over.

I do it by the Puerto Rican cookery book's recipe.

...more than less.

Thank you for providing that great link. That website is really interesting and also visually stimulating and very motivating.

Is the Puerto Rican cusine a tad spicier than other Hispanic cuisines? I´m asking because I spent quite some time in Costa Rica and I´ve also been to Cuba but the food, particularly in Costa Rica, was more bland than I expected. Cuba was a bit better even though they have of course a problem with the supply of ingredients but I was a bit surprised that in Costa Rica they hardly used any spices or more sophisticated ways to prepare stuff.

It seems to me that the Caribbean Latin countries cook spicier, a bit more sophisticated. I also noticed this when I traveled to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica....totally different ethnic people, and totally different food...much better than on the Pacific coast where almost anything was some deep fried chicken or pork served with plain, white rice. The Caribbean coast on the other hand was like a whole different world when it comes to taste.

I liked the Costa Rican breakfast ( Gallio Pinto, beans and rice with plantain and other stuff) but I wondered why they didn´t use more spices or onions or garlic or peppers or whatever.

What are your thoughts on this? Is Puerto Rican cookery a bit spicier than that, like, for instance, Cuban or Mexican food ( I know Mexico is a whole different geographic region , but still....) ? Does the fact that Puerto Rico is in the Caribbean influence the cooking?

Puerto Rican cookery is spicy (as in lots of spices, not as in hot-spicy) and very flavorful.

johnart said:

PositivityNYC said:

-- I was just talkin' about your culinary skills in another thread..

We should make Pastelon the next time you come over.

I do it by the Puerto Rican cookery book's recipe.

...more than less.