Customer Reviews

Secrets of Colombian Cooking (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

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"Secrets of Colombian Cooking," by Patricia McCausland -
Gallo is by far the best Colombian cook book on earth! Author McCausland - Gallo includes hundreds of food preparations from all over Colombia. Moreover, she blends her own intimate knowledge of Colombia throughout the book...giving the text a special page by page narrative.

This comprehensive (251 pages) cook book includes instructions for simple and exotic culinary creations. The food types include; breakfast foods and snacks; soups; meats & poultry; seafood; rice; side dishes; salsas and sauces; sweets; and drinks (including cocktails). McCausland - Gallo has a clear and concise writing style. She also provides high-lighted side bars with exact specifications for ingredients...a helpful guide for advanced cooks.

This book breaks new ground and is a gold mine for cooks at all levels. The author details how to make the staples like "Arroz con Pollo," "Flan de Leche," "Chicharrones," "Chorizos," and my favorite, "Empanaditas de Carne." Don't worry there are an abundance of recipies for arepas, coconuts, typical soups, rice and plantains. And being a good Colombian she does not fail to include something special for Aguardiente.

On the downside...the photos in this cook book are small and unimaginative. Nevertheless, the power of this book is in the instructions (which will help cooks at all levels) and in the broad array of recipes from all over the country. Trust me...this book has it all...from beef stew to seafood. It also has a very good glossary and index. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

The best thing about "Secrets of Colombian Cooking" is the fact that it is written by a native Colombian. Patricia McCausland -Gallo is originally from Barranquilla, a city on the northern coast of Colombia. She traveled extensively throughout the country researching for the best recipes for this book. Secrets of Colombian Cooking is a magnificent and very complete collection of the best dishes of Colombian cuisine.

I am lucky because Patricia now lives in Panama and I was able to attend a cooking class that showcased recipes from this book. In this class the author prepared 5 dishes: "Arroz con Coco y Pasas Titoté" - this is a rice prepared with coconut milk and raisins - the coconut milk is left to reduce in a cast iron pot - until only the coconut oil is left and it begins to stick to the sides of the pot and change to a brownish color - this is Titoté - add the raisins and let them sit for a few minutes until they begin to puff - add rice and fry it in the Titoté and then cook the usual way - the result is an ultra delicious rice dish fragant with coconut and with the sweetness of raisins added.

Chef McCausland also prepared a very famous little bread in Colombia called "Pandebonos" - they are very similar to Popovers but these are prepared with yuca flour and cheese - a very easy and quick recipe made in only a few minutes. One of the other typical Colombian dishes prepared were the "Patacones Pisaos" - giant ultra crispy green plantains fried and served with just a little salt sprinkled on top.

But, the one recipe that blew our minds and left every single person in that class crazy for Patricia Mc Causland's Colombian cooking, was the "Cazuela de Mariscos al Coco" or "Crustacean Chowder" on page 90 of the book. This is the most delicious seafood soup I have ever tasted and the best part is that it is super simple to make and with ingredients very easy to find - seafood, you can use shrimp, clams, squid, mussels, or your favorite combination of seafood - you can even use the frozen mixed seafood in the 1 pound bags found in the supermarket - the recipe calls for fresh Coconut Milk, but you can substitute for the unsweetened canned one found in the store - other ingredients called for are saffron, to give the orangy color of the soup , cilantro, white wine, and parsley. This dish is - without exaggeration - amazingly delicious, I personally think that if you want a single reason to get this book, it would be this one spectacular recipe!

Other traditional recipes found in this book are "Ajiaco Bogotano" - the famous Chicken and Potato Soup typical of Bogota, the capital city of Colombia, "Empanaditas Vallunas" - little Beef and Pork Turnovers made with yellow corn and stuffed with a filling made with beef and pork cooked with onions, garlic, potatoes, and spices. "Arepas con Huevo" or Egg Filled Arepas - this dish particularly called my attention - is an arepa partially cooked, then cut open to stuff with an egg, closed again with more masa, then cooked until the egg is done. "Bandeja Paisa" - is a typical dish from the region of Antioquia - made with beans, meat, pork rinds,fried eggs, chorizos, rice, plantains and sauce. On the sweet side, "Arequipe" - or the equivalent for Colombian Dulce de Leche - "Arroz con Leche" or Rice Pudding, "Flan de Coco" or Coconut Pudding are some of the desserts that you can find in the book.

