I have a love/hate relationship with the digital age we live in.
I kind of hate that unless your phone is turned completely off anyone can find you at any time. For the record, I never, ever turn my phone off. Not while I have kids out in the world, which is most all the time, but that's not important right now.
But I love when friends send me photos and we can share exactly what we're doing at any given time. It's the modern-day "thinking of you" greeting card.
In December, Lucy and I made vats and vats of Cuban eggnog, or Creme de Vie. I packaged it in the best, most beautiful bottles I could find and made custom tags to attach to them.
We delivered the local ones and I sent them out to friends that don't live in our immediate area code, too.
In this modern age, the "thank you" usually comes electronically (and I'm absolutely fine with that) and many times the gratitude comes with a photo.
Like this one, with the note that read:
"Thank you for the yummy treat and the beautiful bottle too! xoxo"
That's my dear friend, Desi Arnaz Jr. (be still my foolish heart!) sipping some of my famous Creme de Vie. *sigh*
I am waiting (a little impatiently) for my fabulous new kitchen appliances to be delivered. I think we're still about a week out from that. You would think I'd be totally content now since I'm getting all new appliances, but you know how it is, suddenly everything starts looking like it needs upgrading or replacing. *sigh*
There is, however, one item in my kitchen that still makes me completely happy and that is my IMUSA USAOrange(!) caldero. I use it constantly and am always looking for new recipes to make in it.
Arroz con pollo. Carne con papas. Sopa de pollo. All made in my beautiful Orange(!) caldero. I am starting to think it has magical properties because everything I've made in it tastes amazing. I have to add that I also go ahead and put the Orange(!) caldero straight on the table, not because I'm lazy (shut up. I'm not!), but because it's so seriously beautiful.
Doesn't that just make you want this beautiful Orange(!) caldero to cook something fabulous in?
Here's your chance.
My friends over at IMUSA USA have graciously partnered with MBFCF to host this giveaway for a beautiful Orange(!) caldero.
Oooh! Yes, please!
Usually, I would only ask you to leave a comment to enter the drawing for the giveaway item, but I want to give you each a couple of chances, so....
1) To enter this drawing, please leave a comment on this post and answer the following question:
What favorite recipe of yours will taste fabulous when made in this beautiful Orange(!) caldero?
2) For an extra entry, please go "like" IMUSA USA on Facebook and come back and leave me another comment telling me:
"I like IMUSA USA!"
So that's not one, but two entries apiece. Yes, I'm generous like that, but that's not important right now.
Remember that if you want to enter the drawing for this beautiful Orange(!) caldero, you must leave a comment (plus the 2nd comment if you do the Facebook liking thing) on this post and I'll choose a winner on Monday, January 16th 2011 at 8 PST.
This fabulous Orange(!) caldero is also available at all Macy's stores.
{Disclaimer: IMUSA USA very generously sent me that beautiful Orange(!) caldero for my own use and to review the product and also offered one as a giveaway for one lucky MBFCF reader. The opinion that it is fabulous is my own.}
Thanksgiving with my big, fat, Cuban family is usually a very typical American feast. But because my family has so many amazing cooks, we're often trying new recipes and sometimes we like to put a spin on some old classics.
Our turkeys have run the gamut from deep-fried to classically oven-baked to (my favorite) the Guavalicious Bird.
This final challenge from Mizkan® and Holland House® was to make something original as a Thanksgiving side dish. So I started mentally listing the side dishes we usually enjoy with our Thanksgiving turkey:
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
Cranberries
Corn
And as much as I love these foods and the lovely blending of these flavors with the turkey, I sometimes crave the familiar. By that I mean something that starts with a sofrito, of course.
So I opted to take a traditional Thanksgiving side dish (corn) and added a Cuban spin to it. (Because I can.)
That's right. This year, our Thanksgiving table will be graced by a big, fat, pot of Arroz con Maiz (that's Rice with Corn for those of you who dimly remember Spanish 101).
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Be careful not to brown them.
Add the tomato sauce and bay leaves, cook for 5 minutes.
Add the rice and stir well.
