The Diversified Table: With a Latin Twist

By Alina Freyre

Caterer and restaurateur Alina Freyre had just completed a culinary school certificate program when she received a call from the doctor that her son had been diagnosed with diabetes. Determined to transform the way she viewed food, Alina closed her businesses and took a break from professional cooking until her family gifted her with a journal to log her experimental recipes. In that moment, Alina realized that she needed to find a way to make cooking more intimate.
In a collection that combines tips, techniques, stories, and memories with simple recipes that are staples in her home and at dinner parties, Alina leads home cooks down a delicious path lined with a variety of spices, herbs, fruits, and vegetables that bring Latin flavors to life and encourage healthy eating. Her recipes include such diverse dishes as bacon and cheddar croqueta, empanadas, mariquitas, Cuban chili, butternut squash hash, picadillo, and guava and cream cheese ice cream. Included are instructions on how to create separate dishes from one recipe by changing or adding an ingredient.
The Diversified Table offers recipes and stories from a Latin home cook that encourage anyone to embrace a different culture at the table and a more intimate form of creating comforting meals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532038211

Alina Freyre

Alina Freyre was born to Cuban parents and raised in Miami, Florida. She is a mother, wife, realtor, interior designer, and entrepreneur who manages a construction company with her husband. In 2008, she attended Le Cordon Bleu to learn the basics of the culinary profession, and has owned a catering company and a bistro. The Diversified Table is her first cookbook.

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Copyright © 2018 Alina Freyre.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-3820-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3821-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017918861

iUniverse rev. date: 02/08/2018

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DEDICATION

Thank you to the loves of my life;

Andy, Andy Jr and Gaby

for always believing in me and encouraging me,

no matter what my adventure was.

I dedicate this to book to the three of you

and hope you always know that I love you more, most, first!

INTRODUCTION

Cooking has been a passion of mine since I can remember, but my inspiration took a new focus in 2008 when my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I had just finished a certificate program at a local culinary school, was the owner of a catering company and was about to open a bistro when we got the call from the doctor. Within a few months, things got so overwhelming that I realized cooking for the masses was taking me down a road that I was not enjoying. I closed my bistro and took a break from cooking until 2009, when my family gifted me with a leather-bound journal.

They reminded me of my passion and told me to start writing all my experimental recipes in hope that I could eventually turn it into a cookbook. It was at that moment that I realized cooking needed to be much more intimate than cooking for the masses. During the next eight years, I struggled with a large weight gain and several personal issues. It took me a long time to get to where I am today, and I knew that for me to get to a healthy state in my life, physically and emotionally, I had to make some permanent changes. I decided to change my eating habits extremely and became a pescatarian. This really helped me be conscious of what I was eating. My son had chosen a vegetarian path several months earlier, so I had already been used to cooking simply vegetable dishes. All of us, my husband, my son, my daughter and myself became a tighter unit by choosing to eat healthy together. Now we had a vegetarian, a pescatarian and 2 lean meat eaters and this became the inspiration for the title of the cookbook, The Diversified Table.

My goal for this cookbook is simple, to share delicious recipes with others. I am no longer afraid to eat, I am just conscious of what and how much. I also hope to help those that are intimidated at times with all the different options and possibilities. As you go through the cookbook, I will share with you my tricks and tips that I have learned through the years and that have allowed me to express myself and grow as a better chef. I will also share stories and memories of why and when I was inspired to create each recipe. The recipes that I have chosen in this book are staples in my home and dinner parties and have similar cooking technique and spices. I will also teach you how to make 2 or 3 separate recipes by changing or adding one or a few ingredients. Coming from a Cuban family I enjoy Latin flavors and you will find that you do not need too many spices or herbs to cook many different meals.

I hope you enjoy all my recipes the way my family and friends have.

Ali

Contents

TRICKS AND TIPS IN THE KITCHEN

APPETIZERS/SNACKS

SOUPS/SALADS

SIDE DISH

MAIN COURSE

DESSERTS

TRICKS AND TIPS IN THE KITCHEN

• Pots and Pans – there are so many types of pots and pans not to mention all the sizes they come in. If you can’t afford (whether financially or lack of space) I feel it is better to have a few medium and large pots and/or pans. Also note that you do not have to have every pot/pan come with a lid since the lids are usually interchangeable. Below is a quick guide on the different types and the different materials available. I can assure you that you usually do not need every material and I would recommend that you stick to the pot/pan you would use the most often and chances are you can cook almost all your meals in it.

o Types

■ Saucepans

• Usually to boil or cook foods in sauce

• Very versatile for many recipes

■ Sauté Pan or Wok

• Great for sautéing vegetables

■ Skillet or Cast Iron

• Good for searing foods

• Good for browning foods

■ Dutch Oven

• Great for stove top or oven use

• Stock Pot

• Larger pot

• Good for stocks or soups

o Materials

■