Thanksgiving at Daisy’s

This year, Rachel and I were invited to our friend Daisy’s house for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating family traditions, and like many families, Daisy Martinez’s yearly observance of the holiday is one of integrating her American-ness with her cultural identity, which is Puerto Rican and Latino.

Turkey (“Pavo” in Latin-American Spanish) the iconic American centerpiece of Thanksgiving, has also been integrated into Puerto Rican culture as Pavochon, which was probably created by New York Puerto Rican immigrants (“Newyoriquens“) between 50 and 70 years ago as an affordable substitute for roast pork, or Lechon, for Christmas.

Related: A Jewish Puerto Rican Thanksgiving (2008)

Like Lechon, Pavochon is rubbed with a garlic, salt/pepper and oregano wet adobo and marinated for over 24 hours and then roasted. This one was marinated for 48. In the last half a century, Pavochon has since been imported back to Puerto Rico,  is a popular dish eaten throughout the year and is served alongside Lechon in the central Guavate region.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Tune into Daisy for a new season on July 11th

Okay everyone, It’s promotion time. My friend and local Brooklyn  girl Daisy Martinez has a nuevo season starting THIS SATURDAY, at 9:30am on Food Network. Don’t wanna get up that early? Set the Tivo!

FOOD NETWORK’S NEW LEADING LADY HEATS UP “IN THE KITCHEN”

Season Two Premieres: Saturday, July 11th at 9:30am ET/PT

This summer, Viva Daisy!, the newest addition to Food Network’s “In the Kitchen” line-up, returns for a second seasons. Popular TV personality Daisy Martinez shares her secrets for quick, simple Latin cuisine in Viva Daisy! premiering Saturday, July 11th at 9:30am.

In Viva Daisy!, viewers come home with Daisy Martinez and learn tips and tricks for creating quick, simple, mouth-watering meals inspired by her love of Latin cuisines. Daisy dishes for friends and family with recipes like savory Barbecued Short Ribs of Beef perfect for a “Family Night,” Avocado Stuffed with Crab-Mango Salad for a refreshing “Ladies Brunch,” and creamy, corn-filled Humitas (Empanadas) with Cilantro Pesto for “TV Night.”

For more information, videos, and recipes, visit:

www.foodnetwork.com/daisy and www.daisymartinez.com

(and this wasn’t part of the official promo, but you should check out boriquablog.com too.)

Viva Daisy! (Updated, with video)

Daisy Martinez, star of “Viva Daisy!” which premieres Saturday, January 10, 9:30am on Food Network. Click on the Picture above to watch the promotional video (Source: Food Network)

Web Site: http://www.foodnetwork.com/viva-daisy/index.html

I’ve been keeping this news under wraps for longer than I can remember, and now I’m finally relieved I can tell everyone about it — my friend Daisy Martinez is going to become the star of her own show on Food Network — which will be produced by no other than Food Network’s #1, Rachael Ray herself.

I first got to know Daisy in the spring of 2006, after approaching her to do a podcast for Off The Broiler.  I was a big fan of her PBS show, which featured an intelligent, educating,  full-spectrum view of Pan-Latino cuisine, and found her bubbly and Brooklyn girl personality intoxicating.

Daisy only did one season of Daisy Cooks! on PBS, but I  knew some day she would be a huge star, so I started consulting for her and helped  her launch her own website, DaisyMartinez.com, as well as her personal blog, Boriqua Blog. I hope you head over there and see what we’ve accomplished over the last two years — It’s a goldmine for anyone who wants to cook bold, Latin flavors, or who wants to know the real Daisy behind the camera.

I’m privileged to be one of the few who will be able to say “I knew her when.”

Good Luck, Daisy — and break a leg!

A Jew-yorican Thanksgiving

This is by far the most colorful Thanksgiving plate I’ve ever seen.

So after visiting Guavate, Rachel and I knew that we had to try making Pavochon ourselves, the real Puerto Rican way. This year, it happened that Thanksgiving was only going to be 4 of us — my in-laws and the two of us, so we were assigned to doing the cooking. So if we were in charge, we decided why not mix it up and do it Puerto Rican style?

