Product Description
An exciting new Cuban Cookbook written in both Englishand Spanish by a native Cuban who immigrated to the United States atthe age of three.This book is based on recipes from her grandmothersrestaurant, Cafe Mima, which was highly regarded for it's elaboratedishes in Cuba in the 1930's.The author presents each recipe withcolorful pictures to tantalize the tastebuds.The book is designedlike the restuarant's fare having daily specials, main entrees,desserts and coffees.The recipes are easy to follow and have beenwritten in both English and Spanish within the same book.Thiswonderful cookbook can also be used as a coffee table book with manycolorful pictures that will help you plan your next Cuban delicacy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Makes me feel like cooking
Great book, I don'know how to cook and this book is so easy to follow...

Bad Cookbook Pretty Pictures
This book is very deficient on the basics. For example, in the directions for Ham Croquette anybody attempting to make béchamel as directed by the book will end up with wonderful wallpaper paste. Save your money there are much better Cuban cookbooks.

Eat your heart out J.Lo!
I grew up in Puerto Rico so I know what real caribbean cooking should taste like. This book helped me recreate many of the recipes I remember from my youth with simple recipes that taste authentic. I have tried a lot of "cuban" restaurants throughout the US and almost always found them wanting. I finally figured i would have to cook myself. I particularly liked the Arroz co Pollo and the Calso Gallego, recipes that when I followed other books came out fine but without that authentic flavor I remember. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants simple, elegant recipes that truly reproduce authentic caribbean cooking.

Beautiful book!
I received this book from a friend of mine who knew I wanted to know more of about his heritage (and, yes, he knew I LOVED split pea soup)...

The recipies ,of course, were wonderfully and simply authentic, but I was surprised at the connection to a history I knew little about.The family insight was wonderful.

I also appreciated the interesting family photographs that connected the recepies to an authentic past.My pressure cooker has had a good time with this book!

Thanks to the author!

P.S.: The cover art is beautiful.I'd love to learn more about the artist.

The best Cuban Cookbook!
If I could give this book 10 stars I would!The book is beautifully photographed and the recipes are easy to follow.My father is Cuban and I grew up with Cuban food at the dinner table almost every day but never learned how to make some of the dishes that bring back such great memories of my mothers and grandmothers kitchen.This inspiring book has helped me do just that!I want to give kudos to Ms. Perez for such a wonderful cookbook and for helping bring a big part of my heritage into MY kitchen! ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of Foods and Recipes of the World, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1432 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Provides comprehensive coverage of the foods and recipes of approximately 75 cultural groups from more than 60 countries. Entries provide 10-15 recipes for each group and include data on the agriculture and dietary habits of each group as well as an overview of each group's nutrition and health. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 4481 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

Product Description
This classic Cuban cookbook, in a hardcover edition printed in Spain for Stadium Corporation: New York; 1975. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

the real mccoy
I have yet to try a recipe in this book that is not excellent. The recipes are incredible and 100% authentic cuban flavor. I learned how to cook from my grandmother, a trained chef, trained in cuba. These recipes are as good as hers and sometimes, even better. I usually use a little less salt than she recommends then add to flavor, some of the recipes are very salty. But the enchilado recipe in here is unrivaled! So is the fricasse de pollo, yum. This book is worth every penny and then some. It is the one book everyone wants to borrow from me that I do not let out of my clutches. This book is not always available either, took me 3 months when I was looking for it to find it, so if you are considering it, get it or you may be sorry. I will say though that Cocina al Minuto has almost all of the recipes in here and is a cheaper bet, my mother and grandmother have those and when i am at their house, I pull the same recipes out for them.

For those of you looking far an English version of this book
For those of you looking for an English version of this book buy Cuban Flavor: A Cookbook.The Cuban Flavor doesn't acknowledge that it is a translation of Cocina Criolla, but both books list the exact same recipes and ingredients in the same order. I love this book, my Cuban grandmother has always used Villapol's recipes.

Grandma's Legacy
I'm purchasing this book today to replace the one my aunt lent me because she needs it back! At any age, this book is the essential tool in the cuban kitchen. My grandmother left her only copy in Cuba when we immigrated to the U.S. The copy I'm returning to my aunt was the one purchased for my grandmother(the best cook I know)on our first christmas in the states. If you can understand Spanish, I recommend the Spanish-language version for its authenticity and attention to detail. As a Cuban immigrant who came to the U.S. at a very young age, this book has been a portal to the very essence of cuban cooking and, therefore its culture. The traditions are a mix of Creole and Spanish (from Spain) ingredients. There is a lot of France and Spain in many of the recipes and most special ocassions would be meaningless without some of the dishes contained in this book. Bravo to our very own Julia Child!

