It was my very great honor to have been one of the judges at the annual Croquetapalooza event in Miami last December. I was invited by my friend, Sef Gonzalez, of Burger Beast Fame. This Grand Celebration of All Things Croqueta happened at the beginning of December 2019 and I came home and headed straight into ...
Food and Drink
Peach and Apricot Grunt Recipe
It's the first day of summer and because of recent events, we are ready to get outside and start our summer in earnest. Well, we have filled the little 10 ft. pool in the backyard and hung the outdoor lights and are ready to do some movie nights and do some outdoor dinners and eat some delicious summer foods. And by summer foods, I mean fruit. Do ...
The Amazing Beast Sauce Burger
Happy Burger Month! (You didn't know it was a thing, did you?) That's right! May is National Burger Month. (Hurray!) And May 28th is National Burger Day. Truthfully, I knew nothing of this, but we had the most amazing burger meal recently because of my friend, respectfully known as The Burger Beast, and I totally want to tell you all about him and ...
May The 4th Be With You
It was May 1977 and I was turning 22 years old. I celebrated that birthday enjoying dinner with friends. After which we decided to go see a new film called Star Wars. Back then we knew nothing about the phenomenon it would turn out to be, of course. And, to be honest, the posters that advertised it looked a little hokey. You know the rest of the ...
It’s Rhubarb Season
I have a confession to make. (Warning: if you're waiting for a big, juicy "chisme," you'll most likely be disappointed, but that's not important right now.) The confession: Up until last week, I had no idea what rhubarb tasted like or what you could even do with it. (I know. Shut up.) I think I had heard somewhere that rhubarb pie was a thing, but ...
Creamy Rustic Ratatouille
This month's challenge from my friends at Melissa's Produce was to come up with a recipe using some vegetables and fruit that came in my latest box and that would reflect Mardi Gras. Luckily, there are many fabulous vegetables in season, which inspired me to create a delicious Creamy Rustic Ratatouille. Growing up, we celebrated the last day ...
Vicky Bakery – Que Sweet it is!
I have been wanting to write about my experience at Vicky Bakery since I returned from Miami. But you know how life starts to happen and all the best laid plans go somewhere like the back of your head to taunt and itch and remind you that you're a slacker? Yeah. That's where we find ourselves today. My first morning in Miami, I found myself ...
Creamy Caramelized Onion Potato Soup
My latest Melissa's Produce Challenge Box arrived the other day and I was so excited. (Yay.) Let me invite you into my decision-making process when I open that box. Besides the oooh-ing and aaah-ing, I also have a moment where I assess everything that's in it and I make some notes about what food I could make in my attempt to use ALL the ...
Cafe La Llave Fresh From the Pod
Every year in October I celebrate how long I've been in the blogosphere. Because I think milestones should be acknowledged and celebrated. It turns out that this happens to be my 13th year and I'm super proud of that. *takes bow* Please read my blog post, "Thirteen." Every year in the month of October I celebrate with giveaways from my favorite ...
Honey Balsamic Chicken and Veggie One Pan Meal
I've been up to my eyeballs in holiday planning. Wait. Did I hear one of you say, "Too soon?" I know. But if I don't start now, the magic doesn't quite happen like I want it to, so here we are. And because, holiday magic isn't going to make itself, I have to start making plans ASAP. So, I am particularly excited to share today's Challenge from ...
3 Times the Fun with Melissa’s Produce
Oye, people! I'm so enjoying the month of October. Because My Big Fat Cuban Family is 13 years old now which means all kinds of giveaways. I'm especially enjoying promoting all of my cyber-friends this month and I particularly love that they are sharing the love by sponsoring this super fun month of giveaways. I'm excited today to tell you all ...
Porto’s Bake at Home is EVERYTHING
A constant since the beginning days of this blog 13 years ago has been my declaration of love for Porto's Bakery. No es por nada, but they have always had consistently delicious baked goods and have always delivered on both quality and taste. We get an assortment of Cuban appetizers for our Noche Buena celebrations every year from Porto's, and we ...
Homemade Cherry Pop Tarts Recipe
I don't know how I've gotten this far in life without making Homemade Pop Tarts. I didn't even know it was A Thing. Did you know it was A Thing? I guess it's because my old-school Cuban generation was more in love with pastelitos de guayaba. FOR A MILLION GUAVALICIOUS REASONS, but that's not important right now. So, my friends over at Melissa's ...
Impress the Guests Crispy Leaf Potatoes Recipe
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. ...
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, ...
