So, I made a big ol' batch of my favorite picadillo over the weekend.
Seriously. A lot. (And white rice and black beans and plantains, too…but that's not important right now.)
We had our neighbors and friends, and of course, my mom coming for dinner and I generally don't exactly follow my own recipe per se, I just kind of make it "by ear." (De oido.)
So, I 'm just grabbing an onion here and a bell pepper there and and dicing and crushing garlic and pulling stuff out of my cupboards that I normally put in picadillo and I always keep on hand, like tomato sauce and tomato paste and white cooking wine…
Actually, it was at the "white cooking wine" part that I ran into some trouble…
There were two bottles in the cupboard and they looked like this…
I grabbed the one on the left and poured a little (well, okay…a lot…) into my picadillo.
It was the smell that gave it away. (Oops!)
So, I added some pimentón to the picadillo (to try and mask the pungent smell of rum! I know. Shut up.) and then some of the white cooking wine, which I should have added in the first place and then I was sort of adding things willy-nilly to this dish that was quickly devolving from picadillo to everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-adillo.
The good news is that it turned out pretty good. Pretty great, actually. I think I pretty much added enough stuff to mask the rum and I think I may be adding the pimentón to picadillo again in the future. =D
The bad news is that Jonathan loved this new version of picadillo so much that he had thirds…
Does this make me a bad mother? Or a really good cook? 😉
"But why is the rum gone?" ~ Captain Jack Sparrow
There was picadillo?!?!
Picadillo is one of my favorite Cuban dishes. Anytime I try a new Cuban restaurant, I order Picadillo. It’s a litmus test for me. If the restaurant blows it, I ban it … I know, pretty harsh, but if they can’t do that simple dish right, most likely they can’t do other more complex dishes right.
George,You are BRAVE! I never even attempt to order Picadillo or Arroz con Pollo in any restaurant. I just don’t have that kind of faith. =D
I agree with George, I do the exact same thing with the Picadillo AND the Arroz con Pollo. But, I always tell my husband, “Babe, remind me that it’s here where I don’t like the Picadillo.” We always laugh because we can’t remember where it is that I don’t like it. I need to write it down and keep it in my purse.I’m sure your picadillo was to die for. Wish I could have sample a little. 😉
oh, that’s funny…drunk from Picadillo! LOL
Marta: I know you like to be authentic but cooking wine has a lot of sodium. I can never figure out why anyone would use cooking wine when regular good wine (especially in California!) is much better has no sodium.
Because it adds AMAZING flavor. (probably because of all the sodium…)Cuban food never quite tastes authentic enough for me when I’ve tried a regular white California wine – but I totally use it when I’m in a pinch. =D
I looooove Picadillo, it’s the kind of thing I can eat endlessly. Mine however is quite different from yours, *sigh* the five Cuban rule again!Anyway, I would’ve panicked and not know what to do! Contrary to George I never order Picadillo anywhere if only b/c my family recipe is sooooooooo different. Just like I rarely ever order Black Beans.
Marta if you ever are back in Miami, there is this restaurant around 117th avenue SW and Bird Rd. called Mama Ines. OMG! Best BEST Arroz con Pollo a la chorrera you will ever find in any restaurant. Almost, as good as my Moms.
Great minds think alike, I made Picadillo yesterday!
My dad made the best picadillo just the other day…oh so good. We’ll have to try it with the Bacardi. For the record I have no interest in how much sodium it has in it – wine, rum or otherwise.You mentioned in an earlier post that you’re never brave enough to order even the simple Cuban dishes in a restaurant. If you’re ever in Baltimore, check out Babalu’s:
http://babalugrill.com/
My uncle (and Godfather) Esteban de Castro owns it. It is AUTHENTIC Cuban food. The first time I ate there it brought me to tears – like I had my great-grandmother cooking for me again. Have faith.
As far as being a bad mother…please, One of the best things in the world is a mother’s cooking 😉
Besos,
Bilito
P.S. Thanks for quoting one of my all time favorite movie lines. I’ve made it my facebook status.