Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night: Bringing Your Family Together with Everyday Latin Dishes

Love this book... I love latin food, and this book makes it easy to prepare...well written, beautiful pictures,i highly recommend it...

Food Network's Viva Daisy star Martinez offers Latin cooking for everyday and company meals in this well-illustrated, colorful book. Organized by meal (and further divided into weekday, leisure and entertaining), Martinez has adapted dishes from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Try a Mayan (mushroom, arugula, spinach) omelet for a quick healthy breakfast, Plantain Fritters or Arepas for leisurely weekends. Or Potato "Jelly Roll" with Tuna Salad Filling for a make-ahead brunch. For lunch there's Peruvian-inspired Cream of Zucchini Soup with Crabmeat or various Empanada fillings (with illustrated, step-by-step instructions), Pressed Sandwiches, or Shrimp Ceviche Xni Pec. The barbecue section includes Argentinean Grilled Pork Shoulder and Peruvian Napa Cabbage Slaw as well as classic Argentinean Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri Sauce. Fast weeknight dinners range from Panfried Breaded Cutlets from Argentina to Soupy Rice with Pigeon Peas, and on the side there's Cumin-scented Fried Potatoes, classic Spanish salty Wrinkled Potatoes, Yellow Rice or New Style (less fat) Refried Beans. Get started with a Spicy Gazpacho Shooter at the Cocktail Party, then cool down with Black Bean and Queso Fresco Tastaditas or Barcelona-inspired Smoked Trout and endive Canapés. Twice-fried Plantain Cups or Yuca Fritters are sure to impress while Chorizo-Stuffed Mushrooms can be prepped ahead. The dinner party might start with Cream of Chestnut Soup with Posole (Puerto Rico) followed by Cuzco Roast Pork Loin with Onion and Pepper Stir-Fry and/or Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Rice and Cheese, or Multi-Culti Braised Oxtails. Or maybe you'd prefer a do-ahead buffet with Grilled Octopus Salad, Pastelon (Plantain and Picadillo Casserole) and the classic Chicken with Rice. Desserts include Flans, Coconut Panna Cotta with Tropical Fruit, Baby Banana Beignets. Sauces can be found throughout - Creamy Avocado (for fish, chicken, shellfish), Peruvian Aji Verde, cold Salsas, Cilantro Pesto, and more. Martinez concludes with menus, complete with prep timing up to a week ahead, then a chapter of Basics from stock to rubs, and a glossary of ingredients. This is simple, punchy food, adapted for American lifestyles without losing the feel of authenticity.

Daisy outdid herself with Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night. My husband learned how to cook with Daisy Cooks and he is so looking forward to learning more. Daisy's recipes are not only delicious but simply. My husband follows her recipes to the T. My husband is Black and I am Puerto Rican and he makes a better sofrito, achoite, arroz con gandules and pernil than me. He quickly browsed the book and already went to the store and bought chorizo to make "Eggs with Chorizo and Ripe Plantain".

Ladies and Gentlemen, I can use all the superlatives in the universe to describe this book, but I won't. Just buy the book. You won't be disapointed.

I have been a fan of Daisy Martinez for years. In her first cookbook, she gave us the traditions and flavors of Puerto Rico-which is her family background as well as mine. Those recipes allow me to share family traditions with my children and pass them on to the next generation, the flavors my grandmother passed down to us. With her second cookbook, "Daisy:Morning, Noon and Night:Bringing Your Family Together with Everyday Latin Dishes", she has brought us the flavors from all over Latin America, which shows just how diverse and wonderful our cooking styles, cultures and people are. That said this book is for anyone that wants to change up the same old routine! Enjoy!