A 5 Star celebrity before there were such.....
Nitza Villapol is considered the Cuban Julia Child. She was the first to write a book used by "the masses" and the first one to have a TV cooking show in Cuba way back in the 50's.

"Through the years Cocina Criolla has turned into the classic cookbook for the Cuisine of Yesterday's Cuba. The young ladies of that era learned to cook from this book and the grandmothers of today are recommending it to their granddaughters. It includes more than five hundred recipes, explained in simple, easy to follow directions to help with the creation of many wonderful dishes in a short time. An indispensable book for lovers of Cuban Cuisine"

The above is the endorsement on the back cover of this book. I can attest to the fact as I was one of those "young ladies of that era" who learned to cook following the instructions in this cookbook.

I remember what first fascinated me about this book was not the recipes, the equivalent charts, the nutrition information, the section on how to measure ingredients or the 2-week menus that she included, but the lists that she had printed on how to equip your kitchen. Even way back then, I always would go ga-ga over kitchen gadgets and equipment, and my dream kitchen would have had one of everything she listed and then some. She included 3 lists; the very basic that everyone should have and then goes on to other items to make your cooking efforts easier and then the specialty items.

Of course, this book was first published a long time ago, back in the mid-40's, so there is a big change in what was basic or special then and what we consider basic now. Remember, this was way before the Cuisinart was even dreamed of!

Picture Cuba....the year was 1953! Even though the family had household help, a young lady was in her mom's kitchen, trying to not make a big mess.......!If the "young lady of the house" wanted to play in the kitchen, it was encouraged as part of rounding off her education, but not necessary. If you did it, it was because you loved it, not because you had to help. (I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, because even though my father had a very good job, we were not rich by any means)

traditional cuban cuisine
i have owned this book since i was 16 or 17 years old.nitza was some what of a celebrity in cuba and had her own tv cooking show before food tv network.her recipes are simple to follow (if you can read spanish) and produce dishes that are traditional.with so many jumping on the cuban cuisine bandwagon it's difficult to find books, and restaurants, for that matter, that offer the real mc coy. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is all you need to know about Cuban cigars: a brand-by-brand discussion of the manufacturers, as well as frank assessments of current products; the island's tumultuous history; the industry's evolution from small-time farming through Castro's collectivization; and the labor and workmanship that go into both agriculture and manufacturing.

There is no cigar more premium than a Cuban. With world attention once again focused on Cuba, speculation abounds about the future of one of Communism's last strongholds-and about the possibility of normalization in the coming years, perhaps allowing American smokers to enjoy habaños legally for the first time since 1962. (4 1/2 x 7 1/4, 176 pages, color photos)

William P. Mara is the author of more than thirty-five books, on subjects ranging from presidential biographies and children's titles to sports and hobbies, one of which, on the breeding of box turtles, has sold nearly a quarter million copies. He also contributes articles, artwork, and photographs to magazines and runs a children's book-club catalog. He lives and smokes cigars in northern New Jersey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Cubans:The Ultimate Cigars
Good book and good info. I have kept this book and have it as a coffee table book now.

A little thin
The part of this book that deals strictly with cigar brands and characteristics of those brands is ok, but could use more detail and more photos. Unfortunately, the author devoted too much space to a very shoddy synopsis of Cuban history. Instead of enlightening the reader, the author made clear his own lack of background in Cuban history; since this isn't supposed to be a history book, perhaps the author could have either left out that section, or had someone more qualified write it. Disappointing.

Ultimate?
This is an interesting book about Cuban cigars. There are good bits concerning how cigars are made, the processes involved and some historical references. It may interest the US reader as the book has a very readablesection on the embargo.

The section on the cigar brands is a bitconfusing and it really refers to the history of that brand as opposed towhat the cigars are like and what signature pieces are produced by thatbrand. If it were to be a historical reference then the omission of nameslike Davidoff and Dunhill would be a bit remiss.

To summarise, it is moreof a story book which is very interesting. This is NOT a reference book,nor does it pretend to be! It is very well written and I enjoyed it even ifI didn't really learn from it.

