Author: Denise Williams

My experience blogging my food has been really fun. I encourage you all to cook more and experiment more in the kitchen, you can even replicate the meals I’ve prepared. I hope you have enjoyed my meals, stories, and recipes!

Hi guys! I haven’t had much time to type out my blogs, but I have been recording notes and taking pictures of my delicious meal choices. As an overview, I’ve made some dishes that are inspired by my southern side of the family and dishes that are inspired by Hispanic and Indian culture as well. I’ve made a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  When I’m feeling adventurous, I try to make things I’ve never made before, and you’ll get to explore some of the meals in my upcoming post. Chicken is usually a “go-to” when I’m looking for something fulfilling yet easy and quick to cook. When I first started to cook chicken, I only made it two ways; baked and fried. I never knew there were tons of other ways to cook it. Now that I am a mom, I’ve had fun experimenting with different ways to cook it. One of my favorite ways to use chicken is to barbecues it on the grill. No matter how much snow or rain came down on our porch, my grandfather always cooked out. In our family, we truly value barbecue’s. They bring everyone together, not only family but friends and neighbors as well. I envision my grandfather now, calling me to help him flip the chicken on the grill. He also used to let me mix his secret ingredients. In the next few posts, I’ll share with you, some of his styles and cooking secrets to get the delicious meals he and my grandmother provided for the community.

I remember the first time I made curry. It was a total epic fail! Because it was so good, I was determined to get it right. I also found myself spending a lot of money on it when eating out at restaurants compare to many other dishes. One of the main ingredients (curry) of the meal originated in the Indian subcontinent. Curry dishes were prepared and served in the Southern States of India. I have not made my own curry from scratch but I’ve learned how to pick out the best one in the store through experimenting with different seasonings. Curry ingredients usually include ground tumeric, cumin, coriander, and chillies. One day I will try to make it on my own, for now I use a specific brand named “Blue Mountain”. Through research I’ve learned that curry was carried to the Caribbean by Indian indentured workers in the British sugar industry (Yikes). The rice in this meal has origins from China and India. China was the first place to farm rice, from there people learned how to grow it in Vietnam, Thailand, and India. To date even further back in 2500 BC people grew rice in the Ganges valley in India. This crop has been used to feed many people for a very long period of time. And is the most popular for feeding It is seen as a source of nutrition and tradition. Interestingly, rice comes from the seed of grass species Oryza stiva (Asian rice) and is widely consumed through the world.

Yummmmy! Have you ever made deviled eggs before? If you like eggs then here is another way to make it. Deviled eggs have been also known as stuffed eggs, Russian eggs, or dressed eggs in case you are not familiar with the term I used. I’ve recently learned that deviled eggs can be traced back to ancient Rome, where the eggs were prepped differently then now. This dish is also popular in Europe and in North America. In the past, eggs were boiled, seasoned with spicy sauces and served the the beginning of the meal. Today we call that an appetizer (ha!). However, this meal was prepped for the more wealth people. The term ‘devile’ was in reference to the hot sauces that were added to make the dish spicy. I do not uses any spices at all but neither has my grandmother which is the person who taught me how to cook it. It was very easy to prep. Ingredients include mayonnaise, paprika, relish, and salt. As they did in Rome, I also boiled the eggs first, then cut them in half. After, I take the cooked yolk out of the middle and put in a separate bowl to make as a stuffing. After mixing it all together I washed the eggs off to discard any yolk that may have stuck to the side. The eggs are then place on a flat surface or egg holder and the filling is placed in the middle of the egg. Paprika is sprinkled on the top to finish. This meal was very quick and didn’t take a lot of effort. This dish is not hot and usually served cold.

This meal was inspired by my Dominican friend Naralis. Any time I came over to her house to hang, she would cook me this. Before eating tostones at her house, I would buy it from any restaurant already prepped and cooked. Once I learned how to cook it, I’ve been making it myself (when not too tired). Tostones are a well known staple of Latin American countries and the Caribbean, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Panama. Tostones is the word derived from the Spanish word that means ‘to toast’. This term was used for a fifty cent coin in ‘Honduras’. Tostones are generally made with green plantains but many people also use ripe yellow plantains. One is much sweeter than the other. I’ve noticed when I buy them at hispanic restaurants, they are not always made to order. At Haitian restaurants, I’ve been able to get them fresh out of the grease. This meal is good to eat if you’re eating it right away. Once the tostones sit for a while, it becomes hard. It then loses its taste, in my opinion. Although this looks easy and quick, preparing the plantains took some time. First, I peeled the banana and cut them into pieces. After that I fried them lightly and took them out of the grease to mash. Once mashed I seasoned with salt and put them back in the grease to cook for a few more minutes. After about 20 minutes the tostones was done. As I prepared the second batch to fry I put on some sausages, onions, and peppers on the top of the stove and grilled them until they became a little burnt. I love that taste! How about you?

