My Big Fat Cuban Family: A Cuban-American Blog

Five. (A giveaway)

I sat down at my computer on October 1st, 2006 and wrote out my very first blog post with the title, "Life on the hyphen..." 

You're welcome to click over and read it. I lifted that post title from a book written by my friend, Gustavo Perez-Firmat, called Life on the Hyphen: The Cuban-American Way. In that book, he brilliantly describes how we Cubans "straddle" the hyphen between being Cuban and American. That so resounded with me that I was inspired to write about my everyday life here in The O.C. as a Cuban-American wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.

I've written about how I've homeschooled my kids, which is an odd proposition for someone with my history.

I often say that I'm 100% Cuban and 100% American. I'm quite proud of being a part of both of the cultures that have informed my life and personality and for the last five years, this blog.

I have been celebrating Cuban-American life here on this little corner of cyberspace for five years now. And I'm very proud of what I've created.

So, please, help me celebrate my Five Year Blogoversary. Five whole years, people! (I'm like Methuselah in the blogging world, but that's not important right now.)

I'm so grateful that I have had a place to share my stories and my kitchen and the cool stuff I get to do and the people who are so important to me. I'm humbled, too, by the constant and generous attention that you pay me.

I appreciate those of you who have been around since 2006 and have watched my children grow up on these pages. And I appreciate every member of my family who have been gracious enough to let me share their lives here. They are now used to having Mom pointing a camera at them and they're okay with seeing themselves in their fabulous goofiness. 

I am grateful to those of you who have just recently Googled a Cuban recipe and found yourselves here and have decided to continue coming back to visit. Please stay. My blog-casa is your blog-casa. ;-)

To celebrate this auspicious occasion, and as my way of saying thanks for reading my blog, I'm going to give away 5 (!) MBFCF items from my online shop, Cuba To GO! (because I can).

I'm giving away:

1) A MBFCF Mug:

2) A Cuban Spice Apron:

3) and 4)  Two people will win an autographed copy of My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Cookbook:

5) And last, but certainly not least, an autographed copy of my friend, Gustavo Perez-Firmat's lastest and absolutely delicious book, The Havana Habit:

 

I thought it only fitting, since he was my inspiration for this whole thing. Gracias, Gustavo!

So, by now you know the drill...

To enter the drawing for a chance to win the above mentioned uber-cool MBFCF stuff, please leave a comment on this post and answer one or all of the following questions:

• If you're a regular MBFCF reader, why do you keep coming back ? 
• Do you also live "on the hyphen?"
• Is it the recipes? 
• The stories?
• The giveaways?
• Or is it like a bad habit you picked up that you can't break? ;-)

I'll do a random drawing on Monday, October 3rd at 12 noon Pacific Time.  

Happy 5th Blogoversary to me! 

*throws confetti*

Rice. An in-depth look. (And a giveaway.)

In keeping with our Hispanic Heritage Month, I've decided to tackle a subject that's near and dear to us. It's something that we feel absolutely passionate about.

But we Cubans are passionate about so, so many things. (Well, everything, really....but that's not important right now.)

I know I shouldn't be surprised when the mildest topics bring up so many intense and varied opinions.

Today's seemingly innocuous topic is rice.

Much to my everlasting delight, my beautiful and enormously entertaining cousin, Yllien, takes on the topic of Hispanics and Asians and Rice and Rice Cookers and a poor mook named Osvaldo.

Please enjoy. (And get some popcorn. I'll wait.)

                                        

My friend, Ana Quincoces has an entire section in her cookbook ¡Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Cuisine about rice. She even shows you how to make it old-school in a pot on the stove. (Page 82.)

I, personally, use a rice cooker. Often. Next to my pressure cooker, it's the hardest working appliance in my kitchen and is in constant use.

So now, let's talk rice.

Today's giveaway is an autographed copy of Ana's cookbook, ¡Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Cuisine.

Of course, you know that the real reason you should have this book in your kitchen is because my recipe for My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Torrejas (made with guava and creme cheese, thankyouverymuch) can be found on page 204. *takes bow*

But I digress......

