Customer Reviews

Puerto Rican Cookery

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm Puerto Rican-American. My Puerto Rican parents raised me in New Jersey on traditional Puerto Rican food: arroz con pollo (rice with chicken cooked inside), pastales (Puerto Rican tamales), relleno de papas (meat-filled potato dumplings), alcapurias (meat-filled hot-dog shaped fritters), pernil (pork roasted in the oven, as opposed to "lechon" which is pork roasted over fire), arroz con gandules (rice with beans -- one of several kinds of delicious beans), tostones y yuevos (fried plantan -- sweet soft yellow or salty firm -- with eggs), mofongo (a garlic-filled tostones ball mashed into a ball of delectable flavor), etc. Like a reader who posted here previously, I felt sad (and happy) when I first ate a dish prepared by an Asian woman (a wonderful home chef) who followed the recipes in Puerto Rican Cookery, a translation of Cocina Criolla, the most popular and traditional cookbook in Puerto Rico. When I visited my parents, who retired in Puerto Rico two weeks ago (Thanksgiving 2003), we were pleased to see both Puerto Rican Cookery and it's original Cocina Criolla selling all over the island: all bookstores, tourists shops, the great fortresses of the island -- San Cristobal and El Morro, etc. Simply put, this book is 'THE DEFINITIVE PUERTO RICAN COOKBOOK -- acknowledged as the preeminent guide to Puerto Rican cuisine in Puerto Rico itself. There are other good books sold in Puerto Rico, but even in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican Cookery (Cocina Criolla) is the unquestioned number one. The Asian woman used it to make several dishes, and although I would not admit this to my mother, she out-Puerto Ricaned my mother at the kitchen stove. Buy this wonderful book with "tus ojos cerrados" ("with your eyes closed"). That's a Puerto Rican/Spanish idiom meaning that even a blind man or woman wouldn't go wrong in selecting this wonderful book. It was written by a Puerto Rican matriarch of a great Puerto Rican family, who was banished from the kitchen by her aristocratic Puerto Rican family. (She is a relative of the 1950 oscar-winning Puerto Rican actor, Jose Ferrer -- who won for his English-accented CIRENO DE BERGEAC) Her revenge, marry a man who loved to cook and embark on a life-long pursuit of anthologizing the island's best traditional dishes. The book is 10000% traditional. "Te lo prometo!" (I promise you!) If you buy one Puerto Rican cookbook, buy the original Spanish "Cocina Criolla" or this 10000% faithful translation, Puerto-Rican Cookery. The instructions are step-by-step. You'll learn many recipes for Puerto-Rico's secret spice -- sofrito! :)

Carmen Aboy recopilates the best and most traditional recipes ever found in Puerto Rican kitchens. This book's been around for quite some time, with minor alterations in each yearly edition. Recipes are extremely simple and easy to follow, plus the ingredients are accesible in both, the latin and the US market. Besides, Carmen added a few tips for better cooking and for the table setting. This is a complete cookbook, with a great variety of dishes. I use it almost on a daily basis, and it has becomed a heirloom in my family. Your kitchen will improve to 5-star-restaurant levels!!!!!! Buen provecho!

As a child I remember the many smells from my mother's kitchen as she made another simple but tasty dish. Arroz con gandules, frittas, bistec, and many more. Now, working overseas, I was constantly calling my mother to ask her how she made certain dishes so that I can cook them for my family so they too can experience Puerto Rican foods. Until recently I had never found a cook book that had any reasonable number of recipes from Puerto Rico. All there was were the typical Carribean cookbooks that may have one or two recipes credited to my home island. Recently I stumbled upon "Puerto Rican Cookery" by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli, and it has been one of the greatest finds for me. Every dish that I can remember is in this book. The recipes are very detailed from ingredients to procedures. I have compared some of the recipes to the ones that I received from mom and they are very similar, proving their authenticity. I always look forward to trying a new recipe because I know that as long as I follow Mrs. Valldejuli's instructions my family is in for a great meal, just like abuelita's (grandma's). My wife, a working mom, appreciates it also as it means she doesn't have to cook because dad has taken over the kitchen now. With "Puerto Rican Cookery" anyone can be confident that the results will be culinary taste treats that they will want to experience over and over again

This book is excellent! Specially if you need to find out the translations to English of ingredients used in the traditional puertorrican kitchen. If you live in the States, use the English version, if you live in Puerto Rico get the Spanish version, Cocina Criolla. I recommend both. Nothing else that have been published in the subject compares to this pair.

This is the book you will need to cook true Puerto Rican!!! Everyone either has this or the Spanish version, "Cocina Criolla." However, that said, you may want to update the amount of salt and fat. I for one don't eat pork... which is a staple in the Puerto Rican diet, however noone has ever complained about my use of olive oil.

There are so many great recipes... arroz con gandules, arroz con pollo, tembleque, mojo isleño, tostones... it's all here!

THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE--PUERTO RICAN OR NOT. THE RECIPES IN THIS BOOK ADD SO MUCH FLAVOR TO CHICKEN, BEEF AND PORK. THE BEEF STEAK RECIPE TURNED OUT GREAT WHEN I MADE IT, THE SEASONING WAS PERFECT. I'M SURE ONCE I MAKE IT AGAIN I WILL LEARN TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER IT. THE PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE WAS GREAT AS WELL. I LOVE THIS BOOK, I HAVE USED IT ALMOST EVERY NIGHT FOR DINNER SINCE I RECEIVED IT. YOU DO HAVE TO BE FAMILIAR WITH SOME SIMPLE COOKING SKILLS, BUT THIS BOOK WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN. IF YOU ENJOY COOKING AS MUCH AS I DO YOU WILL LOVE THIS COOKBOOK.

I have seen several Puerto Rican cookbooks, and my hat comes off for you, Ms. Carmen. The book is so detailed and self-explanatory, I believe that nobody can go wrong when trying one of your recipes. My grandmother died 12 years ago and with her went all the knowledge of authentic Puerto Rican cookery. By purchasing your book, now I am able to cook the things that she used to cook for me. Thank you so much for such a fine book.

My mother has the original book from this author Cocina Criolla, and about two years ago my brother brought this book for me as a gift from Puerto Rico and I loved the fact that it was in English. Easy to read, and be ready to cook or make cocktails! This is a great gift for your non-hispanic friends who love that Puertorican cookin.

Since I do not live within reach of my mother and grandmother, I have greatly missed those great Puerto Rican dishes. With this book, I can recreate those dishes and eat like I was back in San Juan. The book is easy enough to follow, even for a cooking beginner like me.

To sum it up my husband no longer complains about my home cooked meals anymore. Its tough living up to the cooking standards of both a Puerto Rican mother and mother-in-law but now they both want to borrow my cook book. My apron off to Carmen Aboy Valldejul!