Born and raised in Costa Rica, Will Jose Solano still finds himself cooking more American dishes than any. Solano came to Georgia at the age of 22 to stay with his sister. “She was here with no family around,” said Solano. He thought it would be a good opportunity to learn English and return home to study tourism.

“There was a large market for that in Costa Rica at the time,” shared Solano, “and although I missed my family and friends, I knew I would have a better life if I stayed here.” Now, Solano is happily married to his wife, Celeste, and has two step-children that he cares for as his own.

Solano admitted that he learned to cook from his mom and from necessity. “Mom taught us to cook so we could be independent,” shared Solano. “She was always working so after we came home from school we either had to cook for ourselves or wait until she got home late.” Solano said that rice was an important staple. “If you knew how to cook rice, you would never starve,” he shared. Solano explained different ways to modify the food to make different meals. “The more you cooked, the fancier it would get.”

When asked what his favorite dish to make was, Solano replied with chicken alfredo. Shortly after, his step-daughter, Olivia, piped in that she loved his macaroni and cheese and that he also enjoyed making rice.

Solano works two jobs and finds it difficult to find the time to cook as much as he would like. He is employed at Yanmar in Adairsville is also an employee of Radio Shack in Calhoun. “I cook most of the time but on the days that I’m working both jobs, Celeste will bring home take-out.”

In what little free time that he has, Solano enjoys spending quality time with his family.

Today, Solano is sharing his recipes for Gallo Pinto (a Costa Rican dish) and his favorite way to prepare Chicken Alfredo

Gallo Pinto

Ingredients:

2 cans black beans

4 cups rice

1 small onion (chopped)

Butter

Cilantro (to taste)

Lizano Salsa (to taste)

Cook rice and beans as directed. Set aside. Sautee onions in butter. Mix all ingredients together and cook until heated through.

Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

2 jars Bertolli creamy alfredo

½ container fettuccine noodles

½ container angel hair pasta

1 large onion (cut into quarter pieces)

Tablespoon seasoned salt

In a large pot, boil both styles of noodles until cooked. Once noodles are soft, spray with cold water to

prevent sogginess. In another pan, sauté chicken with onion quarters and seasoned salt. When cooked

thoroughly, set aside to cool. Add alfredo sauce to noodles. Use milk to rinse out the excess in the jars

and to make pasta creamier. Cut the chicken to preference and add to noodles. Cook to boil, stirring

occasionally.