Rice.

To be entered in the drawing for the cookbook, please answer one or all of the following questions:

• Do you wash your rice?
• Do you use a rice cooker or are you an old-school pot-on-the-stove-topper?
• Isn't my cousin, Ylli adorable? ;-)

I'm guessing we have a lot of rice to talk about, so let's let this contest run through the weekend. Please share it with your friends. Ask them the questions on Facebook. You'll be surprised at how much emotion rice engenders.

I will pick a winner randomly from your comments on Sunday, September 25th at 5 pm.

So, rice.....your thoughts? 

Why I * heart* Amazon

My family and I are all voracious bibliophiles. 

Voracious.

Personally, I don't care either way if the book is the old-school paper kind or a good e-book. I love to read. Full stop.

I have been loving the free Kindle for iPad app because I can store dozens of books on my iPad and make notes and add highlights and do all the things I like to do when I'm reading a wonderfully informational or entertaining volume. 

But sadly, my iPad with its digital screen is all but impossible to read in full sunshine.

I spend a lot of time in full sunshine. And I'm just spoiled enough now that I resent carrying big, heavy books to the beach, but that's not important right now.

So, Eric got me an Amazon Kindle (with built in Wi-Fi, thankyouverymuch).

It has an honest-to-goodness-reads-like-real-paper display. And it has been my best and most reliable Beach Buddy all summer.

But somehow, this past week when we were cruising, I must have dropped it or something, because suddenly my beautiful I-swear-it's-just-like-real-pages-in-a-real-book Kindle began looking more like an Etch-a-Sketch.

*insert really sad face here*

So I called Amazon.com customer service and told them about my new Etch-a-Sketchy Kindle and the great sadness it has caused me and inquired as to how would I go about replacing it.

"We'll send out a new one today and you just mail back the damaged one."

What? They actually said this. *hand on heart*

This conversation took place on Tuesday morning.

My new Kindle arrived on Wednesday morning. Shut. UP.

That's what I call customer service!

So, I'm giving an unsolicited shout out to Amazon.com as a big, fat, Cuban GRACIAS. 

I'm taking extra good care of my new Kindle with its I-swear-it's-exactly-like-real-paper-no-glare screen.

Because now it looks like they're starting to keep score. ;-)

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Amazon. You so seriously ROCK! 

Do you have a Kindle? Do you love it as much as I love mine? Tell me.

The Help - And the winners are...

Thank you again for your willingness to share your stories. (And for letting me share mine!)

If you must know, my very favorite character, especially in the film, was Celia Foote. I loved how she totally disarmed Minny with her innocence - or was it ignorance?

And the winners of the giveaways are:

The Dreamworks The Help Gift Pack goes to:

A copy of the book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett goes to:

Congratulations to both of you!

Please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line and your snail mail address so that I can forward to Dreamworks and get this cool stuff out to you ASAP.

Thanks again to all of you who played with me. And seriously.....GO. SEE. THIS. FILM!

 

Sabor! Cookbook Winner

Thank you all for being so patient. I just got back from San Antonio last night and I have sooo much to tell you, but before I do that, I'd like to thank you for sharing your menus for your family celebrations. You gave me so many ideas! Check the comments section of the post entitled:

Happy 40th Birthday, Versailles! (An homage and a giveaway.)

The winner of Ana's beautiful (autographed!) cookbook, Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Cuisine is (drum roll, please)......

Congratulations, Karen! Please send me an email with HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line (so I don't accidentally delete you) with your snail mail address so I can get the cookbook out to you right away.

If you want a copy of Ana Quincoces’ amazing cookbook, you can find it on Amazon.com.

For the rest of you, don't give up! I have another awesome giveaway coming up next weekend, so stay tuned and as always, thanks for reading and playing with me. =D

Happy 40th Birthday, Versailles! (An homage and a giveaway.)

“I need a blurb from you about Versailles.”

This request came from my friend (the amazing Cuban chef and cookbook author) Ana Quincoces. She was working on a TOP SECRET project and thought I might have something to say about my favorite Cuban restaurant in Miami.

