Rightfully the author dedicates this book to “Isabel”, the native of St. Kitts who always called herself proudly “A British Object.” She was an inspired cook, and many of the delicious dishes and thirst-quenching drinks that appears in this volume are of her concoction. All of them were perfected through the years by Mrs. Dooley from Isabel’s explanation of a “pich of dis and a lump of dat.”
Other recipes in the book are prized cookery secrets of the first families of Puerto Rico. Many of them were brought from Spain and have been handed down from mother to daughter for generations. Others are Puerto Rican dishes enriched by the blending of the knowledge of the Spanish Señoras and the native cooks.
It has been said that in lieu of a visit to another land, the preparation and eating of its foods can make its atmosphere one’s own. With this book, it is at least possible to go to Puerto Rico “the food way”; and many an otherwise dull day in the kitchen may be brightened through its use.
