Buen Provecho says Daisy M.

The first time I saw Daisy Martinez' show on t.v. was during my visit to a friend in Michigan. I was fascinated by her flair of handling Latino cuisines because it was so familiarly similar to what we have back home in the Philippines. Years later I finally meet her face to face during a symposium I attended “How to publish your cook book, “ in which she was the main guest speaker. Her prettiness plus the 100 miles per hour blabbering, a combination of comedy and chef, just amazed me. I was star struck.

And yesterday I went to Borders bookstore near Central Park just to hear her discuss and sign her latest book, “Daisy: Morning, Noon and Night.” She was gorgeous in her red flowing dinner attire, with matching bib around her neck that characterized her more of an elite debutant rather than an author/chef.

Her latest book is inspired by her trips to latino populated areas like Mexico, Ecuador, and the like. And for a Puerto Rican , what more can add to her adventure than finding out that there are several names you can call one dish. It depends what area you're coming from. Let me give you an excerpt of the book”

Empanadas with Creamy Corn Filling
==Humitas

“ When it comes to the names of certain dishes, Latin America can be a very confusing place. If you were to order humitas in a restaurant in Ecuador, what you would most likely get is something similar to tamales-- dried corn husks filled with a cornmeal stuffing studded with any number of ingredients. However, in Argentina, ask for humitas, and you will—very happily, I might add-- end up with a plate of empanadas filled with delicious creamed corn. If you have a couple of sprigs of thyme in the vegetable drawer, throw them in with the bechamel sauce (fish them out before adding the corn).

4 T unsalted butter 2 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
3 T all purpose flour 1 heaping T. chopped parsley
1 c. milk empanada wrappers (homemade or storebought)
¼ tsp. Paprika salt and pepper to taste

melt butter in pan. Add flour and cook stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly around 3 min.
Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly paying special attention to the corners of the saucepan.

Add paprika and salt and pepper to taste, stir in the corn and parsely, and return to a simmer
scrape the bowl and let cool completely.

Using 1/3 c. filling for each emapanada, form and cook the empanadas. (you can either bake or fry empanadas. But frying takes faster to cook)


Chicharon Carnitas is similar to our Pinauga na Adobo in the sense that the former uses beer to braise then when dried would just fry in its own fat, and the latter uses vinegar and soy sauce.

Asado in South America (like Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) is what we call Sinugba in the Philippines. In Brazil, Asado is called Churrasco but the meat is done with Brazilian spices.
So you see, one name of a dish can mean another depending on what area you're coming from. It's like saying, “There are several ways to skin a cat.”