Me: “Tell me what you're doing, so I can put it in context.”

That's when she began to reveal that she was working on a.....(wait for it....) Versailles Cookbook! *insert heavenly choir here*

Me: “Seriously? What a cool project. I suppose I could give you a blurb. But if we're talking Versailles on Calle Ocho, I could do an entire homage without breaking a sweat, but that's not important right now.”

Versailles. It's usually the first place we visit when we arrive in Miami (Hello, Cuban food!) and the last place, too. (Pan con Bistec for the plane ride home.)

Versailles. The first item on our long list of Miami Rules.

Versailles. Of the iconic etched mirrors and the perfect cortadito.

Versailles. Always packed at any time of the night or day. Filled with the sounds of my people. Their loud and inimitable voices raised in conversation, argument, and laughter.

Versailles. The geographical epicenter of our exile.

Me: “I wrote a post about why I couldn't live in Miami and my lack of self-control when it comes to Cuban food in general and Versailles in particular.”

Me, quoting myself: “It's like the Cuban Mecca and I am a faithful pilgrim.”

The next thing I know, I'm being quoted in the Miami Herald in an article titled Versailles: 40 years serving food with a side of politics. (I know. Shut. UP.)

From the article:

“When no one knew who he was, Julio Iglesias used to come and sit here and eat,” Valls Sr. remembers.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush is still a regular, and “although I’m a Republican,” Valls Sr. notes, President Clinton has been here three times. Famous chefs like the Food Network’s Bobby Flay make Versailles a mandatory pitstop on visits to Miami.

“It’s like the Cuban Mecca and I am a faithful pilgrim,” says Californian Marta Darby, who writes the blog “My Big, Fat, Cuban Family.”

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/07/10/2306781_p2/40-years-serving-food-with-a-side.html#ixzz1RrVPxtbo

(emphasis mine)

I'd like to just point out right now that they mention me in the same section as the other famous people who have eaten there, but that's not important right now. ;-)

Ana: “I think we got your blurb.”

Then she went on to tell me that she's still working on the Versailles book and that they're having a big party at the Calle Ocho restaurant this week to celebrate and that they're hoping that....(wait for it....) Andy Garcia will write the forward.

• Thing 1) Out-of-my-skin excited to be included in this wonderful project.
• Thing 2) Andy Garcia and I might be published in the same book. (One degree closer, people.)
• Thing 3) Versailles is 40 years old.

I think we need to celebrate, don't you? I wish the Versailles book existed already and I had that to give away, but it has not been published yet, but I do have the next best thing:

An autographed copy of Ana's iconic Cuban Cookbook: Sabor! A Passion for Cuban Cuisine. (Thank, Ana!)

Of course, I'm especially proud of having My Big, Fat, Cuban Family Torrejas featured in this beautiful cookbook, but that's not important right now, either.

(Page 204 - 205, por si las moscas....)  =D

So, to enter this comment drawing, answer the following question:

• When you celebrate a special occasion, what's on the menu?

Remember that if you want to enter the drawing for the cookbook, you must leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Sunday, July 17th, 2011 at 5 pm Pacific.

Happy Birthday, Versailles!

Con muchisimo cariño,

Marta

Celebrating Abuela

I never knew my grandparents.

We left Cuba when I was so very young that I barely remember my grandmothers. I think my dad's parents had already passed away by the time I was born. And I have just the few mental snapshots that a five year old can retain of my mom's mother.

Here's a beautiful old photo of her, my maternal grandmother, Osmunda Perez-Puelles when she was pregnant with my Tio Fernando. (Incidentally, Tio Fernando will be turning 100 in Miami next week.)

The only abuela I have ever known is this woman in this 100 year old photograph.

My mom says that maybe that's why I have always loved old people. And it's true. I am very aware of the richness of life that most older people have to impart to us "youngsters." That attracts me tremendously.

I hope to be that wise old woman myself to my (as yet, unborn) grandchildren someday.

It's from this perspective of not really ever having had a grandmother in my life that I worked on this beautiful project for Tiki Tiki Blog.

