platanoswithsoul-blog

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Mami’s Potato Salad

With summer comes picnic season, and with picnic season comes potato salad. It is a bit of a starchy minefield to find the most suitable potato salad during these seasons. 

Potato Salad is a staple dish I have seen on both my black and Puerto Rican sides of my family. On my fathers its paired with your traditional soul food dishes and on my mothers side, potato salad paired with your traditional Puerto Rican dishes.

My mami, Kitty’s Potato Salad is out for preference at a pocket friendly prize. It is time to take your picnic from boring to wow with my Mami’s, Potato Salad recipe. Fresh veg, herbs and spices makes this salad even more superficial and just pop. The subsequent is the recipe for preparing my mami’s potato Salad.

The essential ingredients for Mami’s Potato Salad

2 pounds of Red Potatoes (cut in quarters leave skins on)

1 ½ cups mayonnaise

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 cup of sweet relish

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 medium onion (small dice)

2 medium celery stalks (small dice)

4 boiled eggs (small dice)

1 dash Lawry’s Seasoning Salt

Procedures

Cut potatoes in quarters and place in a large pot or sauce pan.

Add cold water to the pot, just enough to cover the potatoes.

Bring water to a boil then reduce the heat to medium and cover pot with lid.

Cook potatoes until tender. Should take 15-25 minutes, use fork to test if the potatoes are tender.

Drain the potatoes in a colander then place to the side to cool.

Mixed mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, relish, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Add the potatoes, onions, and celery to the mix.

Stir in eggs.

Refrigerate overnight.

Interview #2 with Kitty

Having interviewed my mami, I realized that she was taught how to prepare the salad by her mother. I also learnt that despite her not being a fan of the salad, it was her family’s tradition to make the salad; besides her husband loves her potato salad.

Interviewer: How did you learn how to make potato salad?

Interviewee: I grew up watching my mother make it.

Interviewer: Why make potato salad if you do not like to eat it?

Interviewee: It has been at every holiday spread we had growing up, I could not stop that tradition just because I do not like to eat potato salad. Plus my husband loves my potato salad.

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Chocolate Coquito

Thanksgiving is here once again. As the year nears to an end, it’s that time when families congregate to celebrate the many gifts, blessings, achievements and successes of the past one year. Thanksgiving is and has been, for as long as I can remember, celebrated like a feast because it was started as a harvest celebration holiday in the 17th century. As such, it is unsurprising to see such typical thanksgiving meals as turkey and pumpkin pie. These are accompanied with such popular traditional drinks as egg nog. My family, however, likes borrowing from my Puerto Rican heritage by savoring Coquito, a traditional Puerto Rican holiday drink similar to egg nog, with a coconut spin to it. Coquito can be prepared differently depending on available ingredients or a person’s knowledge. While some people make Coquito with eggs, others like me use milk, rum and baking spices. I have made it a habit to make Coquito to my family members every Thanksgiving. However, I decided to be a little bit differently and innovative in this year’s Thanksgiving. 

Having made Coquito for quite a while now, I decided to try a new recipe and produce some more Coquito for sale. Using the chocolate Corte that I grew up with, I decided to add three more steps to the original Coquito recipe. It turned out great and I was surprised at how delicious a small change can do to my Coquito. When I was a child, every time my abuela would come back from visiting Puerto Rico she would come back with Chocolate Corte and melt the chocolate in milk to make us hot coco.

 Surprisingly, no one makes hot chocolate to-date better than my abuela. Thanks to her ideas, I now have the Chocolate Coquito recipe that people can learn and make their Thanksgiving as colorful as my family’s. 

Chocolate Coquito 

15 oz Cream of Coconut 12 oz Evaporated Milk

14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk 8 oz Barcardi Superior

2 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves 1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp vanilla extracts 2 pieces of Chocolate Corte

In a large sauce pan, heat up evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk for 2 minutes.

Add 2 pieces of chocolate Corte 

Continue heating until chocolate is melted.

Turn off the heat, add cream of coconut mix and let the mixture cool. 

Pour mix into a blender with the remainder of the ingredients, and blend well. 

Chill overnight and shake extremely well before drinking.

Serve in glass cups and enjoy. 

