Are you hungry?

by

Some of the livelier and more participatory posts here on Babalu have been those where we’ve talked about Cuban food.

To wit:

Pan cubano.
Tostada y cafe.
Lechon!
Pan con lechon!
Que quieren comer?
Versailles.
Good Ole Cuban food in the Good Ole South.

Now, every once in a while, I like to rib you all out there that dont live in Miami or New Jersey and dont have access to a local timbiriche or Cuban food restaurant and either post a picture or write about, say, vaca frita, or pastelitos, or arroz con pollo, just to make you all salivate and with envy. To be honest, I cant imagine life without a pan con bistec or frijoles colorados or ajiaco or ropa vieja being just a stone’s throw away. Or, better yet, a phone call to Mami’s: Mami. Hace tiempo que no haces chicharos.

Imagine, if you will, waking up on a Sunday morning, it’s snowing outside and as you start making your typical breakfast – eggs, bacon, a slice of toast or two – you get a massive craving for a pastelito de guayaba to go with your pseudo cafe-con-leche. What do you do? Book a flight to Miami? Call someone down here and have them FedEx you a box of Cuban pastries? Nah. Chances are you will force yourself to live with the craving, at least til you do have a chance to fly down to Little Havana, USA and who knows how long that will be.

But fret not you Cuban-foodless starving folks. I got just the thing to satisfy those whetted comida criolla appetites.

If you live out in the Cuban food boonies and feel like having a couple delicious pastelitos de guayaba, why not just make’em yourself? What? You dont know how?

Well then, let Marta teach you.

Which brings me to the point of this culinary post.

Tomorrow, Thursday March first, we will be unveiling a new feature at Babalu. Our very own Marta of My Big Fat Cuban Family has graciously agreed to be Blogdoms official Cuban Chef. From now on, every other Thursday or so we’ll be treated to a tasty Cuban treat from Marta’s Cuban-American Kitchen.

Not only will she be posting comida criolla recipes, but she will be letting us all in on those little culinary secrets – like, for example, when you cant, for the life of you, find Bijol anywhere in your state and you need an American substitute ingredient for that arroz con pollo youre making for the in-laws this weekend. Or, like a certain wife I know, when youre scared to use a pressure cooker and simply must have carne con papas for dinner.

Best part about it however, is not only that you all will most assuredly participate with your own recipes and takes on dishes, but that we all get to share the best aspect of Cuban cuisine with each other: family. Because Cuban food is great and all, but it tastes so much better when you share it with loved ones.

Buen provecho.

16 thoughts on “Are you hungry?”

  3. Pressure cooker or not, I’m excited. MU’s CAUSA membership seems to agree that the separation from the food is the worst part of being a college student in Missouri. Screw pizza. Left over palomilla, arroz y maduros is the best post-party late night snack.

  4. Can I make some special requests?

    How the heck can one make good Cuban bread? I want to know the secrets…. No restaurant here (DC) has real Cuban bread – they take French or Italian bread an call it Cuban.

    Also, I’d love to learn how to make real pastelitos… I’m so excited!! Thanks for thinking of us non-Miamians!!

  6. hey what site would you recommend for recipes? i gots to get the wife cooking cuban food here.. the frijoles negros was easy.. picadillo would be nice, vaca frita, frituras de malanga.. i know google has tons of them, but how about some good “home” type recipe sites.. its been a while since i had good cuban food guys, help me out here..

  7. Val, I’ll have you know that I’ve had pastelitos, croqueticas y pan Cubano fedex to me. Desperate times call for desperate measures 🙂

  8. daniel,

    Swing by tomorrow and check out Mart’s first recipe post. And come hungry.

    Tati,

    I have sent out more than my share of boxes of pastelitos from Tommy’s bakery here in miami.

  10. Hey guys, In need to spend next week in Boston finalizin a project. Any good recomendation for cuban/hispanic restaurant there. Thanks!

  11. Hey guys, In need to spend next week in Boston finalizin a project. Any good recomendation for cuban/hispanic restaurant there. Thanks!

  12. Val,
    Thanks for asking mi mama to do this. I’m so excited since I’m a “double-beneficiary.” I get to stand in the kitchen and watch and then sit at the table and eat!
    Mil gracias!
    Amy

  13. Val-This is Omar swinging by. Please don’t give Adela any false hopes for a pan cubano recipe. I just happen to live near a good Cuban bakery and am but a humble patron.

  14. Well, that fall apart meat can be achieved without the pressure cooker, it takes a lot of talent but it’s doable. It’s all in the cooking time and temperature……

  15. Omar – it was worth a shot! maybe I need to go to a panaderia next time I’m in Miami and ask for their recipe. I may also need some starter dough from Miami.

    My parents did load their carry-ons once with pan cubano, and then I’ve frozen the leftovers – if you toast it frozen, it’s still delicious. Maybe I’ll do that again…

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