Gran Cocina Latina

I have caught the cooking bug. It began with my designation as the official pie maker of the family Thanksgiving meal.  After whipping up my favorite, a pumpkin pie, I decided to get a tad crazy and try my hand at a bacon, apple, cheddar pie. It was to die for. Literally and figuratively. This was just the beginning though. 

Before I knew it, I was off and running creating meringues, Christmas cookies, and scones galore and then, right when I was hitting my stride, my wife laid down the gauntlet. No more desserts and no more butter. Fortunately, a new cookbook arrived at the Library just in the nick of time.

A massive tome, Gran Cocina Latina attempts to bring together in one work, the food of all of Latin America. Although an undertaking of such size sounds destined to fail, author Maricel E. Presilla is no ordinary foodie. A Cuban American with a doctorate in medieval history, it is Presilla's rigorous approach as scholar and historian as well as cook that shape this work and make it utterly absorbing as well as exquisitely delicious.

Indeed, Presilla starts the book with a discussion of what Latin America is and what can be found in its kitchens and on its tables before turning to the Latin tradition of layering flavors all before getting to the bulk of the book 157 pages in. Yet even when Presilla turns to recipes for good, a history lesson or story is never far off. Take for example, the meal I made the other night.

Having lived in Chile briefly, when deciding upon what to cook, a Chilean empanada sounded perfect. Despite my best intentions, before I knew it, I was engrossed in a discussion of the Galician region of Spain and found myself attempting a traditional olive and tuna empanada baked in this region for hundreds of years. It was fabulous and I was even able to bore my wife with the history of the meal while we ate.

If all of this tradition and history sounds a little overwhelming, don't worry. Presilla also wisely includes modern varieties and discussions of variations that aid both those short on time and those short on traditional Latin American ingredients. It is this all-encompassing nature that led one reviewer to call it the "bible" of Latin American food and truly, the combination of history, culture, people, places, and great recipes makes Gran Cocina Latina a treasure trove.