Very Clear, Informative and Comprehensive.
I'm probably the world's youngest to enjoy Cuban Cigars. (I'm 19) But nonetheless, this book was great. Robustos and Montecristo's are my 'current' favourite. The feeling you get when you lay back and puff on oneof these...INCREDIBLE. Takes you to another world.

If your gonna smokeon one of these, enjoy it with a glass of Cristal or Dom P.France'sFinest.

*The World Is Yours*

MB.

An EXCELLENT book...
WOW! What an unbelievable book!!! I've been a big fan of Cuban cigars for years (on those rare occasions when I can get them), and I really have to say that this is BY FAR the best book on Cuban cigars available. Everytopic imaginable is covered-history, making, brands, the embargo,counterfeiting...you name it! And the book only retails for $20.00!!! Ihadn't seen a cigar book for under $30.00 until this one came along, and itwas better than any of the others! There's also a chapter at the end thatdetails the author's trip to Cuba while he wrote and took pictures for thebook, and it's really, really good. Great writing (some times very funny),and very interesting to anyone who loves cigars (or just has a passinginterest in Cuba). I read over the other three reviews on amazon before Iwrote this one, and I really don't know what the guy from Israel is talkingabout. He says this book isn't for aficionados, but in truth this is thekind of book that MAKES YOU an aficionado. Like I said at thebeginning-WOW! If you like cigars, this one's a MUST-HAVE. ... Read more

Product Description
Coveted traditional Cuban recipes from the personal kitchen of international superstars Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

International music superstars Gloria and Emilio Estefan are making their popular recipes public—offering readers a peek through the kitchen doors of Bongos Cuban Café, home of authentic Cuban cuisine à la 1950s Havana. From savory tapas and easy-to-make individual and family-style entrées, to scrumptious desserts and signature cocktails, Estefan Kitchen covers complete menus that will surely become a staple of its readers’ households. They can recreate the savory dishes of Bongos Cuban Café authentic Cuban cuisine—right in their own kitchen— with this collection of tried-and-true recipes. Filled with Gloria and Emilio’s personal accounts, culinary inspiration, and Cuban cuisine’s historical context, Estefan Kitchen is a timeless cookbook that brings readers into their lives, culture, and food. Whether islanders or mainlanders, chefs or non-chefs, everyone can follow the step-by-step instructions for sumptuous feasts and unforgettable meals including:

• Papas Rellenas (Breaded Mashed Potatoes With Ground Beef Creole)

• Yuca Frita (Cassava Fries)

• Sopa De Platano (Plantain Soup)

• Vaca Frita De Polla (Cuban-Mojo Marinated Shredded Chicken)

• Guava and Cheese Flan

• Watermelon, Pineapple And Mango Mojito

• Papaya and Mamay Shake

• Cuban-style Latte

... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Estefan Kitchen
Great book.It has the typical cuban dishes made in traditional fashion, unlike the way some of the cooking shows cook Cuban dishes.If you want to learn to make dishes like your grandmother did, this book is for you.

Excellent investment !
I don't know who else has written Cuban cookbooks but I am very happy with this one. I have purchased a few cookbooks in the past and the recipes are sometimes awful. I love this book and I had no idea how to make Cuban beans. Well I will tell you that both recipes were easy to follow and the food was delicious. I got this book used for about $4 so I am very happy and will buy the other books when I can get them cheap. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn how to make Cuban dishes. Forget who has written what and when. Buy them all. It cant hurt!

It was a present
It was for a secret santa present... but she really liked it and looking forward to use it.

some issues with ingredients
Overall, I've been very impressed with the recipes in this book. Flavors are incredible. I would have given 5 stars, but for one issue. I'll use the recipe for black beans as an example. Ingredients list does not include onion, yet the instructions call for 1/2 onion to cook with the beans and another 1/2 onion for the sofrito. Then, later in the instructions it says to fold the bean-sofrito mixture back in with the rest of the beans, but the recipe doesn't include any instructions that would create a bean-sofrito mixture. Looking at the photograph (and the photos in this book are really nice!), it appeared to me that some of the beans must have been mashed/pureed and added to the sofrito, then stirred back into the remaining beans. Tried this, and mine looked exactly like the photo. Good guess on my part, but clearly things were missing from the book. Detailed reading and a lot of common sense will get you a long way with the recipes.