These are the TRUE secrets of Colombian Cooking - and no one can write a book about a native food better than a native Chef.
The recipes are simple to follow, and the results are outstanding.

If it is authentic typical Colombian recipes, in other words, the "real thing", that you are looking for, then I highly recommend "Secrets of Colombian Cooking".

As a Colombian-born U.S. raised child and young adult I spent the summer months in Barranquilla and other places in Colombia visiting family. The lasting sensory memories of the foods, fruits (!!!) and beverages that I ate and "experienced" there still evoke strong feelings of love and nostalgia for them that for the most part I have been unable duplicate here (in Oakland, CA). I have tried using the cookbooks given to me by my mother, "Cartagena de Indias en la Olla", (by Teresita Roman de Zurek, Amparo Roman de Velez and Olga Roman Velez, Editorial Bedout, 1967), and by my aunt, "La Buena Mesa", (by Sofia Ospina de Navarro, 1989). These are cookbooks written by and for Colombian women who aspired to an elegant and classy (and cosmopolitan) dinner table. They have many recipes but they were somewhat imprecise about quantities and the availability of and a familiarity with all of the ingredients is assumed. Not too helpful for a Gringa-Colombiana living in Oakland.
Serendipitously, I ran across this title and on a lark ordered it (I am not a chef or even a great cook.) It is a Gem! A little jewel of a cookbook! Patricia McCausland-Gallo incorporates cultural and personal information into the chapters and individual recipes of this book, she is specific about amounts and directions and explains all ingredients and it is a pleasure to read and use. I first made the recipe for "Sobrebarriga" (a braised meat, I used skirt steak) and it was delicious. It was a huge hit.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Colombian cooking.

It is a great book for anyone, not in Colombia, who wants to cook Colombian food. It provides easy to follow instructions and the best part of all, it describe the ingredients and gives the names of how you will find the ingredients in the US (or an equivalent). The only thing I did not like about the book, it has very few pictures...

I'm young and have just recently moved in with my soon to be husband! I cannot cook for my life but this book is absolutely the best cook book I've ever read! I have a few others but none are so easy to follow. I am Colombia of course so I feel great to know that I can make all the stuff my grandmother used to make for us all back in Colombia - it's like being there! Now all I have to do is get as good as my grandmother - but I know this book will definitely get me there! I HIGHLY recommend it to all beginners and even experts! You won't regret this purchase.

After attending a class with Chef Patricia McCausland, I went home that same afternoon and was motivated enough to invite my husband's family to dinner- to prepare exactly what I had seen her prepare hours ago! The seafood stew with coconut milk, the coconut rice with "pasas titote" and the patacones with their accompanying salsa (aji) were fabulous! Everyone was thrilled and all the recipes were extremely easy to follow, with great results.

A wonderful book collecting together some Colombian recipes my Colombian wife has made for several years plus many many more. All in good clear style and excellent instructions. Simply a must have book for the person looking recipes from this part of the world. Fantastico!

Chris

I really enjoyed this little book, espcially since there are so few Columbian cookbooks available. And amazon.com is quite right in suggesting it be bought together with Espinoza-Abrams' book on Nicaraguan Cooking, because the two cuisines complement each other beautifully.

I bought this book for my Colombian father living in California. He had trouble with the books he brought from his country because of the fact that he could not purchase many of the items here. He LOVES the book and has enjoyed making the delicious recipes. He says he feels like he is at home eating his moms cooking. GREAT BOOK! A Must buy!

Before I purchased this book I was reading a lot of reviews that were complaining about the book on how it lacked pictures. I do agree that it doesn't have colorful pictures where you can base your cooking on but if you see past the pretty pictures, this book is amazing. It is very descriptive on each food and it gives you a history on each section you go into. The author of this book was very informative to explain to the reader why certain foods are cooked the way they are and what holiday, occasion, this food is prepared.

I've tried a couple of recipes from this book and they were phenomenal! I'm Colombian but was born and raised in the U.S. so I never really learned how to cook Colombian food. This book has been a great key to open the doors to Colombian food. It's very easy to understand and did I mention the food is great? Buy it, you won't be disappointed! Just skip all the pretty pictures and cook! :)