In a Cuban Kitchen

Garcia, who was born and raised in Cuba and appears weekly on Food Network's The Melting Pot, offers an attractive cookbook filled with colorful photos of Cuban classics, including a Sandwich Cubano (Cuban Sandwich), Moros y Cristianos (Rice and Red Beans) and Ropa Vieja (Stewed Shredded Beef). Garcia gives the Spanish name for every dish, with an English translation below in smaller print, and places a short glossary at the beginning of the book to help readers with food terms like""culantro"" and""chorizo."" The recipes lack introductions or even brief explanatory phrases, so readers are left to figure out for themselves the origins behind such intriguing dishes as Tasajo Camagueyano (Salt-Cured Beef), Bacalao a la Viscaina (Salt Cod, Viscaya Style) or Yuca Frita (Crispy Yuca Sticks). Still, the recipes look terrific, and Garcia's enlightening introduction will help orient home cooks to the various cultural influences on Cuban cuisine.