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El Mana Restaurant

It was a rainy late afternoon, when I decided to drive up to 114 North Union Street, in Wilmington, Delaware, just to see if El Mana Restaurant was really worth their four star rating on Yelp. My first thought driving to El Mana Restaurant, was that I was going to have a hard time finding parking, being as though the restaurant is located in the city of Wilmington; surprisingly there was plenty of parking right in front. The restaurant is located on a fairly busy city of Wilmington street, neighboring a car repair shop, taco bell, and KFC. 

Already impressed with how quickly I was able to find parking, it was satisfying to find that El Mana Restaurant is a small, colorful and cozy; your typically, friendly neighborhood, mom and pop shop that sells Puerto Rican Cuisine. Walking in, I first notice the bright vibrant walls all different colors: yellow, orange, red; the tables as well. I was greeted by a extremely friendly man, whose smile makes you feel at home and his Spanish accent made me feel as though my food will be authentic. A novela (Spanish soap operas) was playing on the television screens mounted on opposite corners of the restaurant, with pothos vines hanging besides them; instantly giving warm welcoming vibes. Initially, I thought the restaurant should be playing bachata, meringue or salsa on a speaker, but, for me I thought of my deceased wela (abuela/grandmother). She would watch her novelas every day and had pothos vines growing all around her apartment. Quick story and secret is that, I did not start to miss my grandmother until I no longer had her; growing up I strongly dislike the pothos vines that grew around her apartment, now that she gone the same vines I use to hate I want within my home. The decor of El Mana Restaurant gave me a sense of warmth and home because it was able make me miss my Wela and for those reasons I was anxious to try their food. 

Their menu was to familiar, all dishes that I grew up eating and cooking; I ordered  Mofongo Relleno de Pernil, Rellenos de Platano, Pastelitos de Carne con Queso and Arroz Blanco con Habichulas. I was first served the Relleno de Platano, which is a dough made with manduros (sweet plantain) stuffed with ground beef and fried, along with the Pastelito de Carne con Queso, which is a flour dough stuffed with ground beef, cheese and fried. The Relleno de Platano was made to perfection; the sweet plantain was the perfect amount of sweetness and the beef was seasoned just right. The Pastelito de Carne con Queso was absolutely delicious; my only disappointment was that I wanted it to be stuffed with just a teaspoon of more ground beef. I was then served the Mofongo Relleno de Pernil, which is mashed green plantain with chicharrones (fried pork skins) and garlic, molded around roasted pork shoulder, served with a gravy usually from a carne guisado (beef stew). The Monfongo and Pernil was both season extremely well; this was when I realize that the female Chef at El Mana is a force to be reckon with. Last, I was served the Arroz Blanco con Habichulas, which is white rice and beans; just like everything else I was served, this to was very enjoyable to eat.

My experience at El Mana from start to finish was memorable, satisfying and extremely enjoyable. My goal with El Mana Restaurant is to be able to taste everything its menu has to offer, so I will definitely be returning in the near future.

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Stunt

Many people would agree with me that the most important aspect of any culture is its food. The fondest memories I have as a child is of me eating dishes made with love by the women in my family. While my grandmother’s food was loved by everyone in our family, the dish that I loved most growing up was made by the hands of my Titi Janet. We called it Pastelon. The simplest way to describe Pastelon would be the Puerto Rican version of lasagna. The dish was basically a casserole made with layers of sweet plantain, ground meat and cheese. To begin with, my Titi would make ground beef seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, adobo, tomato sauce and sazon, next she would layer the pan with ground beef and fried sweet plantain, last, she would crack an egg over so the casserole will not break. I now make my own version.

For my Pastelon, I prefer using  ground sirloin, seasoned with bell peppers, cubanelle, recao, cilantro, onion, oregano, tomato sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, and aji dulce as opposed to ground beef seasoned with onion powder like how my Titi used to prepare hers. Once I finish cooking the meat, I fry sweet plantain then layer my casserole dish with sweet plantain, ground sirloin and pepper jack cheese and crack the egg over just like Titi. While my Titi’s Pastelon was perfect in terms of taste, its only major fault was the fact that she never used farm fresh ingredients.  Thus the reason why I have incorporated fresh ingredients for more flavor with the sweet plantain, ground sirloin and pepper jack cheese layer so that it holds.  