What you see here is called Pastelitos. This dish can be found in many hispanic restaurants. Pastelitos are also a traditional food for many Latin American festivals and events. This food has been eaten by the Tainos and Native American culture for years. Originally its dough was made out of plantains or raw yams. The filling for the pastelito is traditionally made from pork, but I have used beef here. I seasoned the meat to bring out the flavor of the dish as the pastel doesn’t really have a taste to me. As a kid there was a street in my neighborhood that everyone called “Harlem”. The street was filled with many Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. One older Hispanic women who lived on the street sold candy, french fries, slushies and many other foods out of her home. The best thing out of everything she sold was her homemade pastelitos. The corner store in our complex was super expensive so we didn’t eat much out of there, plus as kids we couldn’t afford it. The pizza shop was also expensive so when we ate outside of the home, we went to the “candy lady”. One day I seen some kids playing and they were eating pastiletos. I wanted one so bad because it looked delicious and she told me where I could get them. This Hispanic women barely spoke English but she knew enough to get us what we needed and we really appreciated her for that.

This meal was inspired by my older sister Sherell. I remember going food shopping one day at Stop and Shop and when we were in line at check-out, we seen a food magazine with a very similar picture to the one above. The chicken looked so juicy and tender and the spinach was falling out of the side just as you see. The only difference is the way it was presented compared to mine. Growing up we never had fancy dishes and food was served directly out of the pots. But of course, the picture of the chicken and spinach meal was beautiful. The very next day she facetimed me and it was a pan full of stuffed chicken and spinach. I became so eager that I ran out to get all the ingredients that I believed would help make what I seen taste delicious. The ingredients include, seasoning salt, onion and garlic powder, and pepper. I sprinkle enough seasoning so that the top of the chicken is covered lightly. More seasoning than that will make it too salty. I don’t usually use measuring cups as I never, because my grandparents used their hands. Other ingredients used to prepare this meal include mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, fresh minced garlic, fresh spinach, grapeseed oil, and butter. I know some of these ingredients like the cheeses aren’t the healthiest, but they are soooo delicious. If there are any ingredients that you’d substitute, what would it be?

Hello Foodies! This quick lunch only took 15 minutes to cook. It can be served not only for lunch but as a breakfast or dinner. Sometimes on my lunch break I will go home and make something quick to last me until dinner and this is what I came up with. The sausages were bought previously frozen at my local food market. I used my own red and green peppers that I grew in my garden, so it makes me appreciate the meal more. My grandfather would tell us stories about appreciating the things we have. He would always say when you appreciate something, more effort is directed and its true! I put in so much effort trying to get these peppers down packed. After many, many tries, I succeeded! The portion displayed here amounts to 3 servings. I was able to eat some and save the rest for the next day. In my family we do not throw out food unless it has gone bad and can no longer be eaten. I once threw out my food and my grandfather had a long talk about how people in different parts of the world would love and appreciate the food that I’m wasting. After that, I never liked throwing stuff away and found ways to make it last or found people to give the food to. As a child I ate sausages often and it has transferred into my adulthood. Happy “sausaging” !

Hello Everyone! I’m glad you stopped by! Please forgive me, I have been super busy with work and school that I haven’t had a chance to post or log some great meals that I’ve made. No worries, I have them all coming shortly.

Morning Breakfast

When I woke up I was extremely hungry and so were the guest that I had sleep over. I thought to myself “what can I make that’s really fulfilling”, so I thought of this. I put the potatoes on first because it takes the longest to cook. I seasoned the potatoes with lawry’s salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. After I put the potatoes on, I laid out the sausages and bacon on a flat pan and put it in the oven to cook at 350. The butter biscuits were put on last since it takes a much shorter time to cook. In my family, my grandmother would always wake up early on Saturdays to cook breakfast for my sisters and grandfather. My grandmother always cooked a big breakfast because she believed it was the most important meal of the day. She would always say “make sure you get something in your belly before school starts”. So I’ve kept up with this tradition. I forgot to mention that she would add hot grits to this meal to really fill our bellies. Hot grits were extremely important to my grandmother because it’s what she ate as a kid. She didn’t have the luxury of everything displayed here, but she does remember my great grandmother making grits for her and her siblings. Funny story, when I first made grits for myself I asked my daughter to try it and she refused because of the way it looked. After convincing her how delicious it was, she tried it and loved it! I hope this meal has inspired you if you’re ever in need of any breakfast ideas, chow!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my Food Blog.

Hello there! My name is Denise but everyone calls me Dee. In this space, I will share my love for food as well as photos and recipes in case you see something that you may be interested in exploring.
I grew up in a family where everybody loves to cook and eat. I didn’t eat much as a kid but now that I am older I have begun to crave a number of things. After having my daughter in 2007, I began to try new foods from different cultures. I traveled from city to city trying different cultural foods including those from, Haitian/Creole, Jamaican, Caribbean, Chinese, Thailand, Vietnamese, Indian, American, Latin American, Italian, Mexican, Greek, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Portuguese. After tasting all the cultural foods, I began to cook some of the ones that I enjoyed. By no means, I am no expert but I love food an all that it brings including stories, family, love, and culture.
I mostly cook American food because it’s what I grew up eating and I’m also more familiar with American dishes. When I am cooking other meals I like to experience with natural seasonings such as bay leaves, fresh garlic, cilantro, parsley, thyme, onions, and peppers.
Your feedback and comments are welcomed and very important to me. So, please leave a note and let me know how I’m doing, or if you have any pointers or suggestions on how to make my meal more delicious, please feel free!
I am looking forward to your ideas and insight on this Food Blog so COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my Food Blog.