I’ll be heading down to L.A. this week and will make local contributions to the December and January rundowns while in town, but I wanted to spotlight a Sacramento/Bay Area chef, writer (SF Chronicle, Saveur, among others), and food blogger (Eat Gorda Eat) focused on Puerto Rican cuisine and regional specialties: Illyana Maisonet. Tonight I went to her event Puerto Rican Christmas Dinner. From the dishes served, to their cultural/geographic history, to family influence and life biography, this meal was much more than the food served (which in and of itself would have made for a delicious night out). I’m so glad two seats opened up so I could take my mom to this special feast.
Pastelillos de Jueyes. Regional specialty filled with crab. Cali version prepared with Dungeness crab. (Tucked into before I thought to take pics, sorry)
Granito de Humaco. Local specialty that was brought back from her recent trip to Puerto Rico. Topped with raclette.
Pork was the star of the mains. (After 9 months of pescatarian life, this was a perfectly porcine reason to reintroduce meat 
)
Pernil (loved the crunchy roasted bits), arroz con gandules (seasoned Koda farms rice with peas and green olives with pork), and pasteles (made with green banana and plantain, and more pork)
Dessert was a cake based on sweet roll dough with local Arkansas black apples, walnuts, dulce de leche, and vanilla ice cream.
Lastly, we toasted with coquito. I don’t drink, so she was kind enough to whip up a non-alcoholic version. The bottle pictured is the rum used, with the bottle repurposed to serve the holiday concoction.
Each guest got a parting gift.
Truly a special evening. If any fellow FTC folks make it up this way when Illyanna is hosting another event, I highly recommend reserving a seat.