Add the Goya seasoning, Holland House® White Cooking Wine with Lemon Flavor (I'm so hooked on this. It has quickly become a favorite around here, but that's not important right now) and stock, stirring to combine.
Reduce the heat to low, add the corn and fluff the rice with a fork.
Cover the pan and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and fluffy.
Taste the rice, adding salt & pepper to taste.
Buen Provecho and Happy Thanksgiving!
But, wait....there's more....
Holland House Holiday Sweepstakes
It’s all about Happy Holland Days and “merry in the making.” Holland House is a staple for holiday cooking to help families enhance meals during a traditionally busy time. Enter the sweepstakes: one lucky winner takes a $500 grand prize, plus the chance to have an expert blogger help them plan their holiday meal. Ends 12/17/11.
{Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to promote Mizkan cooking wines, vinegars and marinades. I also received samples of Mizkan’s Holland House, Nakano and World Harbor brand products and promotional material from Mizkan to assist in preparing the posts. All opinions and recipes in this series are my very own.}
When I share the story of how wonderful it was to be able to serve our very brave troops in this small way, people often express that they would love to do something to help.
This video explains exactly what CWtT.org is all about. (At the 4:02 mark, you may recognize this Cuban blogger talking about the importance of food and family, but that's not important right now.)
I speak for myself and my family when I tell you that not only was it a privilege to provide a Cuban home-cooked meal for our warriors, it was one of the best and most fun experiences I've ever had in my life. (No exaggeration.)
If you're serious about wanting to help, here's your chance to give back just a little to those who have risked their lives for the very freedoms we enjoy and for the most part, take for granted.
Cooking With the Troops is all about providing comfort to our recovering warriors and you can help support them by making a contribution to their wonderful organization. Please consider giving. Every little bit helps.
As a Cuban refugee whose family came to America with nothing but what we could carry, I'm especially grateful. Today, I proudly salute all of this nation's veterans during times of peace and of war. You, who have served and bled and died for my freedom. I don't take this lightly. Thank you for your sacrifices.
As you know, I've been privileged to take part in a series of Cooking Challenges by Mizkan® along with several other Latina bloggers. You can find my other challenge recipes (& videos!) here, here, and here.
This week's challenge is My Favorite Light Recipe. It was kind of fun to take a recipe that I usually make with a heavy sauce and switch it up a bit and make it both lighter and delicious.
Growing up Cuban meant growing up not eating vegetables. (There I said it.)
I rarely remember salads on the table, except for a rare special occasion. There was not much greenery to be had except for as garnish in stews and fricasés.
Of course, we had our black beans and rice - almost every night, as I recall. And we ate root vegetables often, (Hello, yuca con mojo!) but as far as green vegetables went, they were only rarely served, and then it was with some fabulous, but heavy, sauce, but that's not important right now.
Fast forward to now.
My family is used to me cooking traditional Cuban food all the time. But they’ve also grown accustomed to having a mixture of fresh vegetables. They love brussels sprouts, artichokes, and asparagus. Stuff that I grew up thinking only came frozen or in a can.
Growing up in America meant changing things up. Let me just say that we Cubans are no slouches in the kitchen and we’re quick learners. And I’m very proud of the fact that I can make a pretty mean hollandaise sauce thankyouverymuch. *takes bow*
But as delicious as the original hollandaise is, with its creamy eggs, dijon and butter, it’s a bit heavy when served regularly in the context of our everyday meals.
I’m happy to say that I have found a wonderful alternative to the Heavy (but fabulous!) Hollandaise sauce without sacrificing flavor.
Watch this:
My Favorite Light Recipe: Pan Roasted Asparagus with Red Wine Vinegar
There you have it. This is My Favorite Light Recipe and a happily light alternative to heavy sauces for vegetables.
And for all you Cubans who are reading this (and you know who you are) eat your vegetables! ;-)
Buen Provecho!
{Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to promote Mizkan cooking wines, vinegars and marinades. I also received samples of Mizkan’s Holland House, Nakano and World Harbor brand products and promotional material from Mizkan to assist in preparing the posts. All opinions and recipes in this series are my very own.}
This is one of those geeky things that has gotten stuck in my brain and screams to be celebrated.
