Sides, Dips, and Sauces

category
red sauce

Red Sauce, As My Mama Makes It

Like many Italians, my first cooking memory is learning how to make red sauce with my mom. I remember her telling me to cut the onion as small as I could. Oh, and don’t forget the bay leaves when it’s simmering, she’d exclaim. She’s a good teacher, and a seriously talented cook. […]

fried sweet plantains

Plátanos Maduros

For me, living in Panamá meant eating plátanos. With almost every meal, there were fried smashed plantains called patacones or sweet plantains known as plátanos maduros. Patacones use unripened, green plantains, while to make maduros, you must use very ripened plantains. For maduros, plantains should be nearly black–as if they’re a […]