Wonderfully Surprised !!!
This book is a joy to have ... I collect cookbooks and this is going to be one of my favorites. The recipes are very easy to follow and the pictures of the dishes are beautiful. Thank You to The Estefan Kitchen!!! ... Read more

Product Description
An evocative feast for all the senses, A Taste of Old Cuba combines a Cuban expatriate's charming and vivid memories of a childhood on the idyllic island before Castro's revolution with more than 150 recipes for delicious, authentic, and traditional Cuban dishes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Just Like Abuela's...
All I can really say about this cookbook is that it makes me cook like my grandmother does and that is saying a lot. Her way of cooking involves no measuring, just a feel for the recipe and I needed something more detailed. This book is very authentic and the dishes are very tasty. My favorites are Ropa Vieja, Carne con Papas, and Arroz con Leche. Using this cookbook I made flan for my grandmother and she said it tastes like hers. And that's high praise indeed.

A Taste of Old Cuba
This is a wonderful book, I keep it at my side when I am cooking Cuban Food.
Easy instructions and preparations of foods with great tasting results.I just purchased my second book for my second home.

Solid and authentic
She provides accurate information on the life and eating habits of Cubans. Solid recipes

Marrying into a cuban family
Marrying into a Cuban family I knew absolutely nothing about cooking Cuban food and was constantly hearing the way His mom cooked this or that, This book and some natural talent at cooking has given me rave reviews from my Even my Widowed father in law. who ask me to look for it in Spanish IE why I am here now
Thank you Maria

Divine

Everything I have made from this book tastes exactly like the food in the famous Cuban restaurant "Versailles" in Miami, which to me is the essence of classic 1950s Cuba. This is not a "30-minutes meals" type of book. All the recipes aren't necessarily simple, though some are, but they are very authentic and Mrs. O'Higgins does a good job of explaining the procedures.

Some of the recipes that I have tried are the Ropa Vieja, el Picadillo Clasico, of course the black beans, Arroz con Pollo, Tambor de Platano and the Andalusian Chicken Breasts, which is delicious, and all the recipes have been a success.

Aside from the classic recipes, the book is dotted with "recuerdos", or reminiscences of life in early and mid-century Cuba and pictures of Mrs. O'Higgins family, making for a very enjoyable and endearing read. ... Read more

Product Description
Bursting with color and excitement, Cuban food, like its passionate people, reflects a history of many influences. This book invites readers to enter that tropical, spicy, and enchanted world, offering a wealth of recipes that adapt rapidly and graciously to today's busy and budget-conscious cooks. *Lightning Print On Demand Title ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Villapol recipes translated
For those of you familiar with Cocina Criolla byNitza Villapol this is the English translation of that cookbook.The Cuban Flavor doesn't acknowledge that it is a translation of Cocina Criolla, but both books list the exact same recipes and ingredients in the same order.I love this book, my Cuban grandmother has always used Villapol's recipes.This is a great book for those of you who can't read Spanish, but would like to make authentic Cuban dishes.

Cuban Flavor: Some really great recipies
Makes me miss the years I spent in Miami!
Congri brings back many memories of a really good greasy spoon Cuban restaurant I used to. The Congri was made with black beans and had two croquetas on the side.

It is an International cuisine book, with some real Cuban flavor recipes
The title is misleading since even though there is a lot of typical Cuban recipes, there's a lot of non Cuban dishes that are not even popular in Cuba, maybe there were cooked in some high class Cuban kitchen with French chefs before Castro, but they have not have Cuban flavor after all. Ex:Quick Vichyssoise, Coq au Vin (French), paté fois-gras (this is French as the Eiffel Tower), Lasagna, Gnocchi (Italian), Aragon stew, , Filet Mar del Plata (Argentina), Fish lusitana (Portugal), Codfish Asturiana, Chicken Chow Mei (Chinese),Guacamole sauce (Mexican) Ceasar Salad and Apple pie (American), German potato salad, Hungarian tart, and I am just selecting some examples.
To discover real Cuban food recipes you have to be Cuban, and have lived in Cuba many years seeing your Grandma and your Mom cooking the daily meals, like I have done.

The book lacks a list of all the recipes, so to find one dessert you have to go and look one by one into the dessert chapter, etc.

Final word: For a real Cuban flavor cuisine, look in another book like the one by Nitza Villapol.

Authentic Cuban Cooking at it's Simplest
Being a first generation US-born Cuban American I remember fondly the days of visiting my grandparents in Miami and partaking of my grandmother's amazing cooking - Ropa Vieja, Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, and the list goes on.When my mother gave me this cookback back in the early 90's it brought back so many of those great memories sitting of on the back porch in Miami and waiting for my abuelita to finish the fried plantains and serve up the black beans and rice.

