Hello Friends

its time for a Cuban Party......

Let's see what we can cook, drink and celebrate... Please contribute anything you like regarding Cuba or Cuban Cuisine... Or Holiday Memories.. Lyrics, Poems, Jokes .. What ever tickles you fancy

Enjoy

Twinkle

Cuban cuisine

is the result of the mixing of Spanish, aboriginal, African and Caribbean cuisines.

The aboriginal cuisine still remains among Cubans. Columbus and his sailors, for the first time tasted corn, cassava, peanuts, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, peppers, “yautía” (a kind of wild malanga) and other gifts of the flora, in Cuba. Here they ate hutia (a kind of rodent) and knew of new fruits such as custard apples, soursops, pineapples, star apples, mammees, anonas, icaco plums, guavas, cashews, etc. Part of the aboriginal people's legacy is the cassava bread and the “ajiaco”.

The Cuban Indians fished and hunted. There was a variety of fish and seafood in the lagoons and rivers and a climate where people didn't need to store food. Even if they had wanted to, the humidity and the heat worked against it for the stored grain was quickly spoiled.

The Spaniards, when they arrived, on top of using the sources of proteins they found here, brought and reared poultry, cattle, pigs and horses, all of which developed colossally well. Cuba became a livestock producing giant and, in a few years, pork was the meat of choice for the Cuban landlords who also obtained fat from it. To feed the Africans, yams, malangas, several kinds of bananas and plantains and the okra were acclimatized. Guinea fowls were also brought.

From Africa we got the yam, the malanga, the banana and plantain, the okra, the guinea fowl and dishes such as fufú (mashed plantains) and the tostones (green plantains smashed and twice-fried). From the African culture we also received our preference for white rice eaten with all the other foods, the fritters and the sauces.

The Spaniards from the south of the peninsula, that were usually the ones that came to the island during the first centuries of the colony, also liked fried food. Andalusia is an area were fried stuff is pervasive. The massive arrival of Spaniards of Catalonian culture reinforced the intake of rice.

The east of Spain is a rice area among the culinary regions of that country. The Cuban cuisine had as its foundation the broad and varied Spanish cuisine which is a summing up of regional cuisines. This is a common phenomenon in the Hispanic Caribbean.

The deep links among Caribbean lands are reflected on the existence in the whole area of recipes from different regions. In spite of the “congrí” or “moros y cristianos”(moors and christians) being so Cuban, the name “congrí” is originally from Haiti. There, the red kidney beans are called “kongo” and the rice “ri”. So the name comes from the Haitian Creole, meaning red kidney beans with rice. “Congrí” is not the same as moors and Christians as we usually call the rice cooked with black beans in Cuba.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the heavy Spanish immigration, now made up mostly of northern Spaniards, made the Cuban gastronomy and cuisine even more markedly Spanish. In the gastronomy, the Spaniards took up posts as cooks in restaurants and family homes. In the cuisine they introduced the chick-pea stew, the bean stew, the sausages ... The Cubans on their part began to take fat, chorizo sausages, bacon and cabbages out of the bean stew and the Galician bouillon. The Cuban bean soups ended up just being made with brisket, potatoes and a sauce.

The most characteristic feature of Cuban cuisine is this mixture where the tomato sauce with few sautéed spices or Cuban sauce stands over the rest of the ingredients. There is a Cuban way of cooking: natural, with very specific ingredients, scarce spices (among their pillars are the oregano and the cumin), that limits or banishes the use of pepper and other hot spices. The Cuban cooking way, that identifies its cuisine, is frying. The Cuban food is sweet; it has sauces or stews to let us soak the rice because we don't like dry meals and includes rice-based dishes.

Cuban Mojito

Directions
In a tall glass, squeeze the lime juice into the cup. Add the mint leaves and stir in while adding the sugar. With a pestle, smash the mint leaves to extract the flavor from the leaves. Add crushed ice (about half the glass), run, and club soda and stir well. Garnish with a mint sprig and enjoy!

Rum and Coke

Black Beans

Black beans are a staple to Cuban cooking, and its amazing in how many dishes it can be used. But it is used everyday. The following serves 6 as a side dish. It can also be thinned with chicken stock to make black bean soup, another common Cuban staple.

1 pound dried black beans
4 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
¼ pound salt pork, chopped
1 pound smoked ham hocks, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons paprika
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 bay leaves
4 cups chicken stock
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Place black beans and water in large stock pot. Cover and boil two minutes. Turn off heat and let stand covered for 1 hour.