It's a fabulous collection of stories by seven women who fondly remember their grandmothers and share their reminiscences.

Tiki Tiki readers submitted photos of their grandmothers and I am extremely proud to say that I designed this cover and created this E-book, Celebrating Abuela. (I know. Shut up. Get the sandpaper...)

Of course, I also added the photo of my mom, Luza (left-hand side of cover), because she is the Quintescential Cuban Grandmother.

Please download your free copy of this 40 page book by clicking this link: Download Celebrating Abuela with Tiki Tiki.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you from me and my big, fat, Cuban family and from my good friend, Carrie at Tiki Tiki Blog. She's completely genius when it comes to collecting and editing these wonderful stories. (My job is just to make it all look pretty, but that's not important right now.)

And to those of you who still have her with you, celebrate your abuela.

Besos! ~Marta

Sabor! Cuban Cookbook - A Hot Giveaway

My beautiful friend, Ana Quincoces, has authored an equally beautiful Cuban cookbook. (I say equally, only because the pages are filled with fabulous photos of both her and her food, and I can't think of which is more gorgeous, but that's not important right now.)

Just recently, Ana was voted Miami's Hottest Chef over on Eater Miami.

I know what you're thinking. And yes, she is even more lovely in person. She also happens to be an amazing woman and a good friend. So when this Hottest Chef contest began and Ana asked me, I was eager to help.

So I quickly jumped on Facebook and asked a thousand of my closest friends (=D) to please vote for her.

Ana easily won the competition in Miami and came in second in the Nationals. Felicidades, mi vida!

 

I'd like to think it was the "embullo" of all the voting MBFCF readers that secured her win. Either way, true to her word, she sent me some of her autographed cookbooks as a Thank You to give away here. I know! Generous, right?

Of course, for those of you that don't know, Our relationship goes back to the day she found My Big, Fat, Cuban Torrejas recipe and asked if she could include it in this very same cookbook. ("Claro que sí!")

Very cool, right?

For those of you who don't know torrejas, they are a Cuban version of stuffed French Toast. (I have a sudden craving for Guava and Creme Cheese....)

So, I have, not one, but two cookbooks to give away today. (Thanks, Ana!)

In order to enter the drawing for a chance to win this gorgeous Cuban cookbook, please leave a comment on this post answering the question below:

• If I was a chef, I would be famous for my _____________. (Fill in the blank.) Your answer can be a fantasy or an actuality, but please remember this is a family blog. 

Leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a winner on Thursday, March 3rd at 11:00 am Pacific Time.

Can you guess what my answer would be? =D

Also, if you're not already a fan of My Big, Fat, Cuban Family on Facebook, please click this link or the one up at the top right of this site and LIKE it. That way, you won't miss any of the relajo!

Cookbook Giveaway - Winner!

I've decided that what I love best about doing a giveaway, besides actually giving cool stuff away (duh) is reading your stories. Those tidbits of your lives that you share with me in the comments is like gold.

If you just leave a comment and run (thank you, for commenting!), that's fine. But if you have a moment, please go back and read the beautiful little slices of life that are shared in the comment section.

I love your reminiscences of sitting with your moms or grandmothers in the kitchen. I love your favorite cookbook memories: from bridal shower gifts (BFF) to mom's handwritten recipes (Wow, Angela G. - I seriously got teary eyed).

I am thinking I may have to start a feature here at MBFCF for you to share your stories. *puts on Thinking Cap*

I entered the number of comments in the True Random Number Generator at Random.org (allowing for those of you who commented twice or replied to someone in the comment section - you know who you are, but that's not important right now).

Congratulations to today's winner of the RED Betty Crocker Cookbook and Red logo Serving Spoon. 

**********************************************************

Maria Soto Robbins said...

Hey Marta...great giveaway, again!

Actually no one taught me to cook. :(

My mom was always too busy painting and my dad would do most of the cooking and so, I've taught myself how to do that (too!:). My go-to book is the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook from the 1990's which is falling apart! So I could really use this new one! Thanks

{{{Hugs}}}

Maria 

**********************************************************

 

Congratulations, Maria! You're going to love this cookbook!

