My traditional and playful takes on anything and everything Puerto Rican. 

Empanada dough is your blank canvas! Found in the freezer section of most Latin supermarkets, these handy disks can be filled with just about anything. Transform last night's leftovers into a whole new meal. Think roasted vegetables, shredded chicken, or even leftover chili. These chicken pot pie empanadas are a delicious example of how creative you can get. Fry or bake them until golden for a satisfying snack or meal. 

Chicken Pot Pie Empanadas

Arepas de coco may look a bit different from the Colombian or Venezuelan arepas most people are familiar with. Instead of being thick corn cakes, Puerto Rican arepas de coco are more like a slightly sweet coconut fry bread that are crispy on the outside, tender inside, and subtly fragrant from the coconut milk in the dough. You’ll often find them served along the coast with bright, acidic seafood salads like salpicón de jueyes (crab salad) or ensalada de bacalao (salted cod salad. Their rich, lightly sweet flavor perfectly balances the salty, citrusy dishes they accompany.

Arepas de Coco

Growing up in New York City, the flavors of Puerto Rico and the rest of Latin America were never too far away, and the hot weather always brought out ice cream trucks, Italian ice storefronts, piragua stands (frío frío to our Dominican cousins), and the famous Delicioso Coco Helado carts. The coco helado served from this cart is closer to an Italian ice/sorbet than an ice cream, with a creamy yet icy and gritty texture. Mango, cherry, piña, and "rainbow" are among the flavors, but coco is superior to them all! This recipe comes together faster than it takes to decide on a flavor at an ice cream shop, with the addition of ice to replicate its unique texture. This will surely become a new freezer staple.

Coco Helado 

If you ask any Caribbean person about their favorite fish, especially for a whole fish preparation, they'll almost certainly say snapper. With its mild, slightly sweet flavor and firm yet delicate texture, snapper is a versatile fish that's delicious fried, grilled, or baked. Cooking it in banana leaf imparts a subtle, earthy aroma, steams the fish to tender perfection, simplifies cleanup, and creates a visually striking presentation. Breadfruit, also known as pana or panapén in Puerto Rico, is double-fried into crispy tostones to serve alongside the fish. If you can't find fresh breadfruit, some Latin grocery stores carry pre-made breadfruit tostones in the freezer section. If all else fails, plantain tostones are just as delicious.

Banana Leaf-Wrapped Snapper & Breadfruit Tostones

Pasteles, a labor of love, are similar to Mexican tamales but made with a masa from either a combination of tropical root vegetables, like taro, pumpkin, and green bananas, or simply just yuca. This savory dough is carefully layered in banana leaves and filled with stewed pork. Some families also fill the pasteles with garbanzos, pimento-stuffed olives, and sometimes raisins. These bundles are tied with string, boiled, and shared generously. 

Pasteles de Yuca

This Arroz con Dulce is a love letter to my Abuela Nerida and a taste of Puerto Rican Christmas. It starts with a fragrant "té de especias" – a spiced tea of ginger, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. The rice simmers until creamy and tender, then it's sweetened with cream of coconut and sugar. If you don't like raisins, I encourage you to give them a chance after having soaked them in rum.

Arroz con Dulce

Chicharrones de pollo are a common menu item at Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban restaurants and casual eateries. This Latin Caribbean variation of fried chicken comes in various forms, including bone-in or boneless, breaded or unbreaded, and is made from the whole chicken or just the thighs or breasts. A common thread among all these variations is the generous seasoning that relies heavily on garlic, acid in either the form of lime or white vinegar, and a healthy dose of adobo, sazón, or both. These seasoning blends are easily found in most well-stocked grocery stores, but making them from scratch allows for personal preferences to truly shine through. While these are traditionally deep-fried in neutral oil, some variations also use lard. They also cook and crisp up wonderfully in an air fryer with a little help from some cooking oil spray. Serve with plenty of extra limes on the side, and pair it with white rice and stewed red beans for one of my all-time favorite comfort meals.

Chicharrones de Pollo

Puerto Rican Classics

Peruvian

Mexican

Chinese

Thai

Israeli

Palestinian

Hainanese

Turkish

Cuban

Russian

British

Fusion

Korean

African

Jewish

Jamaican

Persian

Lebanese

Caribbean

French

Filipino

Italian

Moroccan

Cantonese

Spanish

Danish

Greek

American

Brazilian

Argentine

Vietnamese

Japanese

Ethiopian

Swedish

Columbian

Hawaiian

Malaysian

Mediterranean

Indian

German

Puerto Rican

Vegan

Paleo

Keto

Dairy-Free

Vegetarian

Low Carb

Gluten-Free

Nut-Free

Seafood

Tart

Grain

Drink

Baked good

Rice

Stir fry

Soup

Salad

Pasta

Sandwich

Vegetable

Bread

Stew

Bowl

Sauce

Chicken

Wrap

Meat

Noodles

Beans

Brunch

Breakfast

Appetizer

Dinner

Snack

Side

Lunch

Dessert

Roasting

No-cook

Pickling & Preserving

Stir-fry

Blender

Sautéing

Food processor

Braising & Stewing

BBQ & Grilling

Baking

Instant Pot

Sheet pan

Air fryer

Cast-iron skillet

Microwave

Crock pot

Steaming

Frying

large handfuls

large handful

servings

serving

pieces

piece

chopstick-fuls

chopstick-ful

20-oz cans

20-oz can

cubes

cube

28-oz cans

28-oz can

pints

pint

bars

handfuls

handful

ears

tins

cobs

sheets

sheet

to taste

sprinkles

sprinkle

leaves

leaf

cups

dollops

dollop

bags

pouches

pouch

large bunches

large bunch

blocks

block

lemons

lemon

quarts

quart

packed cups

packed cup

large

whole

bulbs

bulb

medium

small

bowls

bowl

15-oz cans

15-oz can

cloves

clove

ribs

boxes

discs

disc

squeezes

squeeze

packages

package

a few

large sheets

large sheet

12-oz cans

12-oz can

knobs

knob

sprigs

sprig

pinches

pinch

1-inch pieces

1-inch piece

7-oz cans

7-oz can

dashes

dash

cans

inch pieces

inch piece

stalks

stalk

links

link