Like Hobbit Day, which we always celebrate elaborately. Or like Pi Day, which also happens to be Albert Einstein's birthday. Or even Star Wars Day ("May the 4th be with you!" - get it?), but that's not important right now.
It's probably a homeschool thing. We're Uber-geeks, aren't we? I know. Shut up.
But today is slightly different. Today, September 29th, is National Coffee Day. (Let's have a moment of reverential silence, please.)
And being Cuban-coffee-loving-uber-geeks, we celebrate this particular holiday with great devotion. In fact, we pretty much celebrate coffee, not just yearly, but much more on a daily-possibly-even-hourly basis.
Of course, we love our first-cup-in-the-morning black coffee, or café con leche, or sweet espresso, or even a wake-me-up-please latte.
But around 2:00 pm, there's that slump. You know what I'm talking about.That boy-am-I-tired-how-will-I-get-through-the-rest-of-my-day feeling. And the answer to that (at least around here) is....
It's “taka taka” time!
Taka taka is the sound of the spoon in the cup stirring the espresso and sugar into Killer Espuma®.
For us Cubans, it's the highlight of our mornings and afternoons and evenings and around here, we dance and sing when it's taka taka time ...
My daughter, Amy Kikita is the reigning Queen of the Taka Taka. She's the one who makes the best cafecito in our household. In fact, she takes coffee making to another entire level.
Let me illustrate:
So, today, in honor of National Coffee Day, I'd like to do a coffee related giveaway.
What better brand of coffee for a Hispanic Heritage Month National Coffee Day Coffee Giveaway, than our very own Cuban go-to brand? Bustelo, of course.
And no, the Bustelo people are not sponsoring this giveaway. (I wish!) This is my very own personal I-love-MBFCF-readers-because-you-are-all-so-fabulous giveaway. You're welcome.)
I'm giving away a 10 oz. can of this beautiful Bustelo Supreme Espresso by Bustelo:
and ...
a 1.75 oz. jar of Café Bustelo Instant Coffee:
and ...
A this set of six beautiful (Fiesta colors, people!) espresso cups:
My son, Adam, gave me this very same set and I love these tacitas so much I want to marry them. (Sorry, Eric.)
So.....let's have some Coffee Talk.
I'll be giving away all THREE items to one lucky winner.
To be entered in this fabulous National Coffee Day Giveaway, please answer one or all of the following questions:
Do you have a mid-afternoon coffee, latte, cappucino, decaf or regular?
Do you make it yourself, or does someone else make it for you?
Do you “taka taka”? ;-)
I will pick a winner randomly from your comments on Friday, September 30th at 7 pm.
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.
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.
As you know, I've recently been participating in Mizkan's™ Cooking Challenges. See here and here.
To kick off Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 through October 15), we were asked to share a recipe from our country, or "Receta de Mi Pais."
For this challenge, I chose to enter one of my family's favorites, Fricasé de Pollo.
The Original Story* about the Fricasé de Pollo goes like this:
The first time my husband (then boyfriend) was to meet my big, fat, Cuban family, my mom made what we would consider a regular (albeit wonderful!) Cuban meal.
I spent days and hours preparing Eric for the meet and greet. I explained our customs, our politics, what topics were allowed and what NOT to bring up. I could have written a complete guide to meeting the Cuban girlfriend’s parents.
In fact, I still may. I think I’ll call it - “Huat to Especk if Ju Don’ Espik Espanish.”
I coached him on what to say to my dad. I told him how he was expected to treat my mom. I told him our island history and my family history. I told him the number and names of all my siblings and their offspring.
I explained that if all else failed, to just nod and smile. I thought I had told him everything he needed to know. For the dinner, my mom made a typical Fricasé de Pollo.
So it surprised me, after he passed the Cuban Family Review (with flying colors, of course), when he said:
“You didn’t tell me your mom was an amazing gourmet cook.”
Make the sofrito by sautéing the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the onion is translucent.
Season the chicken pieces with cumin and garlic powder.
Add chicken back into the slow cooker or pressure cooker along with the rest of the ingredients.
In the slow cooker - cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5.
