recipe sunday

188 posts

Recipe Sunday: Patacones (Smashed Green Plantains)

You may have know them as tostones, but in Panama (and a few other Latin American countries), we call them patacones. They are made with green plantains. A plantain looks very similar to a banana, except that you typically eat it cooked. It is a staple of many Latin cultures, and I usually prepare this dish once a week. You can also cook plantains when they are ripe, but that is a recipe for another Sunday. Continue reading →

Recipe Sunday: Zigeunerschnitzel

Last Friday night I had the pleasure of attending Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café in Sanford, FL. This restaurant is an authentic Bavarian spot, with shared tables, giant soft pretzels, 3-liter boots of beer, and lots of schnitzel.

While reading the menu, a dish caught my eye: zigeunerschnitzel. This schnitzel is prepared with a paprika and red pepper sauce. The reason I was drawn to the dish is that, when I was a wee one taking cooking lessons, one of the things we learned to make was zigeunerschnitzel. I have made the dish over the years, and I still have the recipe. I don’t know how authentic it is; all the zigeunerschnitzel recipes I found online had significant variations. This recipe doesn’t have tomatoes or tomato paste, but you could add a can of crushed tomatoes or a small can of tomato paste if you want to experiment. Regardless, it’s a yummy dish that will wow your friends and family. Continue reading →

Recipe Sunday: Arroz con Pollo

Today, I want to share with you a recipe for Panamanian style Arroz con Pollo, which translates to rice with chicken. The Cuban style of rice with chicken uses whole pieces of bone-in chicken, but in Panama we prefer to shred or cube our chicken, and we will typically use chicken breast or thighs. The recipe has a lot of prep time, but the cooking is This recipe will serve 6, but you can make the whole batch and then freeze a few servings for later. Continue reading →

Recipe Sunday: An Interview with the Duffy Hill Farmers and Fried Duck Nuggets

“Foodies” and restaurateurs like to think they know food, but few people know food more intimately than small farmers. If you want to “know where your food comes from,” there’s no better way than befriending a farmer. With that – and the fast-approaching seed-buying season – in mind, for this mid-winter Recipe Sunday we’re offering up an abbreviated version of a farm profile we wrote last fall, including recipes for Duck Nuggets, a Beet and Pole Bean Salad, and a heavenly Salad Greens Mix. Enjoy. Launie and Jedd K. Continue reading →

Recipe Sunday: Tres Leches


I recently returned from a nice long vacation in my hometown of Panama. There was a LOT of eating, especially desserts. My favorite dessert of the whole trip was the Tres Leches. I had several variations, but my favorite was the one at this great restaurant called Market. The key to this dessert is giving the yellow cake enough time to absorb the cream, and serving it chilled. Continue reading →

Coffee-Crusted Pork Loin with Guinness Sauce

A while back I read a restaurant review of The Range. One of the recommended entrees was the coffee-crusted steak, and it made my mouth water.

But, as a recovering “chick/pork-a-tarian” I’m still not a big red meat eater. So, I filed the recipe away in the back of my mind as something I would try the next time I tiptoed into the proverbial “beef pond.” Then one Sunday afternoon I was rifling through the refrigerator trying to figure out what to make for dinner, while my husband was making us a second pot of coffee. That’s when I noticed that he had bought us a pork loin on his earlier trip to the store. Continue reading →