Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Cuba’ Category

May 27

6 Comments

Casting Mojitos

There are so many stories around the mojito but the one I hope is true is that its name comes from the African word for “mojo” or casting spells. This makes perfect sense because, as a friend pointed out, mojitos make everyone happy. Assuming all other conditions are equal and in moderation, a strong mixed drink can make someone pensive or low key, exhilerated or stupefied, wild or reckless, but a mojito – happy. It’s even hard to think of a mojito without smiling, it’s a charming little cocktail. Read more

Apr 1

2 Comments

Catching Up in March

March has been such a whirl that I made it all the way to April before I could stop and catch my breath. It started well with my first contribution to the Cooking Channel’s Devour the Blog  and it was great to see so many of you making the jump. A new post on stocking my Latin pantry went up yesterday with more to follow. I laid my cupboard bare (well I straightened it up first) so I hope you’ll visit the site again and let us know what’s in yours.  I also wrote a piece about Latin American staples - Running with the Grains -  for Marcus Samuelsson‘s Food Republic that combines two favorite obsessions – seeking out new ingredients and running till I just can’t anymore.  A new site covering everyone from Junot Diaz to Michelle Bernstein (who also helps spices up school lunches here), I was thrilled to be a part of their launch this week. Read more

Mar 8

2 Comments

Tarte Tentación

I was very excited to see my post up on the Cooking Channel‘s Devour the Blog yesterday.  I’ll be contributing regularly over the next few months and hope you will make the jump with me.  It was my first visit, so I gave a lot of thought about what to bring before deciding on a pastelón de platano maduro.  It had been awhile since I’d made one and I was dying to update one of my favorites, especially since I’d discovered recao and ajicitos tucked in between the parsley and peppers at the grocery store.  Once it was baked, photographed and eaten, my mind went to the plantain recipes I hadn’t tried.  I’d made tostones on the fly, mariquitas when I was feeling restless, and tortilla de platanos maduros just because.  With a bowl full of plantains that were just past ripe, it was time for dessert.  Read more

Feb 14

18 Comments

Guava Cheesecake

I’m susceptible to most holidays but if there was a Valentine’s Day Scrooge, I’d completely support his life choices.  Moreover, if the Grinch stole hearts instead of toys, I could really get behind him.  Forced gaiety I can handle but forced hearts and flowers can be pretty tough to take (plus you might get caught).  Maybe it’s that my own birthday falls a week before (a personal new year’s eve with the requisite highs and lows) or the wear down of a freezing winter, but I felt little need to acknowledge the day and was resisting all cheerful attempts to make a plan, make a reservation, make something happen. Read more

Feb 12

5 Comments

Arroz Blanco

Brought to the table in perfectly rounded mounds with an order of black beans, served in heavy chafing dishes on buffet tables, or ladled out of giant cookers from the kitchen counter, white rice hides in plain sight.  Though a staple throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, white rice specifically anchors every Cuban meal.  Its primacy partly due to large waves of Chinese immigration,  I can’t imagine a better blank slate for beans, shredded beef stews, picadillos and plantains.  I probably end almost every post with the words “serve over fluffy white rice” but had yet to include a recipe.  When my sister texted me to find out how to make it.  Rushed and reluctant to text back, I wondered why she didn’t just look it up here, then I checked and realized it wasn’t on my site.  Oops. Read more

Jan 20

12 Comments

Panquecitos de Narajna

If my posts have been Miami-centric lately it’s because two weeks at home leaves a lot to unpack.  I had one more Miami-inspired recipe I wanted to try and I finally got around to it over the long weekend.  Since I’ve started this blog, I’ve slowly become less dependent on my trips home for Cuban food.  Though I miss the fresh tropical produce and stock up on cans of cascos de guayaba, Brazilian condensed milk and Café Llave when I visit, there is very little (and increasingly less) that I can’t find locally.  The restaurants that I loved are long gone or not quite how I remember them though I keep going back — nostalgia adding its own flavor.  I promise myself I’ll seek out new spots but fall short and mostly play catch-up from the moment I land. Read more

Jan 13

3 Comments

New Routine

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks under water.  Not that I’ve been unusually busy, I’ve just returned to my aqua girl routines in hopes of washing away the holiday excess – drinking water like it’s my job, swimming laps like I’m being chased by a shark, and looking to add more fish to my weekly diet.  Cooking fish has always made me nervous.  At best, I worry that I’ll let it go too long and over cook it, at worst, that I’ll poison everyone I love in one fell swoop.  I usually stick to the sushi grade varieties in the belief that if I’d just as soon eat it raw, there isn’t anything I can do to make it deadly.  Still, no one likes a rut and the guys at the fish store automatically move towards the salmon before I’ve even placed my order.  Sometimes I’ll change it to tuna or trout just to keep them guessing but I’m pretty sure it’s daring only to me.  After a few weeks of seeing pargo (snapper) on every Cuban restaurant menu in Miami, I thought it was time switch things up again. Read more

Jan 5

4 Comments

Mousse de Turrón

I’m not devoutly superstitious so I have no problem picking and choosing which New Year’s traditions to follow.  While 12 grapes at midnight are non-negotiable anywhere Spanish is spoken, for the rest of Latin America it’s pretty much an open field.  I’ve written wishes for the coming months (Venezuela) then throw them in the fire so no one could steal them.  Unfortunately, I forgot what I’d written before the paper had turned to ash, leaving me with unstarted resolutions.  If I lived in Honduras, I’d make an “Año Viejo” doll stuffed with fireworks to set off at midnight if I didn’t find effigies and fireworks equally frightening.  I’ve never thrown a bucket of water out of my window to rid myself of evil spirits (Puerto Rico), but a water pipe bursting a few years ago started off one of my favorite New Year’s nights and great year.  A Peruvian friend suggested I wander around the block with a suitcase if I wanted to travel in 2011, but I’ve had enough of packing bags and getting nowhere in the last few days.  Fortunately, everyone seems to be in agreement on an underwear color scheme for the occassion (red=love, green=money, yellow=luck, white=health).  I don’t know if it works, but at the very least it forces you to get your priorities straight before midnight. Read more

Dec 3

8 Comments

Tortilla de Papas y Chorizo

I love the holidays but so much joy can be exhausting.  The things I normally love doing – seeing friends, decking the halls, shopping, traveling – become stressful when done for 31+ consecutive days.  I miss my kitchen and get in a panic about getting home too early to sleep and too late to cook.  Faced with the prospect of nighttime pop tarts (organic maybe but still) and cold bowls of cereal, I opted for tortilla de papas instead. Read more

Oct 10

5 Comments

Pudín de Manzana

My grandmother used to say that there were always apples in Cuba.  I’m not sure what she meant but it was an argument-ender.  I thought of her when I came across an old Cuban recipe from the 1930s for apple pudding made with Bacardi rum.  Though apples aren’t native to the island, rum most definitely is.  I waited a few months to try it because, while we do always have apples in New York, I don’t always want them.  Out of season, they’re mostly texture and water.  Now that the markets are in full fall swing, I decided it was a good alternative to the pies and tarts I’ll be making once the holidays start.  Somewhere between a fallen souffle and bread pudding, I served it with lightly whipped cream though next time I might drizzle it with a caramel or rum sauce (for a little more authenticity). Read more

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 710 other followers