Please shoot me an email with your snail mail address and HEY, MARTA! I WON STUFF ON YOUR BLOG! in the subject line and I will get your beautiful cookbook right out to you.

Thank you all again for your participation. If you didn't win today, please come back next week when I'll have some more really fun giveaways. 

And thank you for trusting me with your stories.

Besos! and Happy Friday!

The Chipper Chicken - A Recipe and A Giveaway

My mom taught us girls how to cook when we were very young.

During the summers, when my sisters and I were out of school, she devised a rotating system of teaching us Homemaking, the Cuban Way.

My older sisters were already married and gone, but the three of us younger ones, Miriam, Alina and myself still needed to be groomed to be Perfect Cuban Wives (or PCW).

I think our education began with the Making of the Perfect Cup of Cuban Espresso. From there we ventured on to Table Setting and Party Planning, with a minor in Clearing and Dishwashing. (<--I was never any good at this one, and I still haven't quite gotten the hang of it, but that's not important right now.)

The Meal Planning portion of our PCW Education consisted of pulling out all of the cookbooks in the house, finding two recipes that sounded good to us, making a list of ingredients, checking the cupboards for what we already had, and then adding what we needed to the weekly grocery shopping list.

Can you believe I still plan my weekly meals this way? (The whole Clearing and Dishwashing thing is still problematic for me, but again, that's not important right now.)

I always like trying new recipes and I love cookbooks. But every now and then, I remember that we girls made some pretty delicious meals during our Summers of Cuban Home Ec. And I still have a few of my mom's original cookbooks from back in the day. 

Exhibit A:

 

The publishing date on this beauty is 1962. Based on my love of All Things Betty these days, I decided to pull it out and see if one of our favorite recipes still held up. (I love old, grease-stained cookbooks. They make me happy somehow.)

 

It was called Chipper Chicken. It was a lot like the Oven-Fried Chicken (notice that they still used shortening unapologetically - I love that!) but it was made with crushed potato chips. (<--Brilliant!)

I made it a few times when my older kids were little and it was always a hit, so I thought I'd give it a shot in 2010, with a few personal revisions.

Chipper Chicken

• 2-3 lbs. chicken pieces
• 1 medium bag potato chips
• 1/4 cup butter (<--YES!!)
• 1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
• Coarse ground pepper

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Crush potato chips finely.  (I put them into a ziplock and just crush with my hands.)

3. Melt butter in frying pan and add the garlic powder. (The garlic salt that it originally called for made the thing too crazy-salty.)

4. Pass the chicken pieces through the seasoned butter, then in the crushed chips.

5. Place chicken in oblong baking pan.

6. Bake for just over an hour or until potato chips are golden and juices run clear.

Ta-da! The Chipper Chicken is just as delicious as I remembered. (Umm....yeah....butter and potato chips. Hello?!!)

 

I have a few more Betty Crocker cookbooks that I've collected through the years. (I think it's those eye-catchingly RED covers that get me every time.)

So, today, I'll be giving away one of Betty Crocker's newest (and elaborately detailed) cookbooks along with a beautiful RED logo serving spoon: (I confess that I loved this book so much that I was tempted to keep it, but happily for you, I'm a giver. *sigh*)

 

To be entered in the drawing for the cookbook & spoon, just answer one or all of the following questions in the comment section of this post:

• Who taught you to cook?
• Do you have a favorite "go to" cookbook or recipe?
  

I'll choose a winner on Friday, September 10th at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.

[Disclosure: General Mills provided this cool stuff because I asked to do these giveaways. They've asked nothing in return. It is my pleasure to write about this stuff because I genuinely want to. Thanks, General Mills, for your generosity!

*And a reminder, if you haven't already voted, please vote for My Big, Fat, Cuban Family for Best Personal and Family Blog in the Just Spotted 2010 Orange County Blog Awards. Here's the link. Please vote before Sunday, September 12th at 11:59 pm, because after that, the “polls” will be closed* Thank you!