Now, don't get me wrong.I am a huge fan of Nuevo Latino cooking.If you are looking for that here then I'm afraid you will need to look elsewhere.This book is all about down-home, authentic, Cuban cooking.The recipes are simple to prepare and just the way my abuelita made them (well, of course, hers were just a tad bit better).

I highly recommend this cookbook to anyone who is looking to get a taste of old Cuba.Don't let the plain cover fool you. There are no pictures in this book, just a plethora of of amazing recipes and experiences.

Enjoy!!! ... Read more

Product Description
With more than seventy mouthwatering recipes throughout, Havana Salsa is the vibrant memoir of Viviana Carballo and her extraordinary childhood growing up in Cuba. A collection of stories about her large, extended family -- an eccentric group who conducted their lives against the extraordinary backdrop of Havana -- Carballo recalls the 1940s and 1950s when Havana was a nonstop party, and food and music defined the culture, until Fidel Castro took power in 1959, and she was forced to leave her beloved country.

With each delightful family memory, Carballo showcases the food of her culture and a delectable recipe, beginning with her childhood in the forties (calabaza fritters, sweet plantain tortillas, and oxtail stew), through the sensual fifties (roast shoulder of lamb, Cuban bouillabaisse), and then the first eighteen months of Castro's revolution (mango pie, tamal en cazuela, and papas con chorizo). Havana Salsa tells the history of Carballo's Havana as only she can -- through the intimate and unifying experience of food, family, and friends. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Havana Salsa
Being from Havana myself and coming over to the States as a 12 year old I can relate to not only some of her stories but the way it has been written is so true to life in Cuba during that era. Love her recipes, brings back very old memories.

Vivian St Pierre

Havana Salsa
Great Stories & Recipts Have Enjoyed It & Plan On Doing Some Of The Recipes Rabin

Great stories....great recipes!
I really like that this is a cookbook that is not a cookbook....she provides such fabulous imagery of Cuba in its hey day.I am mesmerized by the tales and delight in completing an admittedly...."This is the way I remember it" recipe!

Havana Salsa
Havana Salsa:Stories and Recipes is just that, a wonderful recounting of a girl's life in pre-Castro Cuba with eccentric and very colorful relatives and family friends and the comfort foods they cooked.An excellent story teller, Viviana Carballo intertwines her stories with recipes that bring back nostalgia as the smells and tastes of Cuba come alive throughout this book.As a fellow Cuban I enjoyed the author's character descriptions, recounting of familiar places, interesting anecdotes and the many memories she shares with her readers. The recipes are easy to follow and characteristically Cuban. This little gem is a delightful read.

Havana Salsa:Stories and Recipes
This is a lovely book full of great stories and great recipes.Loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
Caribbean food is the hot new sensation--here is what to do with mangoes in Minneapolis, papayas in Peoria. Miami chefs put the city on the culinary map in the 1980s by drawing on Cuban, Jamaican, Haitian, Peruvian, and Salvadoran cooking in a zippy fusion cooking style called New World Cuisine. Here two Miami food pros show how to incorporate these exotic produce and seasonings into everyday cooking and entertaining. Try Yuca Puffs or Coconut Shrimp in Island-Spiced Batter or main course entrees such as Roast Chicken with Savory Guava Glaze, Macho Steak, and Cashew Crusted Pompano. There are recipes for soups and stews, salads and dressings, side dishes, salsas, chutneys, and sauces, as well as twenty-eight tempting desserts including Free-Form Mango Tart, Carambola Upside-down Cake, and individual Chocolate-Cuban Coffee Souffles. The ingredient guide gives directions on buying, storing, and preparing tropical produce. Menu suggestions include wine choices.
Amazon.com Review
America's gateway to the Caribbean is one of the most diversecities in the States, and has produced a delightful melange of foodsto satisfy so many different palates. Fortunately for those of usliving in colder climates, tropical and subtropical foods areincreasingly common on grocery shelves, and Mmmmiami is ourguide to turning those mangoes and Scotch-bonnet peppers intodelicacies we could once only read about. Written by cooking teacherCarole Kotkin and Miami Herald food editor Kathy Martin, itprovides clear, simple directions for 150 dishes, from the simple(good old Key Lime Pie) to the sublime (Coconut Mahi-Mahi with PassionFruit Sauce). The wide array of flavors is especially wonderful andstartling to those used to monocultural cooking; Miami cuisine is theproduct of many generations of interbreeding and hybrid vigor. Not toworry about tracking down the elusive pigeon peas, though--if the fullrange of tropical tidbits hasn't quite reached you yet, the authorskindly provide alternatives. Twenty-five menus round out thiswell-organized book, inspiring respectful salivation in thelandlocked. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Mmmmmm Good, Really Good
Mmmmiami is one of the five best Florida/Gulf Coast cookbooks out there. Well, that's my opinion. I've been updating my Amazon "So You'd Like to Guides" and I have one on Key Lime Pie. Take a look at it if you want. Anyway, I've included fifty cookbooks (the maximum Amazon will allow) in all my guides, so I've had a chance to go through my collection. And quite a collection it is, I've got hundreds of cookbooks and I go through them all the time. That's my problem, how to organize them. While going through what I wanted to include in my guides, I started separating them into piles, the ones I couldn't live without and the ones, if I absolutely had to, I could give away as gifts, you know, like if we moved into a very small place.

