Title:

Simply Delicioso
(Clarkson Potter, 2008) ISBN 978-0307347343 0-307347346

Theme:

Ingrid Hoffmann provides 125 simple recipes for Latin American fusion foods and drinks.

Sample Recipes:

Chorizo empanadas. Chiquitita beet salad. Hearts of palm salad. Golden sunshine quinoa salad. Churrasco steak salad. Easy turkey hash (picadillo). Plantain soup. Mexican pulled pork (tinga poblana). Chicharrones fish tacos with chipotle tartar sauce. Chicken wings with mango-tamarind sauce. Black bean dip. Guanabana mojitos. Passion fruit mousse.

Notable Elements:

Many recipes contain a 'chica tip' to help readers prepare, store or serve the dish. For example, the churrasco steak salad recipe suggests storing the vinaigrette dressing in a child's sippy cup so you can sprinkle it on the salad when it's served.

Informative sidebars describe Latin foods like canchita, giant toasted corn kernels served with Peru's national dish, ceviche. Simply Delicioso provides the recipe for this ancient Incan food.

The delicioso pantry, at the beginning of the cookbook, describes Latin cuisine ingredients, like adobo seasoning (chili powder, salt, vinegar, cumin, garlic, lime juice, onions and herbs), cotija cheese or queso anejado (aged white cheese similar to feta), and aji panca (dried chilies with a smoky berry flavor).

Besides basic white rice, the 256-page cookbook includes recipes for coconut rice, red rice (colored with achiote powder), Coca Cola rice and emerald rice (colored with cilantro, parsley and lime zest).

Tone / Style:

In the introduction to each chapter and each recipe, Ingrid Hoffmann provides the history of the dish and her personal suggestions for preparation and serving it. For example, in the arepa chips recipe, Hoffmann says her favorite arepas are from Bogota. These delicious alternatives to potato chips should be stored with a slice of bread to prevent them from becoming brittle.

Visuals:

Appetizing, full page-color photos illustrate many recipes. The delicioso pantry section includes color photos of Latin foods like oaxaca cheese, tomatillos, chayote and dulce de leche.

Contents:

• Preface
• The Delicioso Pantry
• My Spicy Life
• Pillow Talk
• Appeteasers and Little Snacks
• Salads and Sandwiches
• You Say Soup, I Say Sopa
• Ciao Pescao!
• Pollo, Every Which Way
• Carne Knowledge
• My Favorite Rice and Bean Recipes
• Vegetables
• Bebidas Deliciosas: Drink Up!
• Happy Endings
• Index

Author:

Ingrid Hoffmann

Claim to fame:

Ingrid hosts Food Network's Simply Delicioso Latin cooking food show and Delicioso on Galavision/Univision.

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