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.