Click to read the rest of this post on Daisy Martinez’s Boriqua Blog.

Guavate, Puerto Rico: Where it’s Thanksgiving and Christmas 365 days a year

Last post, we talked about seafood and all the myriad of ways Puerto Ricans like to eat them. But I would be amiss if I didn’t talk about a very special place on the Island — a land where it’s Thanksgiving and Christmas 365 days a year. The place I’m talking about is GUAVATE.

A view of the Guavate mountain and forest region in Puerto Rico from a popular Lechonera.

Guavate is an area that is designated as a district as part of the larger town of Cayey, which is in South-Central Puerto Rico. It’s a mountainous, forested area that has become known over the years as a favorite recreational spot for Puerto Ricans — and as a result, has created an entire culture dedicated to eating traditional holiday foods, such as Lechon (Roast Pork) and Pavochon (Roast Turkey — see Daisy’s Recipe).

A single road which passes through the town, Highway PR-184, also known as as the “Pork Highway” has many restaurants which specialize in these two dishes and all their accompaniments. Which one is the best? It’s hard to say, but Rachel and I visted two of them and if we picked the two worst ones, then I can’t imagine what the two best taste like. Your best bet — and our overall strategy — was to see which parking lots are the busiest and have the most amount of people eating there.

Read the rest of this entry on Daisy Martinez’s Boriqua Blog.

Puerto Rico: La Venganza De Los Tostones

Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

I recently returned from a trip to Puerto Rico with my wife, Rachel, and we stayed in the Palmas del Mar resort near Humacao, which is on the Southeast side of the Island. The majority of the places we visited were along the Southern and Eastern side of the island, so if my report looks a little skewed for not featuring cuisine and culture on the West and Northern parts, you’ll understand. While not as large as its two other prominent Caribbean islands such as Cuba and Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico is still pretty big and is really too large to try to get a full sense of in just one week — it’s still the size of Connecticut, and despite having several autopistas it still has a lot of one lane roads which prevent fast cross-country travel. A trip from Humacao to the east to Rincon or Aguadilla in the western part of the island can easily take more than 3 hours, particularly if you need to go thru mountain roads for part of the trip.

Want to read more? You’ll need to visit Daisy Martinez’s Boriqua Blog for the rest.

Steak Boriqua

Nothing, and I mean nothing, satisfies a man’s appetite like a good steak. But one of the problems of trying to lose weight is learning that “a good steak” is also by definition, high in fat content and also high in cholesterol. So what do you do? Well, one option is to go for the cuts of meat that are the lowest in fat content, such as Flank or London Broil. However, both of these cuts really need serious marination and flavor boost. I can think of no better preparation for these versatile economy cuts than to employ a few tricks from the Latino community. Specifically, the Puerto Ricans, or as they like to call themselves, La Comunidad Boriqua.

Adobo Marinated Flank Steak with “Boriqua Slaw” and Arroz con Gandules, yellow rice with pigeon peas.

Want to learn how to make steak the Boriqua Way? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Podcast #18 and #19: Bagels with Daisy Martinez

Click Here for the Daisy Cooks! Website

Click Here for the Daisy Cooks! Companion Volume (Amazon.com)

Click Here to Listen to the Off the Broiler Podcast (Part1)

Click Here to Listen to the Off the Broiler Podcast (Part2)

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The very hot and spicy Daisy Martinez, former model and native Brooklyn Girl turned TV Latino cooking show goddess. (NOTE: THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS FREELY LICENSEABLE UNDER GFDL)

Daisy’s classic Garland range, nearly identical to Julia Child’s in the Smithsonian.

Daisy’s Arroz Con Pollo with Maduros and Salad (Jason & Rachel Perlow)

New York Strip Steak Pinchos marinated in Recaito, Mustard, Garlic, Parsley, Olive Oil and Lime Juice with Daisy’s Yellow Rice and Grilled Napa Cabbage (Jason and Rachel Perlow)