Remove the lid and add the rest of the ingredients, except the vinegar, salt and pepper. There should be enough water to just cover the beans, so if necessary add a bit or water. Cover and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Take out the hocks and remove the bones. Return the meat to the pot. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper. Simmer long enough to heat the vinegar.

Pollo Con Quimbobó y Platanos
Chicken with Okra and Plantains

• 1 cup of chopped okra, fresh or defrosted
• 1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces (about 3 pounds)
• 2 tbsp of adobe seasoning or a mixture of the following:
• salt or MSG, black pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander
• vegetable oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 ½ cups of water
• 2 medium ripe plantains
• 2 medium tomatoes coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp of lime juice

Season chicken with adobe or the alternative. In a heavy cast iron skillet brown the chicken pieces in hot oil on all sides. Remove the chicken to a plate. In the remaining oil, stir fry the onion, garlic and bell pepper for about 2 or 3 minutes.

Cut the okra in 1 inch size pieces. Cut away the tips and caps if desired. Peel the plantain and cut into 1 inch pieces.

Place the chicken in a deep stewing pot. Add the water and all the other ingredients. Cover and simmer until the chicken is very tender, about 15 minutes

Serve with white rice.

Twinkle you found a subject,that we did not have before! How great! The chicken recipe sounds tasty.I love Okra and Plantains. I don't know anything about Cuban cooking.Time to learn.

I will be back,Renate

Hello Ladies :)

T&T for over 20 years,

BLACKENED CHICKEN

Yield:  6 - 4-5 oz. servings

Calories:  185

 6 Chicken steaks (boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 4-5 oz. each)

1 C. clarified butter, melted

1 1/2 T. Paprika

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp. cayenne powder

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp. thyme leaves

1/2 tsp oregano leaves

Pan fry:

Coat both sides of thawed chicken steaks with clarified butter.  Place on sheet pan, set aside.

Combine in shallow container all the seasonings.  Coat the chicken steaks in the seasongs.

Heat a heavy skillet until very hot, about 10-15 minutes.  Add enough butter to grease bottom of skillet.  Saute chicken steaks about 3-5 minutes on each side, adding clarified butter as necessary.

Lydia's note:  this is a spicy dish and is best served with mild sides.

Hello Renate and Lydia,

Lydia how are you doing - thanks for the T&T recipe - sounds wonderful!!

Yesterday i was at the school summer fest and i just wanted to bring my muffins and pretzles and such and two other moms dragged me to the coffee corner and we had a prosecco and cake and in the end i spend there all day  - but i twas so much fun and the weather was perfect till the end when i strat to rain. Anyway i tried some pretty great cakes but i got a sunburn as i didn't bring any lotion - something else that needs to be added to my heavy handbag -lol

Today i still have a sleepover guest from DS and later we might go the sunday fleamarket and to the lake for a swim...

Breakfast today is cherry muffins and jasmin tea

Cheers Alissa

Cuban Banana Rum Custard Tart recipe
courtesy of Cocina Cubana Club (please join) / Pascual Perez and chef Sonia Martinez

For the Cashew Pastry:

1 stick butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted cashews, finely chopped

Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer or by hand until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and continue beating. Mix in the flour and the cashews. The mixture will be soft and cannot be rolled out. Press the dough into the pie plate with your finger tips, keeping it as evenly distributed as possible. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place foil in the shell and fill it with dried beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes; remove the foil and beans and bake for 5 more minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the Custard:

2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons dark rum
4 bananas, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 orange, juiced

Beat the eggs and sugar until light and frothy. Mix in the flour and beat until smooth. Add the cream and rum. Pour into the partially baked crust and bake it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the custard is set. Remove and cool. Arrange the bananas on top, starting from the outside and working toward the center. Warm the preserves and orange juice, stirring until the preserves have melted. Strain and brush the tart with the hot glaze to protect the bananas from turning brown and to add a sheen to the tart.

Huevos Habaneros (Eggs Havana Style recipe)

Preheat oven to 350=B0. In a medium-size skillet over low heat, heat the oil until it is fragrant, then cook the onion, bell pepper, and garlic, stirring, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, pimientos, and sherry, cook until thickened, 15 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil 4 ramekins or au gratin dishes and divide the sauce among them. For each dish, break two eggs into a saucer, slide them on top of the tomato mixture, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon melted butter.

Bake until the whites are set and the yolks are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley, and serve immediately from the baking dishes. (Place each on a serving plate, to protect the table).

Hi Twinkle and Lydia! The Banana Tart looks delicious.Everybody might still celebrate the 4th of July???

I am packing.I hate it. I will be back later.===It is very cool here.wonderful!

I hope you all have a great Sunday!Renate

Fried Sweet Puffs

Rice Pudding