Carnivores. That's what my people are. Serious carnivores. Every night at my table you'll find a beautiful top sirloin steak or glazed chicken or some fabulous pork dish, because Cuban. And when we're not serving rice and beans, we're singing the praises of potatoes. Sounds pretty dull, right? You'd be wrong there. My sides are never boring. ...
Food and Drink
Porto’s Bake at Home
You probably read the title of this post a few times Porto's Bake at Home?? And you probably wondered, "Have all my Cuban pastry - since I don't live in Miami - dreams come true?" Today the answer to that would be a resounding, *"Si! Como no!" That's a big fat Cuban, *"YES, PLEASE!" {Disclosure: I have not been compensated for writing this post, ...
The Best Strawberry Snack Ever
This is a sponsored post by California Strawberries and Society Culinaria. The opinions are my own. I can't say where this simple recipe originated but I can say for certain that every time I've served it to my guests, it's always met first with happiness. "Yay, strawberries!" Of course, because who doesn't love fresh summer strawberries? ...
Mami Likes/Loves Cafe La Llave – A Giveaway
This post is sponsored by my favorite coffee people, Café La Llave. The opinions contained in this piece are all my very own. Someone asked me the other day about Cuban Coffee. She asked the difference between Cuban espresso and "American" coffee. I kind of went off about everything that I love about Cuban coffee, from the beautiful aroma to the ...
Marta’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe
When we first arrived in Miami from Cuba in 1961, a cousin took me to a bakery to get me a treat. Back then, Cubans had not yet taken over the town and this was an old fashioned cake bakery. She purchased a wonderful thing for me. It looked like a cupcake, but with a little more density. There was no frosting, but it had chocolate chips scattered ...
5 Things I’m Loving Right Now
There are things I like and there are things I love. (I'm not talking about the obvious, like husband and kids and grandsons.) Right now there are a few things in my life that have I more than love. Truthfully, I'm a little obsessed with them. I know you'll appreciate these as much as I do, because you have excellent ...
Abuela Vs Chef or When Buzzfeed Calls
The whole thing began when my son Jon's manager sent me an email. "I have a project that I think you'd be perfect for." I took a moment and said in my best Dr. McCoy voice from Star Trek, "Dammit! I'm a blogger, not an actor!" Okay, maybe I didn't really say that. In fact, what I did say, was, in the vernacular of the kids today: "YOLO!*" (*You ...
National Coffee Day Starts with Cafe La Llave – a Giveaway
This post is sponsored by my favorite coffee people, Café La Llave. The opinions contained in this piece are all my very own. It's no secret that I love my Cuban coffee. It's so very obviously in my Cuban DNA. In other words, it's a function of just being Cuban. In fact, one of my earliest memories is sitting at the breakfast table drinking my ...
Praise the Lord & Pass the Biscuits
I was invited to come try out the World Famous Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues in Anaheim. The following is a review of what we experienced as well as my own opinions and recommendations. We are regular church-goers. Our Sundays revolve around the rhythm of getting up to join our friends and family in worship and we often have lunch with our ...
Don Francisco’s Coffee Casa Cubana Is Like Coming Home
In the middle of the crazy that is Downtown LA, there is now a respite from city life. The new Don Francisco's Coffee Casa Cubana is the place you never knew you always wanted. (Well, I know I've always wanted a place to get wonderful Cuban food in Los Angeles, but that's not important right now.) I want to say right up front that this is not ...
The Spamerican! Tour Surprise – A Giveaway
I was recently invited to cook with celebrity chef Sunny Anderson. I know. Shut up. Of course I was going to attend! The surprise was that she was kicking off The SPAMERICAN!TM Tour and would be cooking - wait for it - with SPAM®. FYI: The SPAM Brand invited me to the event and provided me with a gift bag like the one I'm giving away. All the ...
Celebrating Mother’s Day with My People
I love nothing more than gathering around a laden table full of delicious food and my favorite people. As a matter of fact, my favorite people happen to be my kids. Mother's Day weekend felt like it should have a lot of those moments. But of course, I wanted to spend as much time as possible just visiting with Amy and Adam. And enjoying ...
My Mother’s Day of Perfection
I was feeling a little sorry for myself because Mother's Day is coming and half of my kids are scattered all over the map. See this story. For us Cubans, as is true for most Hispanic cultures, Mother's Day is like a High Holy Day. Am I right? Either way, I was still going to celebrate with the 2 that are still here and of course, ...
The Quinceañera Story and A Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe
My mom just recently celebrated her 101st birthday. (It's still weird to say that.) As people do when they get older, she repeats stories that she particularly likes or maybe it's that the memory gets fresher as time passes. Either way, as her birthday approached, she would tell the story of her 15th birthday. In Cuba, as in other ...
Hipster Baby Shower
Welcome to the 2nd installment of Over-Sharing About My Parties Week. As you already know, I have a beautiful grandson who was born in August. His name is Asher David-Edmund and he is a gorgeous creature that we are all head over heels in love with. Behold the besotted grandparents: Before he arrived, we had a really fun Hipster Baby ...
Celebrating Gratitude
In my family of origin we have the custom of always sending out invitations to events that people already know about and are coming to anyway. Welcome to our own special brand of crazy. Thanksgiving is always on the 4th Thursday of November. My sisters and I are pretty much in constant discussion for weeks ahead of the party. Who will bring what? ...