Mmmmiami is one I could never part with. I love the food and the atmosphere of Florida and the Gulf Coast, have spent a lot of time there, as I'm a sailing lady. I'm also somewhat of a gourmet chef. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or galley, depending if I'm at home in the States or on our boat in the Caribbean. The recipes here will make your family, or even just yourself, if you live alone, drool. They are mouthwatering good and that's the truth.

Yummy Spicy
This book is a little old, but it gives you recipes that could be served in many Nuevo Latino restaurants right now.If you like your food with a little "kick" and tropical flavors, then this book is for you!

Wonderful cookbook
The cookbook has some great recipes in it.The book was used a little tattered but useful just the same.

Florida Flavors at Home
I've grown up in Florida. But, until recently, I've been ignorant of Florida's culinary identity. Louisiana has Cajun, Texas has Tex-mex and smoked brisket, but what does Florida have. The answer is delicious. The authors of this book do an excellent job showing the amazing fusion of Florida's flavors. Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, and Jewish flavors combine to provide great food. Helpful, practical advice on topics such as deep frying and grilling are infused into the recipes for easy instruction. My only desire for this book is that it had some pictures.

Mmm Yes!
Mmmmiami has become one of the go-to cookbooks in our household.We moved away from Miami years ago, but we still enjoy the foods we learned to love in that multicultural city.Cuban, Jamaican and tropically-flavors recipes are interspersed with helpful tips and cultural information--and the best key lime pie recipe ever! ... Read more

Product Description
The Habana Cafe's list of "Bests" began in 1997, soon after the Cuban family restaurant opened its doors on Florida's Gulf Coast and served its first steaming platters of homemade picadillo, arroz con pollo, and lechon asado--a mouth-watering dish of roasted pork seasoned with fresh garlic, oregano, white wine, and bay leaves and topped with grilled onions.

Culinary wizard and cafe owner Josefa Gonzalez-Hastings offers this extravagance of Cuban cooking as a celebration of her heritage. Many of the recipes were passed down to her from her mother and aunts; others are "nuevo Latino cuisine"--a fusion of traditional Cuban foods with modern dishes. Cuban food and preparation always has been varied, she says, flavored by the ancestry of the island, with contributions from Spanish conquistadors, African slaves, Asian laborers, and Indian natives.

Of course, she also includes Habana Cafe's standard sides of rice, black beans, and glazed golden-brown plantains. Customer favorites are all represented here in easy-to-follow recipes and colorful photographs--from appetizers and soups, seafood and vegetarian entrees, to classics (Cuban sandwiches and flan) and beverages (mojitos, sangria, cafe con leche, Cuba libre). Gonzalez-Hastings also provides a glossary explaining typical ethnic Cuban ingredients such as bijol, a condiment used to give rice a yellow color; naranja agria, the tart Seville orange often used to marinate meat and make mojo sauce; and malanga, a mild, nutty root that flavors soups and other sauces.

