Feel Like You're in a Cuban Kitchen—Quick

Cuba! doesn’t get an exclamation in its title for nothing. This exploration of Cuban cuisine and its passionate, resilient people is exuberant and celebratory.

Dan Goldberg, an award-winning photographer, and Andrea Kuhn, an acclaimed prop stylist and art director, along with renowned food writer Jody Eddy, bring the best of Cuban food to home kitchens with more than 75 recipes, loads and loads of stunning photographs, and stories from the people they met during their travels throughout the country over the past five years.

Here’s what our community has to say about this 2017 Piglet Community Pick:

"Buy it: Make the food, read the stories, feel the emotion, enjoy the beautiful pictures." —Doreen Brown

"Buy the book for the beautiful photos, but then enjoy learning some of the traditional recipes that are absolutely delicious!" —Paula Berriz

"The recipes are great and the photography is like nothing I have ever seen in a cookbook." —Anja Bruehling

Reviewers felt that the photos added beauty and inspired you to cook, travel, and read. "This is such a gorgeous representation of the beauty of Cuba!," Paula Berriz said. "The photography is like nothing I have ever seen in a cookbook, said Anja Bruehling.

Doreen said the recipes are "not for beginner cooks. You need to know your way around the kitchen a little bit. Some of the recipes have loads of ingredients, so prep is really important, but they are easy to follow." She loved the Cuban Fried Chicken, which has lots of garlic, orange, lime, and spice.

Paula loved making the Congri, which, as the book puts it, "is more than the everyday black beans and rice; it represents the union of Spanish and African traditions that are...integral to the Cuban identity." One recipe that did give Paula trouble, though, where the Guava Hand Pies: "They turned out delicious but looked terrible. I'm going to have to make this a few times to perfect the amount of guava and cream cheese stuffed in these!"

And as for the narrative, Doreen put it like so: "I was mesmerized! I found myself reading it like a novel or a history book. I loved the narrative, the way it brought the Cuban people and way of life almost right into my home. I also felt transported to Cuba, a place I have always been curious about."

Some say the best testament to anything is if you want—have—to pass it along. Well, one reviewer has already given the book to six of her family and friends.

2017's roster of Piglet Community Picks were chosen by an open call to our community; the reviews you see here are from some of the folks who voted these books into the tournament. To see other Piglet Community Picks reviews, head here.