Calendar of Events
Note: Meetings are usually held on the second Sunday of each month, September through May, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Currently we are meeting via Zoom, but in-person meetings are held at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland, and occasionally at other venues. The meetings are open to anyone. However, certain meetings may require a fee.
- This event has passed.
Latinísimo: Home Recipes from the Twenty-One Countries of Latin America
March 10, 2024 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Speaker: Sandra Gutierrez
Cary, North Carolina
BIO
In a career that spans more than two decades, Sandra A. Gutierrez, a journalist, author, food historian, and professional cooking
instructor, has taught thousands how to cook. Born in the U.S., this bilingual, award-winning journalist and author of five cookbooks is considered one of the top national experts on Latin American Foodways and on U. S. Southern Regional cuisine.
She is the former food editor of The Cary News. Sandra has created over 3,000 original recipes and had over 1500 articles published worldwide. Her books have won her special recognition from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, among others.
Sandra is a frequent speaker at conferences, universities, and literary festivals and has appeared on numerous television shows. Sandra is a founding member of the North Carolina Chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier.
A frequent judge for major food writing awards, Sandra was awarded the 2017 M.F.K Fisher Grand Prize Award for Excellence in Food Writing. Sandra’s work and life story were featured in the Exhibit Gateways/Portales at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum from 2016-2019. In 2019 her work and culinary objects became part of the permanent FOOD exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. On September 15, 2021, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Sandra was honored by the Smithsonian Institute as a “Woman to Know” and one of seven “Latinas who shaped American culture.”
TALK DESCRIPTION
Do you really know Latin American foodways? Sandra writes that “Latin America is like a big house. The front door is Mexican cuisine and it welcomes cooks with familiar dishes like enchiladas, moles, tacos, etc. Yes, Mexican food is great. I love it too. I really do, and I cook it often.
However, open the door, and ah…! There are twenty other kitchens inside that house. Each one is different from the rest, and each one is as delicious as the next. Join me as we walk through the threshold of the virtual Pan-Latin hearth, through the entryway via Mexican food, through the pantries of Central and South America, and into the kitchens of the Latin Caribbean. Let me guide you as you discover new everyday dishes you will love.”
Learn why modern-day Latin Americans eat what they eat today, how the Columbian exchange began a gastronomic tsunami that is still ongoing today, how world- immigrants shaped the cuisine of 21 countries at the same time that they were making changes to North American cuisine. After this talk, you should be able to dispel the stereotypes that tie Latin food into a knot, and able to do so deliciously.