"In my Cuban family," she writes, "two things were always certain-- food and good times." Gonzalez-Hastings shares family stories and photographs of life in pre-Castro Cuba, re-creating the days when Havana was a dining mecca, Ernest Hemingway frequented La Floridita restaurant, and the island gave birth to the daiquiri. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

For any and all kitchen cookbook collections
Originally from Cuba, Josefa Gonzalez-Hastings is the head chef and owner of the Haban Cafe in Gulfport, Florida. In The Habana Cafe Cookbook, Josefa draws upon her years of experience and award-winning expertise to present a culinary compendium of "nuevo Latin cuisine" combined with traditional recipes handed down through her family from her mother and aunts. This showcase of Cuban recipes ranges from Frituras de Bacalao (Codfish Fritters); Bolliche a La Naranjada (Pot Roast with Orange Sauce); and Rabo Encendido (Oxtail Stew); to Platanos en Tentacion (Baked Sweet Plantains); Habana Tropical Punch; and Manzanas Rellenas En Almendras (Stuffed Apples with Almonds). Enhanced with family stories, advice on Cuban food and preparations, and an impressive insert of color photography, The Habana Cafe Cookbook is a welcome and recommended addition to any and all kitchen cookbook collections! ... Read more

Product Description
This book offers a brief history of Cuba and Cuban foods. The recipes have been made clear and specific with pictures, tips and shortcuts. You will find a menu, decorating ideas and recipes for the Mojito, Cuba Libre and a Hot Rum Milk. The tastes and smells of the recipes will take you to the island. A Paella party on a cold New Years Eve will warm you and your guests. The flan is the best you will ever taste. My mother carried my grandmother's recipes in her mind and with patience has helped me translate them. Mom and I now offer them to you, and hope your family and friends may enjoy them as we do. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Traditional Cuban Cooking
This is a small handbook of traditional Cuban recipes that are easy to follow. My family is half cuban so we eat Cuban food at least once a week. I have tried some recipes in this book and they are very good, like the Chicken Fricasse which is classical, the Coconut Flan, the Chicken Rice (Arroz con Pollo). Each chapter of the book is a menu of three or four recipes, the book has no pictures. Good to have if you are looking for reliable and traditional recipes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Awesome Recipes
Lighter fare from the author of La Cortina de Bagazo (Sugar Cane Curtain), Cartas son Cartas (Love Letters in the Sand) and Divagaciones.

A compilation of traditional Cuban and Spanish recipes.Some of my favorite dishes are in here - Lechon Asado (Roast Suckling Pig) Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef), moros y cristianos (rice and beans cooked together as opposed to white rice and black beans as two separate sides), Elena Ruz sandwich (turkey, cream cheese, and strawberry jelly - it's really good, you'll have to trust me on this) and Dulce de Leche dessert.And even a few drink recipes like Cuba Libre (rum & coke).

All the recipes your mom and grandma used to make before we all started worrying about calories, carbs, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. ... Read more

Product Description
Classic Cuban Cookery focuses on traditional Cuban food, a melting pot of the culinary practices of four continents: South America, North America, Africa, and Europe. Simple recipes for Empanadas, Cuban Conch Salad, Salsa Borracha, Quiqui Marina's Caldosa Stew, Coconut Cream Pie, and many more of the island's favorite foods and drinks include both imperial and metric measurements. The book also profiles Cuba's famed restaurants and introduces native ingredients. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Classic? Cuban?
"Classic" in the title of the book is a misnomer as many of the recipes utilize ingredients that are not traditionally used in Cuban cooking.The book is missing many of the basics and messes with the ingredients you'd find in your classic dishes.The information that is provided about the classic usage of chilis in many dishes and the whole section on hot salsas is just not classic Cuban. While the book provides some interesting takes on classic Cuban cooking, don't look to it to recreate Cuban dishes that you'd get in a Cuban home or restaurant.Overall, I found it inauthentic.Although if you're well versed in Cuban cooking and want to do some Latin fusion by adding some other favors to your cooking it may be a good choice.

truely cuban
this books gives you a real taste of cuban food. Unlike all those other cuban based cook books, this book really out shines the rest in taste! ... Read more

Product Description
Cuban cuisine is a fascinating mixture of cultures and ingredients drawn from the island's complex history and its wide-ranging natural resources. It includes the early influences of native Cuban Indians (with their manioc, taro root, corn, and black beans) to the arrival of the Spanish colonizers with the cash crops of coffee and sugar as well as their stuffed roasted meats and peppers and, of course, the African slaves who brought okra, taro root, and plantain.

Today, all these are such important elements of Cuban cuisine that it seems as though they have always been present on the island. Add a little rum and some salsa music to the pot and the story of Cuban cuisine really begins to take shape!