In the pressure cooker - cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
Serve over white rice.
Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to promote Mizkan cooking wines, vinegars and marinades. I also received samples of Mizkan’s Holland House, Nakano and World Harbor brand products and promotional material from Mizkan to assist in preparing the posts. All opinions and recipes in this series are my very own.
* Bitter Orange Juice (Naranja Agria) Recipe
If you can’t get bitter orange juice in your area, it is just as easy to make your own:
2 parts orange juice
1 part lemon juice
1 part lime juice (I love using the little key limes for the taste.)
This is an ever-so-Cuban marinade for chicken and pork.
By the way, have I told you how much I love my digital pressure cooker? I do. I love it. ;-)
We usually take this week off to celebrate our anniversary and Lucy's birthday (that's tomorrow) and we spend a wonderful week laying around doing nothing but eating and surfing and sunset-watching and eating some more.
It just so happens that this week I was due to participate in another Cooking Challenge. This time it was a Sabroso Grilling Challenge using one of the various World Harbors® marinades.
I chose the Mexican Style Fajita Marinade.
We're in San Diego this week and we're so close to Mexico that I was kind of inspired. My plan was to marinate some chicken breasts and grill them up and do something fun and different, but... the grill at our beach house is broken. *insert sad face here* What to do?
I did what any good Cuban would do. Time to RESOLVER!
And so I ended up making some Sizzling Fajitas and they turned out so much better than what I originally had planned (but that's not important right now). =D
Buen Provecho!
Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored series to promote Mizkan cooking wines, vinegars and marinades. I also received samples of Mizkan’s Holland House, Nakano and World Harbor brand products and promotional material from Mizkan to assist in preparing the posts. All opinions and recipes in this series are my very own.
Marta here. It's summer and the Orange County Fair is in full swing here in our little corner of the world. My Lucy went with her friends, her camera, and her appetite. What follows is her account of the crap unfortunate food choices available to her.
CAUTION: Not for the squeamish.
- - -
I’ve tasted regret. And it’s covered in powdered sugar.
Hello. My name is Lucy. And this is my story.
After passing through the ticket booth and tripping into the noisy, musical, aromatic world that is the OC Fair, good judgement snuggles onto the warm back burner of my brain.
The options are overwhelming. The proposals are intriguing. The smells are bewitching.
I’m speaking, of course, of the food. The battered, sugar-coated, chocolate-covered, chocolate-filled, crunchy, greasy, untidy, confusing food. Forget the cotton candy and the snow cones! The grossest, most unappetizing crap delicacies become the very thing my life was missing. Until this moment.
Quite frankly, I’d like to know at what point in the evolution of Fair Cuisine did the word “deep-fried” become the saving grace of… everything. Twinkies. Oreos. Brownies. Klondike bars. Avocados. Frogs legs.
Befuddlement is a good word. My friends and I stood in front of the billboards, blinking slowly and reading off the options. We soon accepted that the question "...but why?" would never be answered.
To make sense of the billboards, I tried to categorize. The Favorites and The Classics fit in nicely with The Must-Haves (ice cream cones, funnel cakes, giant turkey legs… you know, healthy stuff.) while The Curiosities teetered on the edge of I-Would-Never-Eat-This-Anywhere-Else and I-Just-Don’t-Care-Anymore.
Before they could say “You’ve got something on your lip,” I’ve just bought ten minutes of quality time with a deep-fried Snickers bar.
You see, this is a place where bacon takes a magical journey and ends up frozen, covered in chocolate, and tossed into a little white box. With a side of deep-fried butter (which is topped with generous portions of whipped cream), they had the nerve to call it the “Coronary Combo.” And I ate it. With some help.
Real friends will eat the rest of the crap food that your own heart can't handle.
We traipsed and we took pictures and I tried to “walk it off.” Then someone suggested ice cream. Which turned into a frozen banana covered in chocolate and peanuts. A subtle transformation, really. Some people just never know when to quit (ahem).
A long day made even longer by good company, good memories,“good” food... and then we saw it.
Have you ever found yourself staring at something, trying to understand what you’re witnessing... but your brain refuses to translate the information into something reasonable?