My stunt is to create a fusion. 

I decided to use  the concept of Pastelon, but with completely different ingredients. A tostones cheese steak sandwich; the layers of sweet plantain, beef and cheese in a Pastelon inspired the concept of a sandwich. Instead of sweet plantain I went with green plantain, fried twice. The beef and cheese inside of a Pastelon inspired the cheese steak. I cooked sirloin with roasted pablono peppers, caramelize onions, and provolone cheese. I then made my tontine steak and cheese sandwich with arugula, tomatoes and mojito.

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Mi Mama

When the word ‘home' comes to mind, we all spontaneously get a warm welcoming feeling of a place with culture, character and a soul. Marisol Pagan Hodges, my mother and home cook of 36 years, is the embodiment of the feeling as she takes us through her home cooking, that is rich in Puerto Rican culture yet diverse enough to add a touch of black American culture in her style.

What makes you identify as first-generation Puerto Rican?

I identify as a first generation Puerto Rican. Both my parents are of Puerto Rican descent with my mother, Angela Garcia, being born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico. My father, Jesus Pagan, was also born and raised in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico.

How is Puerto Rican food important when discussing Puerto Rican culture in general?

Our food is at the heart of our culture; in every action and celebration, food is involved. We are very proud of our food, and that pride is our culture. We believe our food to be the best in the world and that all other foods from different cultures pale in comparison to ours. 

How long have you been cooking Puerto Rican food and who taught you?

I have been cooking Puerto Rican food for over 36 years, I learned by watching my mother and aunts in the act.

What do you think is a staple in Puerto Rican cuisine?

Sofrito. It is used to season almost all Puerto Rican dishes. Sofrito consist of: onion, cherry pepper (pimiento), Cuban pepper (cubanelle), garlic, capsicum chinense (ajies Dulce pepper), bell pepper, cilantro, Mexican Coriander (recao culantro), olives, oregano, and capers. All the ingredients aforementioned are blended into a juice/ pulp and stored in the freezer for future use.

What is your favorite Puerto Rican dish and why?

This is a hard question because I have many favorites! If I had to narrow it down to one, my pick would be Carne Guisado. I do not want to call it a beef stew because it's completely different from your traditional American beef stew. For example, Puerto Ricans use tomato sauce and sofrito while Americans use beef broth, something we do not do.

When I make Carne Guisado I boil the meat for two hours, (so as to tenderize it), with onions, garlic, green peppers, vinegar, and adobo. After boiling the meat, I add my seasoning, tomato sauce, and vegetables. And just like my mom would make it with potatoes only, I too follow suit. I also add carrots and green beans just to get a flair, my own style. I eat Carne Guisado with white rice but you can also eat it with Monfongo (mashed green plantain). It is my favorite dish to cook because it is comfort food that is soothing and great for a Sunday meal.

What is your favorite Puerto Rican dish to cook and why?

I love cooking Platanos Manduros, (sweet plantain) because it's a meal that's easy to make and absolutely delicious. I prefer cutting my platanos into very thin strips and frying them in olive oil.

What is your favorite memory involving Puerto Rican cuisine?

Every year when I was a kid, we would go to my Titi (aunt) Estel's house for Thanksgiving. She would prepare a turkey that tasted exactly like pernil, (pork shoulder), and it was never dry.

In your family what would be considered a traditional spread during Thanksgiving?

A traditional Puerto Rican Thanksgiving spread in my family would consist of: pernil (roasted pork shoulder), arroz con gandules (rice with green pigeon peas), pasteles, turkey, potato salad, aguacate (avocado), rice pudding, flan (custard), coquito (alcoholic beverage), ensalda de pulpo (octopus' salad), ensalda de bacalao (salted codfish salad), morcilla (blood sausage), and guanimos (dumplings).

As you got older has Black American Culture influenced the way you cook today?

Yes, Black American culture has influenced my cooking over the past few years. For instance, it is currently compulsory to have baked macaroni and cheese at our Thanksgiving table. This is a Black American delicacy that is extremely delicious, basic yet still a rich assortment derived from an entirely different culture than my own.