In A Taste of Cuba Beatriz Llamas takes us on a gastronomic tour of the Caribbean's biggest island: from appetizers, soups, main dishes, side dishes, and desserts-and all the mouthwatering spices and ingredients (past and present) that are so popular and unique to Cuba. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

The BEST mojito recipe
I haven't made any of the main dishes yet, because I'm a vegetarian, so I'll have to figure out a good way to work around all of the meat without sacrificing authenticity too much. But the mojito recipe in this cookbook is the best I have ever used.We won't drink them at bars and restaurants anymore... It's that much better.

I absolutely L-O-V-E this book!!!
Both my parents were born and raised in Cuba and I am a first generation American.I remember growing up, my friends would come over my house and look in the pot of black beans cooking on the stove and say "ewwww...that looks gross!!!"Who would have known that when I grew up, black beans would be "trendy".:o)Anyway, I've always said that my mother is the best cook in the entire world and it's always been a challenge to get her to pass down her recipes, because she never measures anything.

Luckily, I stumbled across this book last week, purchased it and immediately went to my mother's house to get her "expert" opinion...are these recipes authentic?It was great to see the smile on my mom's face as she looked through the book.Not only did she give the thumbs up on the recipes, she loved the artwork.She said she usually uses more bell peppers than recommended in the book, because she thinks it gives more flavor and she said that sometimes she takes steps in a different order, but forthe most part these recipes are just right!I can't tell you how happy this bookhas made me...knowing that I will be able to prepare the dishes I grew up with...it's really awesome!

I made the glazed sweet potatoes today to go with our Thanksgiving dinner and they were extremely delicious.Thanks to the author for the wonderful recipes and the artist for the beautiful artwork.I can't wait to make everything in this book!

One of the best authentic Cuban Cookbooks!User Friendly and Entertaining
Great recipes.Easy to follow.Genuine Cuban cuisine specific dishes -autentico-Will bring much "sabor" and "salsa" to your plate and cooking!You will never get bored in the kitchen with this book while bringing the goodness of the enchanted isle to your dinner plate.Enjoy!

An impressive culinary mix of cultures and ingredients
Beatriz Llamas was born in Spain, ran cooking classes and a catering business while still a student, then worked at the Alambique Cookery School in Madrid before moving to Cuba, where she developed a keen interest in the local cuisine and culture. In A Taste Of Cuba, Llamas showcases an impressive culinary mix of cultures and ingredients associated with Cuba's complex history and natural resources originating with the Cuban Indians (cassava, taro root, corn, sweet potatoes, black beans), the Spanish colonizers (coffer, sugar, roasted meats and peppers), and African slaves (okra, plantain). All of these diverse heritages of foods fused into a vibrant new culinary culture. Illustrated with drawings and color photography, the recipes range from Taro Root Fritters; Avocado and Shrimp Salad; and Susana's Rice with Green Plantain; to Celie's Chicken and Corn Pie; Squash Pudding; and Soursop Champola Ice Cream. A Taste Of Cuba is an ideal addition to any personal or community library multicultural cookbook collection.

Itchin' to Go
4/5/2005

A Taste of Cuba
By:Beatriz Llamas

A review by Marty Martindale

Just as our feet are itching to journey freely to the tastes and rhythms of colorful Cuba, our eyes can, at least, feast on the bright, lively illustrations by Ximena Maier in Llamas' A Taste of Cuba cookbook. This is also a chance to bone up on our menu familiarity once we again get to visit. In the beginning of the book, Llamas explains some of the details of the Cuban Table. Next she identifies frequently used ingredients.

Here's just a few of the dishes she tempts us with:

* A couple of interesting and very simple soups: Avocado Soup made with chicken broth, mustard and lime juice. Her Green Plantain Soup similarly calls for beef broth, lime juice and cloves.

* Jose's Ceviche uses king mackerel, onion, lime juice, olive oil and parsley.

* Fish in Escabeche is olive oil, onion, garlic white wine, wine vinegar, spices and fresh tuna.

* Glazed Sweet Potatoes is a combination of lime juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and dry Cuban cooking wine.

* Her Apple-Flavored Banana Ice Cream is a simple recipe calling for apple bananas, lime juice, 7-year-old rum, milk, sugar, light whipping cream and egg whites.

* Black Boy in His Shirt is a rich cake made from cooking chocolate, butter, eggs, sugar, roasted peanuts and confectioners' sugar.

A Taste of Cuba is a pretty little Cuban book, only 139 pages, but filled with the little country's unique appetizers, soups, main dishes, side dishes and sesserts. Generally, it is a good idea to own a lime tree, if you live in Cuba ...

© Marty Martindale, 2005, Largo FL
mm@FoodSiteoftheDay.com

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